Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: Blue Water Area Winter Holiday Parades

Two things we all must remember this time of the year. That is to not pout or cry. Why? Because Santa Claus is coming to town.

As we all know before he makes his rounds dropping off gifts to good little boy and girls on Christmas eve, he likes to check in to places before that to make sure everyone is behaving. Thanks to some connections we have at the North Pole, we're able to let you know when and where some of those stops will be in the Blue Water Area.

St. Nick's first stop will be in St. Clair on Friday, November 22th at 6pm. After riding his sleigh down S. Riverside Street in the parade, he'll be given the key to the city and then the tree at Palmer Park will be lit.

His next visit will be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, November 26th when he stops in to help ring in the excitement of the season during Marine City’s Lighted Santa Parade!  

The night after Thanksgiving, November 29th, Santa kicks off the official start of the holiday season in the city of Port Huron with a parade too. Following the city's parade, he'll throw the switch that lights the McMorran Christmas Tree and leads the crowd in singing holiday carols. 

Saint Nick gives his reindeer a night off on Wednesday, December 4th and arrives on the back of a decorated in lights antique tractor for Algonac's Santa Parade and Tree Lighting.

After a week back up at the North Pole he returns to the Blue Water Area to check on all the good girls and boys in Marysville on Saturday, December 7th at 5pm their annual parade. 

The jolly man in the red suit has a bit of a tight schedule on that Saturday because he's also part of Harbor Beach's Annual Lighted Christmas Parade which starts at 5:30 on Trescott St.

On Saturday, December 14th, you may not see reindeer in Lexington but you will see a lot of four-legged creatures into the spirit of the season at the Lexington Old Fashioned Christmas Horse Parade. It starts at 2pm.

To find out about all the things happening around the Blue Water Area during the holiday season check out our events page.

Labor Day Weekend in Michigan's ThumbCoast

Here we are at the end of August already. I know many of us are asking "Where did summer go?" Don't fret though, as there's always something happening in the Blue Water Area. 
Especially for Labor Day weekend which is this weekend. Check out some of the things going on.

Now in its 16th year, it is safe to say that ThumbFest has become a tradition in Lexington, Michigan.  The event highlights great local and regional musicians playing music, teaching workshops, and sitting in on jams. Bring your instrument (and maybe your lawn chair) and join in all the great music!

Find the full schedule at ThumbFest's Facebook page.

What started as a backyard party at a home in Fort Gratiot Township has now grown into a celebration at St. Clair County’s largest public park. The annual BlueChiliGrass Festival is at Goodells County Park on Sunday and Monday and will feature continuous music on 2 stages and a chili cook-off.

Before heading to BlueChiliGrass on Monday, why not Trek The Trestle? This five mile Labor Day event has been held annually since 2007. 

The walk starts at 9 am at the at the Avoca Road Trailhead in Downtown Avoca and crosses the 640ft. Mill Creek trestle, the longest bridge of its kind in the state of Michigan. The Trestle Trek is one of the Labor Day Community Walks that are held throughout the state in conjunction with the Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Walk. Community Walks help provide a similar experience to residents unable to participate in the annual walk across the Mighty Mac.

When you dip a chip do you like it mild? Or perhaps spicy is your thing.No matter your flavor preference this Saturday's Salsa Tasting in Harbor Beach has something to tantalize your taste buds from 11 in the morning to 2 pm. 

If browsing some art is your thing, the Blue Water Area has a couple shows that are just the thing for Labor Day weekend too.

Port Austin's Art In The Park will have many original artworks to look at and for sale for sale this Saturday and Sunday. 

A wide array of mediums including everything from watercolor, oil, acrylic and photography to decorative ironwork, stained and fused glass, gourd art and much more will be on display.

From one end of the Blue Water Area to the other the city of Algonac is holding its Annual Art Fair this Saturday and Sunday too. 

