Do you wonder what the future holds for you?

If so, you may want to take a walk along Front Street in Empire on Saturday as part of the fifth annual Asparagus Festival. A wandering "asparagus mystic" will be among the highlights of this year’s event.

According to Paul Skinner, a festival organizer, the asparagus mystic will look an awful lot like village resident Carol Vanderberg.

“I got the idea after seeing a similar festival in Europe. The mystic will use asparagus tips to tell you your fortune by throwing them up in the air. How they land and in what order will be read by the mystic to determine your fate,” Skinner said. The mystic will set up shop somewhere along Front Street from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

The festival will celebrate all things asparagus in Leelanau County beginning Friday night, running through Saturday and wrapping up Sunday afternoon. Organized by the Empire Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the festival will feature another new twist.

“We wanted to try pumping a few new things into our lineup of events, including a showing of a documentary on asparagus growers in Oceana County and the asparagus mystic,” said Skinner,.

The fun begins at 7 p.m, Friday with sidewalk chalk art. “It gives the children a chance to get out and create some pictures using colored chalk on the sidewalks, lots of fun,” Skinner said.

At 8 p.m. in the township hall on Front Street, a showing of the documentary Asparagus! Stalking the American Life is planned. The film was directed by Kristen Kelly, an Oceana County native who grew up on an asparagus farm and was part of a pre-teen asparagus dance troupe known as The Oceana Stalkers. The film tells the story of how Oceana farmers turned their local economy around about 30 years ago by committing to growing asparagus.

Now the growers are facing a challenge from the global economy after free-trade agreements with South American countries that has flooded the nation’s market with asparagus. Visit www.asparagusthemovie.com to learn more about the film or purchase a DVD copy.

Skinner said festival organizers first heard about the film in 2006 when it was making the rounds at independent film festivals. “We had hoped to get one of the women who made the film up here for the showing, but it doesn’t look like that will happen,” Skinner said. The viewing is free and open to the public.

The Asparagus Festival kicks into high gear on Saturday with the 5K Asparagus Fun Run/Walk. Participants will start at the Empire Village Beach, and end there. Skinner said entrants may walk, run, or “amble.” “It’s all about fun and getting into the spirit of asparagus,” Skinner said.

Children’s games will begin at 10 a.m. in the green space across from the Glen Lake Community Library. All games will have some sort of asparagus theme, from the stalk throw to pin the asparagus on the donkey.

Starting at 11 a.m. the Asparagus Eats vendor area opens in the green space next to the post office. Skinner said organizers wanted to put an emphasis on having local vendors offering local food products with asparagus in them for this year’s event. As an example, Stonehouse Bread will offer samples of its breads with an asparagus sauce for dipping. “Joe’s Friendly Tavern will have its asparagus soup, Deering’s Market will offer its asparagus brats and Norconks will be selling asparagus as well,” Skinner said.

Also at 11 a.m. at the post office green space, Empire artist Tim Lewis will have a booth set up to discuss his current and past artwork used for the festival’s poster. Skinner said the chamber is having copies of Lewis’ four previous festival posters printed so people may buy them and have Lewis sign them, as well as the one for 2008.

Further details of some festival events include the following:

• 11:30 a.m., township hall — Asparagus Recipe/Cookoff Contest. Bring your already prepared asparagus dish to the hall by 11:30 a.m. and see what the judges and the public think of your cooking prowess. Winners will be announced starting around noon.

• 3 p.m., Front Street — The Asparagus Festival Parade. Lineup begins at Johnson Park at 2:30 p.m. U.S. Rep. Dave Camp will be part of the parade, according to organizer Susan Hilton. Anyone is welcome to be part of the parade, but all are asked to have their entry be related to the central theme of the festival, which is asparagus. “I’m expecting a lot of children on bicycles, some great home-made costumes and float, a lot of fun stuff,” she said.

• 4-8 p.m., township hall — Local wine tasting and the Empire Lions Club Asparagus Fest Dinner. Skinner said county wineries Bel Lago, Black Star Farms, and Ciccone Vineyards will have their best selections of local wines available for tasting. “We keep it to three county wineries and rotate which ones are in it each year,” Skinner said. The Lions Club dinner features asparagus and locally raised chicken as part of its meal.

• 8-11 p.m., township hall — A free concert by 3 Hour Tour, an acoustic group performing folk, rock and country tunes.

• Sunday, 4-8 p.m. — Asparagus BBQ and Concert at the Village Inn.

As a reminder to those attending the festival, on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. Front Street will be closed between Union and Lake Streets for festival events.