Written by Kingsli Kraft | July 2, 2021

If you tuned in to Coffee with Kingsli this morning on Facebook Live, then you already heard some of these updates! We are posting them here as well to add all the appropriate links, photos and such for you to follow. If we hear about any additional events and happenings before 5:00 pm today (Friday) we’ll do our best to update this post!

Notable Fun Things Downtown During the Holiday Weekend

Live Music at The Black Sheep tonight and tomorrow night!

Alpena Street Performers tonight from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in Avery Park, Pocket Park and Culligan Plaza!

Live Music at Red Brick Tap & Barrel – Conor Larkin will be playing at Red Brick this evening from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm!

Coffee & Cars tomorrow, Saturday from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm

Red Brick Tap & Barrel – Party in the Park on the 4th of July starting at 11:00 am! Stop by and check this out before or after the parade. They will have a bar and kitchen set up outside in the park next to Red Brick on River Street with some cool street food and drinks with a DJ and yard games. They will also be open inside from 11-6 normally

The Fourth of July Parade: The 4th of July Parade through Alpena will take a different route this year. The parade will start at 1:00 pm this year due to the holiday being on a Sunday. It will kick off at Besser Company on Johnson Street, head to Oldfield Street and Ninth Avenue, before following Ninth Ave to Chisholm Street.- The parade will turn from Chisholm onto Second Avenue, head down Fletcher Street, and end at the parking lot by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. See the map below to pick your spot, the parade route is marked in blue.

4th of July Fireworks as usual! Watch from any of the great lakeshore spots, if you want to stick to downtown you can watch from the City of Alpena Boat Harbor area, or Bay View Park. They start once it gets dark out, usually around 10:00pm over the water towards the south end of town near Mich-e-ke-wis Park.

Businesses open on the Fourth of July/Open Special hours this weekend

These are some businesses that reached out to me to help spread the word about what their hours look like this weekend!

• The Rabbit Hole is open Friday, July 2nd, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm and Saturday, July 3rd from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm.
• Thunder Bay Winery is open regular hours, Saturday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm & Sunday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm so plenty of time to grab a little glass of wine before the parade starts or while the parade goes by.
• Regalo Luxury Gifts is open regular hours this weekend, so Saturday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
• Rusty Petunias Marketplace LLC & their Wine and Craft Beer Bar are open Saturday, July 3rd 10:00 am – 8:00 pm & Sunday, July 4th 11:00 am – 3:00 pm they are also a great spot for a pre-parade glass of wine or beer, you can take a relaxing moment to sit in their lounge area or sip while you browse the rest of the store.
• The Local Basket Case LLC – Alpena will be open 11:00 am – 3:00pm and later if needed! This might be great spot to grab a hoodie for the fireworks later (especially if you’re from out of town and you forgot your while packing!)
• Cabin Creek Coffee will be open for all of your pre-parade/pre-BBQ caffeine pick me ups 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Sweet Baby James will also be open from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm; stop in to shop for and with your happy little humans
• Downtown Scoops is open 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm for all of your parade and pre-fireworks ice cream needs!
• The Black Sheep will be open for food & drinks from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm!
• Cedar & Threads will be open on the Fourth from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Cedar & Threads is another excellent place to grab a hoodie before the fireworks if you forgot yours at home!
• The Bluebird Boutique will be open Saturday, July 3rd from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm & Sunday, July 4th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. (Alse where you can grab attire if you need to replace something!)
• The Style Wherehouse will be open tomorrow, July 3rd from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm & Sunday, July 4th from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm (another spot to grab attire if you can’t run home to replace something!)

Also I just want to remind everyone to please be patient and kind this weekend! So many businesses are understaffed, it’s probably going to be hot out too (which I don’t know about you, but it does prime me for grumpiness and irritability). Everywhere you go downtown will be busy so just remember that everyone is doing their best and you will be taken care of, a little patience goes a long ways and is so appreciated! So make sure you tip your servers, baristas, ice cream scoopers; hold the door open for a stranger, compliment someone on their star-spangled attire and just remember to be kind!

Stay cool, stay hydrated, wear your SPF, be kind and have fun this holiday weekend! Happy Fourth of July!

Kingsli Kraft wrote this article for Blog Downtown Alpena. Kingsli is an Alpena native and a graduate of the University of Michigan. She now works at the Alpena Downtown Development Authority as the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator. She volunteers on Thunder Bay Theatre’s Board of Directors and is a dedicated advocate for the arts and environment. She enjoys reading, writing, yoga, hiking, caring for her numerous house plants and all things coffee. You can follow her on Instagram here.