East Tawas

East Tawas is a city in Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census. One of the main Winter attractions in the Tawases is known as Perchville USA. When winter freezes Tawas Bay each year, hundreds of perch fisherman move fishing shanties onto the bay's ice, making Perchville USA, the largest non-land community festival in Northeast Michigan. Perchville was created by a Harold Gould, a local druggist. Today it is organized by the local Chamber of Commerce. This celebration was created to draw tourism to the town for ice fishing. Visitors would be able to rent ice shanties, which were set up on the ice in the form of a town. Perchville's annual Chili Cookoff Competition eighteen years ago, and is still one of the main attractions to this day. One of the most popular events at Perchville is the Polar Bear Swim. This year (2012) marked the 62nd annual Perchville USA. Silver Valley Winter Sports Festival was originally combined with Perchville, but the former was discontinued