The Michigan Firehouse Museum's 2013 Michigan Fire Truck Muster, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been canceled because of a scheduling conflict in Ypsilanti's Riverside Park, where the event was going to be held.
A child climbs on a truck during the 2009 Fire Truck Muster.
QVC’s ‘In the Kitchen with David’ will broadcast live from the park Sunday for a show featuring Haab's restaurant, but because of the need to set up equipment and do set construction for the live production, the television crew requires access to the space on Saturday.
Michigan Firehouse Museum Manager Steve Wilson said organizers of the Michigan Fire Truck Muster were told they could hold the event in a different area of the park, but he said that space would not adequately accommodate the Fire Truck Muster.
"Even though the Huron River runs throughout the park, it is too shallow at the south end — where we were told we could go — for the firetrucks to pump water," said Dan Egeler , a member of the Michigan Firehouse Museum Executive Committee. "If we held the event, but none of the trucks could pump water, it's just a collection of antique vehicles. What makes the muster fun is that the trucks are all working."
Haab's recently won the show's “David’s Road Trip Contest,” which secured the restaurant a visit from host and cookbook author David Venable in July.
The non-profit organization, located at 110 W. Cross St. in Ypsilanti, considered rescheduling, but found it to be too difficult logistically, Wilson said. Many of the trucks that were supposed to be out for the event and volunteers who allow the day to run smoothly were not available at a later date.
“We’ve been telling people to come down to this event for a year now,” Wilson said. “Now we’re just trying to get in contact with all of those people to let them know, but I’m not sure it’s even possible at this point.”
Egeler said the event typically draws around 1,000 people each year. He said the museum will be hurt financially by the cancellation of the event.
"You're looking at an impact of between $15,000 to $20,000 on the museum," Egeler said. "The impact will come from the loss of membership sales and donations the event normally brings in. We normally bring in revenue from our gift shop that day as well. Good will for the museum and the event may also be lost, but the city has apologized for the scheduling error and is working with us to make up for the loss."
The museum, which was founded in 1998, plans to hold the Annual Michigan Fire Truck Muster again in August 2014. Egeler said the museum has been holding the event for at least the past 10 years.
Ypsilanti city officials could not be reached for comment.
Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.