Insider Guide: Brad Reed

Brad Reed was born and raised in Ludington and always knew he wanted to come back. He attended college in Grand Rapids and got an elementary teaching degree, then went on to graduate school and to work on a Masters in social work. He never planed on being a landscape and nature photographer, but when his father needed help with his photography business Brad found himself leaving school and coming back home to help run the business. Now Todd and Brad Reed Photography regularly publish photography books, calendars, DVDs and sell prints through their store and website. Brad is actively involved in the community and serves as a volunteer on different boards and committees with the goal of promoting Ludington tourism and being its biggest cheerleader.
 
He serves on the Ludington Area Center for the Arts council, is a member of the marketing committee for the Ludington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and is on the Downtown Ludington Club committee. “We’re working really hard on getting all the downtown businesses in the region to start working together to help promote each other,” he says. “It seems so basic but it really wasn’t. Now we’re starting to see progress; Ludington is just starting to get discovered and the good thing is the zoning is all in place, the waterfront isn’t gobbled up like in other communities. Everything [along the waterfront] is public access and the rules are in place to make sure it remains public access.”
 
Brad recommends Sportsman’s Restaurant & Irish Pub and the brand-new bar they recently opened next door, the Mitten Bar: A Michigan Ideology. They serve only Michigan-made beer, wine and spirits and were already named as a “One of America’s 100 Best Beer Bars” by DRAFT Magazine.
 
The Blu Moon is a high-end bistro and cocktail bar with a unique eclectic décor, live music and fine dining. The Jamesport Brewing Company is a great brewpub downtown and is a popular place with the locals, especially in the off season. PM Steamers Restaurant is another popular spot with a fantastic view overlooking the water.
 
For cultural experiences, visit the A.M. Galleries downtown, an art gallery unique in northern Michigan selling high art collector pieces like French paintings that cost $10,000. “It’s more like what you’d see in Chicago,” Brad says. For more affordable works from local artists, also visit Red Door Gallery and the Todd and Brad Reed Photography store. The Sandcastles Children’s Museum just opened last year in an old Elk Lodge building, “one of those beautiful old big buildings downtown.” A group of philanthropists bought the building and donated it to the Museum; Brad says it is already a huge draw. The Ludington Area Center for the Arts recently bought a beautiful old historic church, and the Ludington Library is in the midst of a million-dollar expansion. The arts center, library and museum are all located on opposite corners of the same street, creating a cultural corridor in Ludington.
 
Ludington has a number of annual events that are a draw for locals and visitors. Friday evenings in July and August the city hosts “Friday Night Live,” which floods downtown Ludington with upwards of 5,000 people. There is live music and food vendors and pumps a ton of money into the local economy. The New Year’s Eve ball drop, which was first held on December 31, 2009, now attracts 10,000 people annuals. “It used to be you could throw a snowball down the street on New Year’s Eve and not hit a car,” Brad says. “Now it’s one of the busiest days of the year [for our store].” It's also the largest ball drop in Michigan. For St. Patrick’s Day, there is an Irish jig 5k and a parade downtown that attracted 2,000 people in its first year in 2012.
 
There are three “can’t miss” activities in Ludington that all visitors must experience, according to Brad: the S.S. Badger ferry, which is the car ferry that takes passengers across the lake to Wisconsin; Ludington State Park, the busiest state park in Michigan with plenty of opportunities for camping, hiking, kayaking and biking; and the House of Flavors, an infamous little ice cream shop that has been there for 80 years and makes all their own ice cream.