With the St. Clair River serving as a picturesque backdrop, the fair was started in 1972 and has continued ever since. With around 100 artists as well as entertainment for all ages this fair is a fine way to spend the day in the river flats region of the Blue Water Area. 

Just a quick ferry ride over from Algonac is Harsens Island. This weekend they'll be having days filled with family fun! The Harsens Island Lions Club Turkey Shoot includes parades, food and beer tent, live music, dancing, 50/50 drawings and daily raffles along with kids, teens and young adults games and activities. 

Find out more by visiting the Harsens Island Lions Club on Facebook.

Discover all the happenings around the Blue this month at our events page.

14 Great Beaches and Splash Pads In Michigan's ThumbCoast

Summer is upon us and cooling down from the heat is on the top of the list for families and kids.

Located in Michigan’s ThumbCoast, the Blue Water Area offers many public beaches to enjoy a day at the lake at. Along with them, there are several parks that feature splash pads too. Here are fourteen great beaches and splash pads to get in the water and to “Discover The Blue” of Michigan’s eastern shores.

St. Clair County

Clay Twp. Splash Park

Located on Pte Tremble Rd in Algonac, The Clay Township Splash Pad and Park sees a flurry of activity from the children on the playground and the water splash pad every summer.

Marine City Beach

Known as the farthest south sandy beach in St. Clair County, the Marine City Beach offers a barrier-free sidewalk, restrooms,  picnic tables, barbecue grills and shady, grassy areas to kick back and relax.

Marysville City Park & Chrysler Beach 

Marysville City Park offers many great amenities for a great summer day. Along with an extraordinary splash pad, the park also has plenty of shaded picnic areas as well as covered pavilions, several playground romps, baseball diamonds and fitness areas. Located directly across the street on the park's east side is Chrysler Beach. As one of the few sandy beaches along the St. Clair River, the location also boasts a gazebo that's a prime location for freighter watching.

Goodells County Park 

In the center of St. Clair County is Goodells County Park. It not only includes a splash pad for the kids to play in but also the location for the county's historical village, a farm museum which represents over 150 years of farming, a butterfly garden and many more things that promise a fun day in the outdoors.

Lighthouse Beach and Park

Right next to the Fort Gratiot Light Station is Port Huron's Lighthouse Park is one of the most historic places in the area. The beach touts over 900 feet of waterfront and beach on Lake Huron as well as a play area and many picnic spots under large trees.

Lakeside Beach Park and Splash Pad

On the clear waters of Lake Huron sits Lakeside Beach and Park in Port Huron. Boasting 1050 feet of water frontage with clean, sandy beaches, Lakeside includes lots of playground facilities, splash pad, picnic areas and restrooms are available. Beach volleyball is a popular activity and on the weekends there are lots of boats anchoring offshore.

Fort Gratiot County Park

Fort Gratiot County Park is located in the northern part of St. Clair County, just off M-25 on Metcalf Rd. This 30 acre park offers breathtaking views of Lake Huron and 852 feet of shoreline and beach. Facilities at the park include beach access, restrooms, wedding plaza, picnic areas as well as a children’s playground, Biggo Solo swing (ADA accessible) and close to a mile paved of walking trails.

Lakeport State Park

Lying along Lake Huron, Lakeport State Park provides southeast Michigan residents access to the Great Lakes. The park has two distinct units separated by the village of Lakeport. A total of 250 sites are divided between the two campgrounds.

Sanilac County 

Tierney Park

Sitting next to the Lexington State Harbor is Tierney Park, a public park with a beach on the shore of Lake Huron. This quaint park includes restrooms, a stage for music concerts, BBQs, picnic tables, volleyball court, swings and kids playscape. 

Lexington County Park

Nestled on 27 beautiful acres just 3 miles north of Lexington along M-25, the Lexington County Park offer not only a beach but electric or rustic campsites and a pavilion available to rent as well.

