In Downtown Alpena we have a full calendar of events year round. From shopping events to our Chili Chowder Cook-off to Friday Night Street Performers to Visits with Santa, there are numerous events each season to enjoy. Explore what might be going on downtown during your visit (no matter if you're coming from down the street or across the country!) by clicking the buttons below.
Fall Events
Chili Chowder Cook-offPostponed Fall 2021
Every fall, the DDA hosts its annual Chili Chowder cook off! An average of a dozen contestants from around the region compete in several categories from Best Chili or Chowder to Most Spirit Booth. The Chili Chowder Cook-Off is proudly a zero waste event with the help of our volunteers. Due to staffing changes at the DDA, staffing challenges for our restaurants and rising COVID cases, the Chili Chowder Cook-off has been postponed for Fall 2021. You can read the full press release regarding the postponement here. |
Bard at the BarCancelled Fall 2021
Bard at the Bar is a Shakespearean-Themed Bar Crawl hosted by the Alpena DDA and Thunder Bay Theatre (TBT). Professional actors and actresses from TBT's core company perform various scenes from Shakespeare's works at downtown bars and restaurants. Bard at the Bar is postponed indefinitely as Thunder Bay Theatre seeks to renovate and repair their building following the 2020 fire at the neighboring John A. Lau. For more information about TBT, visit their website. |
Flannel Fun NightJoin us for a cozy night of shopping downtown at Flannel Fun Night on Friday, October 1 from 5-8 pm! Wear your favorite flannel and shop your favorite participating stores, restaurants, and businesses for deals, specials. or just to see what's new! Learn more at the Facebook event by clicking here.
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Downtown Trick-or-TreatingCome trick-or-treating in Downtown Alpena at participating stores and businesses on Friday, October 29, 2021 from 5-7 pm! View participating businesses and more information by clicking here.
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Winter Events
Bolenz Jewelry Holiday Parade + Downtown Tree Lighting Friday, November 26, 2021 | 5:30 pm
The holiday season kicks off each year with the annual Holiday Parade through Downtown Alpena and the tree lighting ceremony and arrival of Santa in Culligan Plaza after the parade is finished . The annual Holiday Parade is held the evening on the Friday after Thanksgiving and is sponsored by Bolenz Jewelry. Learn more at the Alpena Area Chamber's website here. |
Visit With Santa DowntownDates to be announced
Each year, Santa spends a bit of time in his cottage in Downtown Alpena. He usually visits a few Saturdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas and is aided by his elves, who occasionally bring cookies and hot cocoa to share with the families that visit. When we have official dates from Santa and his Head Elf for his 2021 visit, we will post them here in the Fall. |
Holiday Virtual Shopping NightDuring Virtual Shopping Nights, each participating merchant will go live on their own Facebook Page for fifteen minutes. During their fifteen minutes, merchants may showcase and sell their products and services, give a tour of their store, share a little bit of their story, give demonstrations of a product, or anything else they would like to share.
Dates for 2021 coming soon! |
Small Business SaturdaySmall Business Saturday is a national shopping holiday that is celebrated the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Small Business Saturday was created to encourage people to shop local and support small, family owned businesses over corporations when they do their holiday shopping. This holiday season we would like to encourage you to take advantage of Small Business Saturday and support our downtown businesses when you're shopping for gifts.
Small Business Saturday is November 27th, 2021. |
Jingle Bell Crawl
The Jingle Bell Crawl is a multi-merchant shopping event held around the holidays in early to mid December. We coordinate and collaborate with our wonderful Downtown Merchants to host this holiday shopping event where each business will have a fun and festive sale, promotion or giveaway.
Spring Events
Small Business Showcase
The Small Business Showcase is a week-long celebration of small businesses downtown during National Small Business Week, usually in early May customers can enter to win a collaborative downtown prize basket at participating downtown locations.
Spring Fever ShoptacularThe Spring Fever Shoptacular is our Spring shopping event that we host in collaboration with downtown merchants once the weather starts to shift towards spring in late March. Official participating businesses and details about the event will be available in 2022.
