(WXYZ) — Soon, more than a hundred boats will be lining the Black River here, as the Blue Water Fest kicks off.
Watch the video report from Carli Petrus in the video player below
“We have a lot of things going on throughout the whole festival," said Lisa DeLong, one of Blue Water Fest's organizers with the City of Port Huron Downtown Development Authority.
Drawing in tens of thousands of people throughout the weekend, Lisa says the annual event has a little something for everyone.
“We have Blue Water street vendors, they start from Thursday and go until Saturday, we have a lot of food trucks coming, we have music," Lisa told me.
That music is live music, on seven different stages, according to marketing coordinator Jesse Sheldon.
“There’s laid-back acoustic, high-energy country, rock and pop, we have local favorites, we have cover bands, and we have national touring acts," Jesse said.
The boats, though, take the main stage.
“So we have 192 boats in the race this year," said Mike Davenport, the Port Huron Harbormaster.
The number of boats racing from Port Huron to Mackinac Island is down from last year, Mike tells me. But he says it's still a good challenge getting that many boats down the river.
“As you’ll see behind us, these are the 52-foot boats, where this is really the only spot they can go because of depth issues," Mike said. "Elsewhere on the Black River and in slips there’s only seven to 10 feet where the boats behind us require ten to twelve feet. So, there’s a lot of planning that goes into that, taking depths, knowing where these boats can fit.”
Small businesses anchored in the downtown area have also been planning for a while, as foot traffic increases around this time, according to Greg Whitican, the owner of Local Elite Treats.
“We as a downtown as a whole gather with all the businesses, and such we gather together months ahead of time to talk about this weekend," Greg said.
Whether people are grabbing an Ice Cream Cone from Whitican's shop, or a drink from Sadaat Hossain's Raven Cafe, these Port Huron business owners say they look forward to the fest every year.
“With the social district you can take those with you and stroll through downtown with them," Saddat said.
"Someone buys something, or if they’re out of town and they discover us, they may come back either in the fall or in the winter, or maybe next spring, so it’s huge for all of us downtown," Greg said.
“It’s an economic driver for us it bring people to our area, we’re right on the river, and we have the most beautiful area for blue water to be able to be here, the sailboats coming in," Lisa said. "It just creates a very unique vibe that a lot of other places don’t have.”
For more information about this year's Blue Water Fest, click here.