Forester Park 

6 miles north of Port Sanilac on M-25 along the scenic Lake Huron shoreline is Forester Park. Covering 68 acres the park offers a day-use area along rustic cabins, RV or tent camping.

Huron County

Lincoln Park & Trescott Pier

Sitting at the east end of Trescott Street in Harbor Beach is Lincoln Park. It has a nice sandy swimming beach, playground equipment, a picnic shelter, picnic tables, and restrooms.  A lengthy pier, called Trescott Street Pier, extends from the parking area, offering a scenic view of the lighthouse and Lake Huron.  A kayak can be launched from the north side of the park.

Bird Creek Park

Bird Creek Park is a seven acre day use park located in Port Austin. The first thing you notice at Bird Creek is the wooden boardwalk that goes halfway around the park along the beach with roofed picnic shelters overlooking the beach and the water. 

Port Crescent State Park

Situated on 600 acres, Port Austin's Port Crescent Park is located along 3 miles of shoreline on Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. Activities within the park include camping, hiking, swimming, canoeing, hunting, cross country skiing, bird watching, fishing, and picnicking.  There's a kayak launch site which is part of the Tip of the Thumb Heritage Water Trail.

Find out more about Michigan's ThumbCoast at bluewater.org

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.

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.

Rev It Up!: 2019 Blue Water Area Car Shows

So, you've got the motor running and heading out to the highway. Why not rev it up and head to one of the many classic car shows happening in the Blue Water Area this summer.

The season of shows kicks off in June with two cars in one weekend at Marysville City Park. On Saturday, June 8th, Rumble In The Park will feature hot rods, custom and muscle cars.

The next day the Past and its Wheels show will feature not only many un-modified and in stock condition rides but also quite a few Wills Sainte Claire cars. Wills built approximately 12,000 cars between 1921 and '26 at a factory in Marysville. There are only about 75 Wills Sainte Claire automobiles remaining in the entire world.

If you're a fan of bigger machines, check out the Harbor Beach Truck Show on Saturday, June 15th. The downtown streets of this ThumbCoast community are closed off and then lined with over 75 trucks ranging from semis to pickups and tankers to trailers. Along with the trucks of all sizes, there will be food, beverages, vendors and live music.

From trucks used for work to equipment for working in the field. Take a trip back to see how farming was done in earlier times at the Lexington Antique Tractor Show. Taking place behind Lexington’s A&W restaurant, tractors will stand shiny and tall for viewing for vintage farm equipment enthusiasts. It's happening on Saturday, June 15th.

The last weekend of June is a huge weekend for classic car enthusiasts from Michigan's ThumbCoast and beyond. Running from June 27th through the 30th, the Blue Water Cruise Weekend kicks off with a carnival at Birchwood Mall. 

On Friday, the 28th, the wheels will be in motion as the cars cruise 24th Avenue and Pine Grove. 

Get a closer look at many of the cars from the cruise on Saturday at the Keith Peterson Memorial Car Show. That evening, check out the fireworks display along 24th Ave.

The streets of Downtown Port Huron will be glimmering with high gloss and chrome on Saturday, July 27th. The Mainstreet Memories Car Show is a community-based, non-judged event that brings auto aficionados from all over the area to check the many sweet street machines.

What goes with summer and classic cars? Vintage campers of course. Saturday, July 27th is the day for the 11th annual Vintage Camper Show in Port Austin. Coordinated by the Tin Can Tourists, America's oldest trailer and motor coach club, this show brings antique trailers, some of them dating back to the 1930s to Port Crescent State Park. This year there will be over 100 trailers to celebrate our Michigan State Parks' 100th anniversary.

Wrapping up car show season in the Blue Water Area for the summer is The Rumble On The River. Held on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, this is a one day show that coincides with Algonac's annual art fair. It's one of many great ways to cap off summer adventures for both art lovers and car lovers in the Blue Water Area.

To find out more about these things to do and the plenty of others when you discover the blue, check out our events page here. 

