USA's largest lighthouse festival set for Alpena, Michigan in October

Tuesday, 13 September 2011 06:11 Written by Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival

Light Stations & Lightships - Great Lakes

With fall fast approaching, travelers should be sure to add a visit to the 2011 Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival October 6-9. This is the 16th year the nation’s largest lighthouse festival has been held in Alpena, Mich. The mission of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival is “to promote the historic lighthouse and life-saving stations of the Great Lakes through educating the public about the restoration, preservation, history and life of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Stations” and have fun while doing it!

The four-day event provides activities for the young and old, including lighthouse tours by personal vehicles, a helicopter tour, or boat tour, entertainment, auctions, dining events, lighthouse exhibits, and shopping. The festival boasts more than 75 maritime-related vendors, including lighthouse preservation groups, artists, nautical crafters, photographers, and authors. This year’s featured guest speakers include Terry Pepper, executive director of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, national gold medal award winning photographer and author Larry Wright, and Sandy Bihn, president of the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Society, which operates the 2011 featured attraction, the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse.

The main site of activities is the Alpena Event Center, 701 Woodward Avenue, Alpena. Additional activities are held throughout the community, such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, located on the downtown Alpena riverfront. The Sanctuary hosts a number of maritime-related exhibits and a glass-bottom boat tour. North of Alpena, at the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival Museum, 7406 US 23 North, visitors will find exhibits related to local shipwrecks and lighthouse history. Visitors are also encouraged to stop by Stoney Acres Winery, 4268 Truckey Road, Alpena to purchase a bottle of this year’s featured lighthouse Toledo Harbor Lighthouse wine in a limited edition lighthouse bottle.

Along Lake Huron’s shoreline from Tawas City to Mackinaw City, lighthouses will be open for tours and visits. The volunteers of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival welcome families and individuals to visit and enjoy the maritime riches of the Great Lakes during this celebration. October has been declared by the State of Michigan as Lighthouse Awareness Month. For information on events, activities and reservations, visit www.lighthousefestival.org or contact festival coordinator, Melanie Kirn, mjk361@comcast.net, 586-566-1603.

Send your maritime festival news releases to contact@fyddeye.com.