Parties At The Beach: What's happening this week in the Blue Water Area

Michigan's ThumbCoast has two big beach parties happening this week. Both of them serve up a unique kind of fun that only the eastern shores of Michigan can offer.

Photo by Dale Merrill

Now in its 7th year, The Blue Water SandFest is Michigan's first and only Master sand sculpting and Advanced Amateur competition/festival. For 3 days the grounds of the Fort Gratiot Light Station will see extraordinary sculptures crafted from sand and water that will dazzle and impress visitors to the site.

Voted one of the 10 Best festivals of its sort by USA Today, the Blue Water Sand Fest is much more than just checking out the impressive works of art. There will be an eclectic array of live music throughout the weekend, hands-on sculpting lessons, tours of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse and much more.

The Blue Water Sandfest is July 12th through the 14th.

A city with Beach in its very name can't have a summer pass without having a beach party, right? From July 11th through the 14th, Harbor Beach does just that with their annual Maritime Festival. 

Among the things happening at the Martime Festival this year include a ton of live music, beach bocce and volleyball tournaments, frog jumping and hot dog eating contests, fireworks on Saturday night and jet ski races.

Other things happening this weekend in the Blue Water Area include the Port Sanilac Garden Club's Extraordinary Walk through Farms, Fields & Flowers and Led Zeppelin tribute act ZOSO at the Lexington Village Theater.

Looking towards next week, the St. Clair County 4-H Fair at Goodells County Park starts on July 15th and Port Huron's Blue Water Fest kicks off on July 17th with the Rotary Parade.

Find out all the happenings at our events page.

Red, White and the Blue Water Area: Celebrating Independence Day Weekend in Michigan's ThumbCoast

The 4th of July celebrations will be plentiful this week. Picnics and parties are on many agendas to celebrate. Two of the main things that people look forward to during the holiday are fireworks displays and parades. Many of Blue Water Area communities will be having both.

Thursday, July 4th, Port Austin starts off with floats and pageantry with a parade at 1pm. At dusk, families and friends will gather at Bird Creek County Park, Veterans Waterfront Park, Port Austin State Harbor and along the shoreline to watch the fireworks.

St. Clair invites you to grab and blanket or lawn chair and sit down along their newly renovated boardwalk on the evening of the 4th around dusk. That's when their fireworks happen over the river too.

Algonac will be having fireworks on July 5th as part of their annual Pickerel Tournament and Festival which runs from the 3rd through the 7th.

Lexington is celebrating Independence Day on the 5th & 6th with fireworks down along the harbor on Friday Night. On Saturday morning, there will be a parade. Saturday evening, The Invasion bring the sounds of the 1960s to Tierney Park.

Just a ten-minute drive north from Lexington is Port Sanilac. They're having fireworks on Saturday night.

Looking towards next week, The Harbor Beach Maritime Festival is happening July 11-14. The "party on the beach" will feature live music entertainment, dancing, a pet parade, a Bocce Ball tournament, kids’ inflatables, concessions, and fireworks over the harbor and much more.

The Blue Water SandFest comes to the grounds of the Fort Gratiot Light Station in Port Huron from July 12th through the 14th. Now in its 7th year, Sandfest is Michigan’s first and only master sand sculpting and advanced amateur competition and festival. Each year, SandFest brings more and more people from all around to see the sculptures, listen to live music and much more.

Along the beautiful St. Clair riverfront, many classic cars and trucks will be on display throughout the day at the Annual River Classic Car Show on Saturday, the 13th.

The middle of July also brings the St. Clair County 4-H Fair to Goodells July 15th-20th.  

The Blue Water Fest and Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race from July 17th through the 20th.

Find out more about these and the many other summer events happening around the Blue Water Area at our events page.

Hot Cars, Classic Rock and Cool Art : What's Happening This Weekend in the Blue Water Area

School's out and the sun is shining. Time to get out, explore and discover. This weekend, there's plenty to see and do when you Discover The Blue.

Car enthusiasts from all around the area are getting revved up to be in Fort Gratiot as it is time for Blue Water Cruise Weekend. Festivities start Thursday with a carnival at the Birchwood Mall. On Friday evening many sets of wheels will be showing off their shine along 24th Avenue in Fort Gratiot and north Port Huron's main drag.

The show of chrome and high-gloss continues into Saturday the 29nd with the Keith Peterson Memorial Car Show at the Birchwood Mall during the day and fireworks in the evening.  To see the full schedule of events, check out the Blue Water Cruise Weekend website.

Now in its 48th year, the St Clair Art Fair is one of the oldest art fairs on this side of the state. This weekend there will be over 120 artists located throughout the Riverview Plaza and Palmer Park along the St. Clair River. Find out more about the artists participating here.

