Your Summertime Guide to Outdoor Dining in Alpena

Posted on June 2nd, 2023

Summertime and the living’s easy in your Sanctuary of the Great Lakes! Nothing like relaxing on the patio with some good eats and a cold beverage, right? If you want to skip the effort and mess of cooking at home this summer, here are some great spots for outdoor dining in Alpena: Downtown Alpena…

Alpena – A Sanctuary of Dark Skies

Posted on April 17th, 2023

If we had to pick something off the Alpena bucket list that you should never miss, it would be our dark sky experience! In February 2016, three state parks in the Alpena area received dark sky designation. These sanctuaries are far away from the harsh effects of excessive artificial light pollution…

Michigan Maple Syrup: the Inside Scoop on a Backyard Production

Posted on April 5th, 2023

Michigan is blessed with an abundance of maple trees, and maple syrup is the first farm crop to be harvested in Michigan each year. The process of making maple syrup didn’t begin with pancakes, though. North American Indians used it both as food and as medicine. Early American settlers observ…

Everyone Is Irish On St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on March 14th, 2023

On March 17th, everyone is Irish! This week we will celebrate the annual tradition of St. Patrick’s Day and our Irish heritage by wearing green, drinking green beer, and eating corned beef and cabbage. But where did this all come from? The traditional Irish St. Patrick’s day feast consisted of pork a…

Road to Chippewa Hills Pathway by Steve Jakubcin

15 Things We Are Thankful For in Alpena, Sanctuary of the Great Lakes

Posted on November 23rd, 2022

With Thanksgiving approaching on Thursday, this is the perfect time to reflect on our lives over the past year and be grateful for what we have, what obstacles we have overcome, and for what the future may bring us. This Thanksgiving we wanted to share everything we are grateful for that Alpena has to…

Top Haunted Places and Urban Legends of Alpena

Posted on October 24th, 2022

A bump in the night, a whisper in your ear. Is it your imagination? Perhaps it’s the wind. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s something else. Hauntings, urban legends, and Native American folklore are cultural experiences that can be found all over the world. Alpena is no exception with a rich history that…

A Peek Inside the Posen Potato Festival

Posted on September 7th, 2022

Local Experience Writer Lara King gives readers an inside look at a familiar favorite in Northeast Michigan. Alpena’s neighbor to the Northwest, Posen, has been celebrating the local potato harvest in Northeast Michigan for 68 years. Generations of families have grown up learning how to dance th…

10 Must See Lake Huron Beaches in the Alpena Area

Posted on August 19th, 2022

Picture this: the “Big Lake” breeze dancing through your hair while blue waves lap at the golden sand under your feet. The air is warm and unsalted. Alpena is welcoming you! The coastal beaches of Alpena and surrounding areas are little gems. Gems tucked away in this Northeastern corn…

Preparing for the Perseids: Alpena’s Dark Skies

Posted on August 12th, 2022

Astrotourism is a growing trend, and with three state dark sky parks nearby, the Alpena area is an ideal destination for enjoying the cosmos. Rockport State Recreation Area, Thompson’s Harbor State Park, and Negwegon State Park all have sufficiently low enough levels of light pollution to be desi…

Griffin James and Bigfoot stand outside of Cedar & Threads

Sasquatch Spotted at Local Retailer Cedar & Threads!

Posted on April 1st, 2022

It’s been 9 long years since Sasquatch was last spotted in Downtown Alpena! It was during the Major League Fishing event sponsored by Jack Links and now it appears HE IS BACK! Word travels fast and the cryptid heard all about this local “hot spot” for bigfoot goods and apparel and h…