Antique steam whistles of various sizes are attached to a 20-port manifold and are ready to be blown.

One hundred steam whistles from bygone lake freighters and passenger ships will be on display St. Clair, Michigan, on Sept. 29 as part of the fourth annual “Whistles on the Water.” Many of the antique whistles will be attached to a huge steam boiler and blown on site.  Collectors may bring their whistles to the event and have them blown.  Organizers will also use their steam whistles to hail passing freighters, the captains of which will return their salutes.  The best known whistle at this year’s event hails from one of the old Bob-lo boats. Whistles from the North American and South American, passenger steamboats that made stops in Algonac, Marine City and St. Clair, will also be on hand.  Whistles on the Water will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., in Palmer Park in downtown St. Clair. The event is sponsored by the St. Clair DDA. Simultaneously, the St. Clair Art Association will hold its fourth annual “Chalk the Walk” event, a drawing contest on the city’s downtown sidewalks. Call (810) 329-9576 for guidelines.   If you have a steam whistle and want to have it blown during the event, call Johnson at (810) 841-6375. For details, visit www.stclairontheriver.org.

Steam blooms around a Mercury whistle, owned by the River Crab Restaurant, as it’s blown at the 2011 “Whistles on the Water.”