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Chalk It Up!Chalk It Up is a free-flowing, fun event for all ages where we invite the community to come downtown and add some color to our sidewalks with chalk!
In 2020, we started this event as way for people to come together in a socially distanced way outdoors to create a little art. In 2021 we are working on expanding the event and hosting it in the spring, rather than the fall. This year's Chalk It Up has been cancelled due to weather and will resume in 2022. Participants can create some chalk art in Culligan Plaza, Avery Park and on Water Street. Some chalk will be provided. |
Summer Events
Sidewalk SalesEach summer we work with our Downtown Merchants to collaborate and coordinate Sidewalk Sales. Sidewalk Sales are usually held the second weekend of the Brown Trout Festival.
Annual Sidewalk Sales were held Thursday, July 15th through Saturday, July 17th, 2021. This year we introduced the Fishing for Downtown Dollars promotion! We do intend to continue the Fishing for Downtown Dollars Promotion in the summer 2022 and will have official dates for Downtown Sidewalk Sales in Spring 2022.
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Friday Night Street PerformersOn Friday nights throughout the summer, street performers are scattered all over Downtown Alpena offering live music from blues to jazz to country.
Downtown Street Performers kick off on Friday, May 28th, 2021 and run all summer long, weather permitting. You can tune in to Live Music from local musicians and bands in Avery Park, Culligan Plaza and Pocket Park from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
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Coffee and CarsCoffee and Cars is a casual event for those who own classic cars and want to get out and enjoy Downtown Alpena on Saturday mornings with others that share their interests. To participate as a car collector, you just have to drive your classic or collectible car downtown and park anywhere within the district. Then grab a coffee from Cabin Creek or Biggby and hang out downtown, walk around to find the other cars, duck into a few stores to do some shopping, or just enjoy your coffee on a picnic table in Culligan Plaza or along Second Ave.
This year, Coffee and Cars kicks off Saturday, June 5th, 2021 and continues every Saturday* morning from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, all summer through Labor Day. 
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Alpena Blues FestivalAs part of a new collaboration between the Alpena Blues Coalition, The Fresh Palate and the Alpena DDA, the Alpena Blues Festival has moved to Downtown Alpena! In addition to live blues performances, the Fresh Palate hosts a Michigan Craft Spirits Tent.
The 17th Annual Alpena Blues Festival went forward this year in Downtown Alpena on June 19th, 2021! Stay up to date on the latest news about the Alpena Blues Fest and their 2022 show by following their Facebook Page. The Alpena Blues Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2003, committed to pursuing, preserving, and presenting music, The Blues in particular, in support of educational and charitable purposes. The coalition is a 100% volunteer organization. 100% of the support received through sponsorship and the festival are used to produce the festival and support their causes.
Above Photos by Irving Entertainment
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Back to School Shopping EventUsually held one or two Saturdays before the first day of school for Alpena Public Schools, the Back to School Shopping event is hosted in collaboration with our Downtown Merchants to encourage you to shop for those back-to-school essentials locally. Participating merchants often have sales & deals, backpack giveaways and more! Some merchants also be collect donations to support local teachers in purchasing teacher supplies! Stay tuned for an announcement for this event in summer 2022. |
Fresh Waves: The Downtown Mural ProjectIn 2019, the DDA launched a new arts initiative to bring more murals and public art downtown. The first year, Aaron Golbeck and Chad Bolsinger painted a mural at Family Enterprise, located at 211 S. Second Avenue. Each year the location of the mural will change and be selected by the DDA's Marketing & Promotion Committee.
In 2020, two murals were painted at Salon 125 located at 125 E. Chisholm St by artist Mark Piotrowski of MARKedARTs and Thunder Bay Theatre's warehouse located at 131 E. Fletcher St by artist Britt Flood. Usually a celebratory event follows the painting of the murals where the community can meet the artists, grab a drink or food and listen to some music. The murals for Fresh Waves 2021 are currently being painted on free-standing structures at the entrance to the City of Alpena Boat Harbor on Harbor Drive. Learn more about this year's Fresh Waves installation and the Downtown Mural Project overall by clicking the button below. |