Celebrating Hot Wheels and Harvest Time: What's happening this weekend in the Blue Water Area

He's got a star on his car and one on his chest. That's the way Junior Brown starts out his story of the highway patrol.

This weekend him and his "guit-steel" (a double-necked hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel guitar that he fashioned himself) will be telling that tale along with many other honk-tonk yarns when he headlines Marysville's Hot Wheels Weekend this Saturday.

Along with Junior on several other bands, there will be many cool old cars on display along with an appearance from Catherine Bach aka the Daisy Duke from the original Dukes Of Hazzard TV series.

On the 4th weekend of August every year the St. Clair County Farm Museum gives you a taste of Yesteryear. It is a celebration of American heritage and a salute to our forefathers and women that made America great. At the Harvest Festival, which runs from Friday through Sunday, this weekend antique tractors, equipment, hit and miss engines, homesteading and fashions from the era will be on display and the history of daily life will be relived.

Looking for your lost shaker salt? You may find it in Lexington this weekend as it is MargaritaFest time in the village. It great time to get tropical on Michigan's eastern shores.

If craft beer and fine wine are more of your thing, visit Algonac for a Sip of Summer this Saturday. The Waterfront Beer, Wine & Cocktail Festival will feature 100+ beers and wines from over 40 breweries and wineries from across the state and around the globe. Get tickets and more info here.

Next weekend marks not only the end of the month but Labor Day weekend as well. Amongst the things to do over that three day weekend include art shows in Algonac and Port Austin, Thumbfest in Lexington, the Harsens Island Turkey Shoot, Harbor Beach's SalsaFest, BlueChiliGrass in Goodells and the Trestle Trek. Find out about many of the things happening at our events page.

Pickerel and other picks for this coming weekend

If you're asking yourself "What to see? Where to go?" this coming weekend, check out what's happening in the Blue Water Area.

Presented by the Algonac Lions Club, the Algonac Pickerel Festival enters its 80th year in 2018 and is full of fun for the family the entire weekend.

Festivities kick off Wednesday with the start of the fishing tournament itself but along with a carnival midway that opens at 5pm that afternoon other activities, such as the Kids & Pet Parade and donut eating contest are on the slate for the day too. Thursday events include a magic show and a pie eating contest.

Things kick into high gear on the weekend at the Festival. Friday features live music tributes to Garth Brooks, Micheal Jackson and the Eagles throughout the evening and afternoon. Other events for the day include a horseshoe competition and a kids watermelon eating contest.

Saturday morning starts out with a 5k Run/Walk and a pancake breakfast. Day events include a duck race, a hot dog eating contest and a local talent show. One of the big favorites of the festival, the Antique Boat Parade is at 4pm. Live music in the evening includes Moving In Stereo (A tribute to the Cars) and Teddy Petty and the Refugees playing the hits of Tom Petty.

There will be fireworks on BOTH Friday and Saturday along the Algonac riverfront (weather permitting of course.)

To wrap things up on Sunday, there's a parade at 2pm and awards for the pickerel tournament at 6pm.

Click here to see the complete schedule for the 2018 Algonac Lions Club Pickerel Festival.

On Saturdays this summer you can tour the historical Harbor Beach Breakwater Lighthouse by taking the one mile from shore boat taxi ride between 9am and noon.

In Lexington this Saturday they'll be answering the question of "Who's Bad" when the ultimate Michael Jackson tribute band takes the stage at the Village Theater at 8pm.

The live stage scene in the Blue Water Area this weekend includes Rosie the Riveter at the Barn Theater in Port Sanilac, Port Huron's Citadel Stage presentation of the Odd Couple and Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Riverbank Theater in Marine City.

Looking toward next week, there are fireworks displays all over the Blue Water Area to celebrate the 4th of July and the Blue Water Sand Fest in Port Huron starts on July 6th.

Find out all the things that are happening at our events page.