Starting this Saturday and then on each one through August 4th, you can catch the boat taxi and take the one mile ride out to tour the Harbor Beach lighthouse.

This Saturday, The Sanilac Consortium for the Arts and Sanilac County Historic Village & Museum will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Woodstock with the grooviest festival in the Thumb. Singing The 60's will feature local musicians celebrating the songs of Woodstock and the 1960’s in four performance areas. There will also be a vintage car show, arts & crafts vendors, a hippie drum circle, children's area, craft beer and great eats. 

Looking towards the Independence Day weekend, Algonac hosts their annual Pickerel Festival. For fireworks, Port Austin and St. Clair will have them on July 4th, Lexington and Algonac on the 5th and Port Sanilac on the 6th.

Find out all the things that are happening in Michigan's ThumbCoast at our events page.

School's out and it’s time to explore: What's happening this weekend in the Blue Water Area

School's out and it’s time to explore. This weekend there's plenty to see and do when you Discover The Blue.

The weekend kicks off with bargains to be found in Downtown Port Huron on Friday. Just like the good ol' days, merchants on the city's main street will be having sidewalk sales from 10am to 5pm! Many businesses will be participating so put on your walking shoes and head downtown!

Classic and vintage boat enthusiasts are invited to come see "Where it all began" in Algonac this weekend. The annual Algonac Antique and Classic Boat Show starts Friday and runs through the weekend.

Michigan’s ThumbCoast will be filled with music on Friday evening. Darrin Hagel & The Burning Love Band pay tribute to the King Of Rock-n-Roll at the plaza in St Clair and Michigan’s premier Bob Seger Tribute Band, KatMandu, bring the old time rock-n-roll to Lexington’s Tierney Park.

Sips and nip are on the agenda in St. Clair on Saturday. The 5th Annual St. Clair Chamber of Commerce St. Clair Beer & Wine Fest starts at 4:30pm.

Saturday will be a great day to take a walk around Port Austin. Especially if you're a music fan. The 4th Annual Port Austin Porch Fest is a casual gathering that gives visitors a chance to hear a wide variety of music, take a stroll, maybe grab a bite to eat and check out the beauty that the tip of Michigan's Thumb has to offer.

Also in Port Austin this weekend is the Sea Kayak Symposium. This event focuses on paddlers with day touring and touring kayaks.  The instructors and coaches are hand selected to provide the students with fun, safe classes to develop long-term paddlers.

If you prefer to pedaling over paddling, why not ramble this Sunday? The 38th annual Blue Water Ramble is a bicycle tour of the beautiful Blue Water Area region with  27, 46, 63 and 100 mile route options available.

Other things happening this weekend include Emerson Drive at the Lexington Village Theater and Moonlight & Magnolias at the Snug in Marine City.

Looking towards next weekend, there's the Blue Water Cruise in Fort Gratiot and the St. Clair Art Fair.

Find out more about the many of the things to see and do in Michigan's ThumbCoast at our website.

Mid June Happenings in the Blue Water Area

From antique tractors and trucks to summer craft fairs, Michigan's ThumbCoast offers a myriad of things to see and for the weekend of June 14-16th.

Kicking off this Thursday and running through the weekend, Summerfest is happening in Marysville. Featuring a full carnival midway with dozens of rides and games, a petting zoo, beer tent, live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, the festival concludes with fireworks Sunday at dusk. Find out more about Summerfest at their website.

This Saturday, trucks of all ages and sizes will be lining the downtown streets of Harbor Beach. Along with them and many exhibits, The Harbor Beach Truck Show will have inflatables and face painting for the kids and there will be live bands playing country music through the day. At dusk, there will be a lighted Truck Parade. See the full schedule here.

In Lexington on Saturday, work vehicles of a different sort will be on display. The Antique & Vintage Tractor show will be happening from 10am-5pm behind the A&W on Main Street.

Also in Lexington this Saturday and Sunday is the Lakeside Craft Show in the village's Tierney Park.  Over 100 artisans from around the country take part in this annual event and exhibits will include metal sculptures, stained glass, handmade leather purses, garden crafts, paintings, hand-made dolls, marine photography, candles, jewelry and more.

Other things happening around the Blue Water Area this weekend include the Skatepark Summer Jam in St Clair, Kid's Day at the Port Austin Farmers Market, Motown tribute group The Persuasion Band at Lexington Village Theater and the Snug Theatre in Marine City presents Moonlight & Magnolias.

Upcoming events later June in the Blue Water Area include Porch Fest in Port Austin, St. Clair's Beer & Wine Festival On The River, The Blue Water Cruise Weekend Celebration in Fort Gratiot and the St. Clair Art Fair.

Find out more about the many of the things to see and do in Michigan's ThumbCoast at our website.