ESCANABA – The drive around the Municipal Dock in Escanaba’s Ludington Park will be open to local traffic Monday. The drive, which is normally gated, will be open to focus on a fundraiser for the city’s recreation department and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area.

Vehicles can drive the route from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and stop for sloppy joes, pulled pork and bottled water. Tickets for the Golf Ball Drop will also be for sale.

“People always comment, ‘why can’t we drive around the municipal dock?’ We’re going to open it up and you can enter from Ludington Street and exit behind the Chamber of Commerce. So, we encourage everyone to come out, but a ticket, get some lunch or dinner. We will be there all day from 11 to 7 Monday,” Peterson said.

The Escanaba Recreation Department and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area are selling 600 golf balls that will be dropped from a crane at the August 4 Rock the Dock event. Big Brother Big Sister director Tonya Ettenhofer said the top prize is $3,000 for the closest to the golf ball to the hole.

“The kicker of it also is we are going to have 10 additional squares within the dropping area. So, your ball may not get into the hole or closest to the hole for cash prizes but if your ball ends up in one of the squares then we have prizes,” she said.

The money raised will support Big Brother Big Sister mentoring programs. Recreation Director Kim Peterson says it will also support their youth programs.

“Most of it is going to go for our youth but we can also help people with swimming lessons, soccor lessons, if they can’t afford them we can take money from that fund to pay for them and help the community out,” Peterson said.

Tickets are available at the Bonifas Civic Center, Rosy’s Diner, Johnston’s Printing or online at bbbsbayarea.org. Tickets will also be sold Monday when the city opens the drive around the Municipal Dock to public traffic.