The 2016 Empire Asparagus Festival kicks off tonight (Friday) and continues Saturday and Sunday in downtown Empire.

Tonight features a Dance & Dine from 7-10pm on Empire's Front Street. Admission is $5 (under 16 free) and includes live music by Strobelight Honey. Right Brain Brewery will be on-hand selling beer, while Art's Tavern will host a pig roast for $12.

Saturday kicks off with a 10am 5K Kick-Yer-Ass-Paragus Fun Walk/Run. Registration starts at 9am at Empire Beach and is $25. At noon, the festival hosts an Asparagus Recipe Contest & Cookoff at Empire Town Hall. Admission is limited to the first 100 people in line. Asparagus Eats & Wine & Beer Tasting will be offered all day from 12pm-10pm "under the big tent" for a $5 admission (under 16 free). Live music performances include Jackpine (1-3pm), Benjamin James & the Old Mission Collective (4-6pm) and The Benzie Playboyz (7-10pm).

Other activities Saturday include the Asparagus Fest Foot Golf Tournament at 1pm at The Dunes Golf Club, an Ode to Asparagus Poetry Competition (with prizes) at 2pm at Glen Lake Community Library, children's performance Gordon Russ & His Comedy Magic Revue from 3-4pm under the big tent, and the Asparagus Parade at 4pm. The Empire Historical Museum will also be open from 1-4pm.

The festival wraps up Sunday with the Empire Lions Club breakfast from 8am-noon at Empire Township Hall, and an Empire Area Community Center live music fundraiser featuring Dennis Palmer & friends from 4-6pm at the Village Inn on M-22. For more information, click here.

Photo credit: Empire Asparagus Festival