Here's everything to know about this year's Boat Week

That time has come once again for Boat Week, Port Huron's largest summer celebration.

Downtown Development Authority Director Natacha Hayden said Port Huron is a huge boating community and that Boat Week has always been a draw for the area. She said the festival has a significant economic impact on Port Huron.

And Hayden said the 100th Bayview Mackinac Race is expected to draw a huge crowd to the area.

"We're a large boating community and to have the largest sailboat race in our backyard is such an honor," she said.

Hayden said Port Huron expected 60,000 people coming to the area for last year's Boat Week. She said downtown is expecting similar numbers, if not more for this year.

Once again, Blue Water Transit will be providing free shuttle services from 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursday and Friday of Boat Week. The shuttles will run from Desmond Landing to the Blue Water Area Transit Center at McMorran.

The full scope of Boat Week activities, as well as full details on the 100th Bayview Mackinac Race, can be found at www.thebluewaterfest.com .

Fun for the whole family

Like always, the Port Huron Rotary Parade will be kicking off Boat Week at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. This year's parade theme is "All Hands On Deck- A Century of Sailing." The route will begin at Huron and Glenwood avenues, continue through downtown, then turn at Court Street before disbanding at Desmond Landing.

Operation Transformation will be offering free family activities from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday on the lawn nearby the 10th Street Bridge. Family Night activities include a petting zoo, bounce house, live music, carnival games and much more.

New to Boat Week is the Fun Zone, which will be taking place on Thursday and Friday. Hayden said the Fun Zone is like an extension of Operation Transformation's Family Night and is replacing the traditional carnival.

"Our surveys from last year showed that the community wasn't satisfied with the carnival," Hayden said. "But the demand for family-friendly activities also increased. We wanted to ensure families had multiple places they could enjoy themselves."

The Fun Zone will be located at McMorran and will have activities such as face painting, jugglers, magicians, a Lego station, yard games and more.

Drone show, street fair, social district and more

Boat Week will not be having a firework show this year. Instead, there will be a drone show with the theme of Port Huron and boats. Hayden said the actual formations during the drone show will be a surprise for everyone, including herself.

Hayden said Boat Week organizers wanted to try something different this year, especially because the 100th Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race will be happening on Saturday.

"We wanted to ensure a different, unique experience," she said.

The drone show is sponsored by Moses Roses and the designs for the show are by Firefly Drone Shows. The show will begin at 10 p.m. and will be viewable from Desmond Landing.

The Boat Week Street Fair will encompass two blocks of Huron Avenue in downtown Port Huron. Street closures will be located along Huron Avenue, from its intersections at 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.

Over 80 local and Michigan-based vendors will be present at the street fair. The Blue Water Street Fair will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. New this year, however, is that the street fair will be extended in to Saturday.

Hayden said this is to keep the celebration going during the race.

"With there being a record number of boats leaving on Saturday morning, we're also expecting a lot of people downtown at the same time," she said.

The street fair will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Port Huron's social district allows people carry their drinks within a certain boundary around downtown. These drinks are marked within a specialist social district cup from the establishment they were purchased.

The social district includes Bootlegger's Axe Co., Brass Rail Bar, Casey's, CityFlatsHotel, Lynch's, McMorran Place, Raven Cafe, Senor Tequila, Sperry's, Vintage Tavern and Wings Etc. New additions to the social district include Belle River Winery, the Foundry, Mooncursers and the Wrigley Center.

Mannequins Making a Difference has moved locations this year and will now be stationed at the Military Street Bridge. Hayden said the move in location will give the mannequins more space.

The live mannequins can be seen modeling from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. More information on how to vote for your favorite mannequins, the fundraising effort and participating businesses and sponsors can be found at www.facebook.com/MannequinsMakingADifference .

Friday night, also known as Boat Night, is festivalgoers last chance to check out the boats before they sail off on Saturday morning. In previous years, it was the last chance to take in most festivities, but that has changed slightly with the street fair now expanding in Saturday.

"I believe the reason behind calling Friday, the Boat Night is simply because it is a night to come to downtown Port Huron and look at all the boats before they sail away on Saturday," Hayden said.

Finally on Saturday morning, people can have an all-you-can-eat breakfast with the Kiwanis Club of the Blue Water Area while they watch the boats leave Port Huron. Breakfast will take place from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. dockside underneath the Huntington State Bank in downtown Port Huron.

Music acts everyone can enjoy

There are five performance stages for Boat Week this year, with one located at McMorran and the others placed along Quay Street. All performance stages are free admission.

More information on the music acts and where they will perform can be found at www.thebluewaterfest.com/music/ .

While all stages have free admission, the Boats and Boots stage will have a VIP area that include a bar and bathrooms, as well as closer proximity to the performance. VIP tickets start at $30 and can be purchased on the Blue Water Fest website.

100 years of boat races

The 100th Bayview Mackinac Race will be taking place at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. This year's race will see 334 boats, a record number since the race's inception. Race Chairman Charlie Trost said that number is a huge accomplishment, as the previous record was set in 1985 with 316 boats.

Trost said reaching the 100th race just shows the longevity and support of the sailing community.

"It just speaks volumes," he said. "The 100th year only happens once, and we want to make it special."

This year's race will be following the original course created in 1925, which will take boats north along the shoreline before heading west, passing south of Bois Blanc Island and finishing west to east at the finish line between Round Island and Mackinac Island. This course is 204 nautical miles.

Like previous years, the race will kick off to the sound of bagpipes from the Port Huron Yacht Club.

This year, Bayview partnered with Peanuts to celebrate the race's 100th anniversary and Peanuts' 50th anniversary. Sailors will receive special shirts with Snoopy and Woodstock to commemorate the race.

Sailors will also receive participation medallions. This year's winner will also receive champagne.

Port Huron Yacht Club Commodore Doug Lowe said the club is extremely excited for the 100th race because it has been involved with the race since the beginning. As a way to commemorate that history, the Port Huron Yacht Club donated a Bayview Race Program from the first race to the Port Huron Museum.

Detroit Liquid Ventures is this year's beer sponsor, and it has created a special 100th anniversary beer to celebrate. The first 300 boats that registered for the race will be receiving some of the beer.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Here's everything to know about this year's Boat Week