Everything you need to know about Boat Week 2023

Boat Week is Port Huron's biggest celebration of the summer, and festivalgoers will see all of their favorite staples, along with some changes they may enjoy.

Natacha Hayden, director of the Downtown Development Authority, said the Blue Water Fest layout once again changed this year now that the Quay Street parking lot next to the Zebra Lounge is no longer under construction.

"We did a public survey last year, and (more space) was one of the biggest pieces of feedback we got," Hayden said.

Hayden said the survey also indicated people wanted more food options, so there will be more food trucks for people to peruse.

Fun for the family

Blue Water Fest will be kicking off with the annual Rotary International Day Parade through downtown on Wednesday. The parade will start at 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Huron Avenue and Glenwood Avenue, continuing south through downtown and ending at Desmond Landing.

Operation Transformation is once again organizing Thursday's Family Night. The activities will be lined up on the lawn just north of the 10th Street Bridge. The free activities include a petting zoo, face painting, games and more. Family night takes place from 5 to 9 p.m.

The carnival will be placed in the lot west of the Blue Water Transit Center once again this year. It will be open at 5 p.m. Wednesday, 3 p.m. Thursday and noon on Friday and Saturday. Hayden said the minimum closing time is 9 p.m., but if people are still enjoying rides then it may stay open until midnight each night.

Closing out Thursday's activities will be the annual fireworks at Desmond Landing. They will be set off at dusk.

Food, street fair, social district and more

With the construction completed at the parking lot near the Zebra Lounge, activities at Blue Water Fest are a bit more spread out. Food trucks will be stationed along sections of McMorran Boulevard, Grand River Avenue and Quay Street.

The Blue Water Street Fair will be taking over Huron Avenue from 4 to 9 p.m. on Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Hayden said the fair will have about 80 vendors.

Certain sections of downtown will be closed for Boat Week. The closures will be located along Huron Avenue, from its intersections with Andrew Murphy Avenue and the Military Street Bridge; along McMorran Boulevard, from its intersections with Superior Mall and Huron Avenue; along Quay Street, from Grand River Avenue and Fort Street; a section of Grand River Avenue from Superior Mall to Michigan Street.

Hayden said the closures will be put in place at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will remain in place until Saturday morning.

Port Huron's social district allows adults to carry their cocktails within a boundary around downtown. The beverages must be placed into social district labeled cups before being taken out of the establishment it was purchased.

The social district includes Brass Rail Bar, Casey's, CityFlatsHotel, Lynch's, McMorran Place, Raven Cafe, Senor Tequila, Sperry's, Vintage Tavern and Wings Etc. Joining the social district this year is Bootlegger's Axe Co., which opened in May.

Another staple of Boat Week is Mannequins Making a Difference. The real-life mannequins will be modeling from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday on the Grand River Stage.

More information on how to vote for your favorite mannequin, the fundraising effort, participating businesses and sponsors can be found at www.facebook.com/MannequinsMakingADifference.

Friday night, endearingly dubbed Boat Night, is Blue Water Fest's last chance to party before the boat race on Saturday morning. Hayden said the Blue Water Street Fair will be in full swing with vendors from all over the state until 9 p.m. Also, traditional and carnival food trucks will be staged throughout the footprint, and live music be playing downtown.

"On Friday night, festivalgoers can expect to welcome all the boaters while enjoying great food, shopping, and lots of live music," she said.

Performances drawing a big crowd

Performances throughout the weekend will take place on five stages located at McMorran Boulevard, Grand River Avenue and Quay Street. Three of the stages will be along Quay Street.

Performance information can be found at www.thebluewaterfest.com.

All of the stage are free admission. However, the Boats and Boots stage, located along Quay Street, will have a VIP section requiring a purchased ticket in addition to its free, general admission. The VIP section includes a bar, designated bathrooms and allows people to be closer to the stage.

VIP tickets cost $30 and can be purchased under the music tab at www.thebluewaterfest.com.

What's new this year?

A few new things have popped up for Blue Water Fest this year. Blue Water Transit will be providing free shuttle services for the first time. Hayden said the shuttles will ease people's worries about finding a parking spot. Transportation will be available from 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursday and Friday.

Hayden said people can park their vehicles at Desmond Landing where the shuttle will then pick them up.

Royal-T Cakery will be hosting Blue Water Fest's first cannoli eating contest. Co-owner Bev Taylor said this will be a fun event for the community to enjoy.

"We're super excited to bring something fun that hasn't been done before," Taylor said. "We know we have the best cannoli, so we thought 'Why not?'"

The contest will take place at 3 p.m. Friday on the Grand River Stage. Taylor said competitors should pre-register for the contest by Thursday to ensure enough cannolis are made. People can register either through Royal-T Cakery's Facebook page or by picking up an application in the bakery, located at 2040 Holland Ave.

Boats, bagpipers and beer, oh my!

This year is the 99th annual Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race, hosted by the Bayview Yacht Club. The race will officially start at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, but people will be able to see the boats heading to the start on Lake Huron from the Black River starting at 9 a.m. Kevin Thomas, one of the organizers for the race, said there are more than 200 boats signed up as of July 5.

"This is the first time since 2020 that we've been above the 200 figure," he said. "We're pretty happy about that and it's a looking like a good sign for next year. There's a good chance we tap the 300s for the 100th race."

Like last year, the race will feature two courses: the Cove Island Course and the Shore Course. However, the finish line has been changed.

"We're going back to the more historic location off of Round Island Lighthouse," Thomas said.

Once again, bagpipers will be playing at the Port Huron Yacht Club to kick off the race. Commodore Tyson Connolly said they should start playing around 9 a.m.

"It is one of the most unique experiences in sailboat racing," he said.

Something new the yacht club will be doing will be setting off two Civil War era cannons to signal the start of the race and to commemorate the club's 100th anniversary.

The Port Huron Yacht Club will also have its beer tent open to the public on Thursday and Friday.

Griffin Claw Brewing Company will be sponsoring the race for the first time this year. On Saturday, the company will have people providing beer to spectators.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or (810) 292-0122.

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This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Boat Week 2023