We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.Alpena County Fairgrounds is a company that operates in the Recreational Facilities and Services industry. It employs 1-5 people and has $0M-$1M of revenue. The company is headquartered in Alpena, Michigan.Read More
Alpena County Fairgrounds is a company that operates in the Recreational Facilities and Services industry. It employs 1-5 people and has $0M-$1M of revenue. The company is headquartered in Alpena, Michigan…. Read MoreAlpena County Fair is held each year at the fairgrounds located along 11th Avenue in Alpena, Michigan. First held in 1874, it is a family-friendly and fun-filled event that offers plenty of activities and entertainment for the attendees. The fair features livestock, poultry, horse shows, demonstrations, monster trucks, truck & tractor pulls, pageants, commercial vendors, amusement rides, and more. In 2023, the eight-day Alpena County Fair will be held from August 12 to August 19.
Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quentin Tyler, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.
MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential.Attendees are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item to donate at the gate, as part of the Alpena Blues Coalition’s mission to stamp out hunger in our community. All donated food will go to local food programs to feed those in need.
“He plays some great blues, and he’s got a little bit of a rock element into some of his songs, too,” Hickok said, adding that he has a blues rock and classic rock style at the same time. “He fits in very well. He’s very popular up here.”
Courtesy Photo Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers, from Columbus, Ohio, will be the last of five bands playing at the 19th Annual Alpena Blues Festival on Saturday, June 17.“All five bands that we’re having have been there before, so they’re all back by popular demand,” said Ed Hickok, president of the Alpena Blues Coalition. “They all love coming here. We love them, they love us, and what could be better?” Tickets are $30 per person, which covers the entire day of music. Children 12 and younger will get in for free, and active-duty military members will be admitted for free, with military ID. For more information about the musicians, and to purchase tickets to the festival, visit alpenablues.org. Tickets are also available at Fitzpatrick Hardware, Jimmie Garant’s Party Store, and Emery Enterprises, all in Alpena.“It gives them an appreciation for it,” Hickok said of why they want to teach youngsters about the roots of the music they listen to. “It spawns an interest in music. They say, ‘Wow! I didn’t know that!’ It’s a neat interest they can develop … and by doing this, it creates an enthusiasm … It’s just a little spark.”
“Wayne is a master at collaborating with people he finds in the music business,” Hickok said of Wayne Kendziorski, A.K.A. Way Out Wayne, who will play with Val Ventro, who moved up north from the Detroit area. “They are going to be our local band.”He added that one of the bands that will perform at this year’s festival, The Smokin’ 45s, came up here in 2007 to put on the first Blues in the Schools program.“Broken Arrow Blues Band, they’re definitely a power trio,” Hickok said, adding that they played at the festival downtown a few years back with Cee Cee Collins. “They’ve been here a lot … They just play straight-up rockin’ blues … Their guitar player is to die for.”
“When we have sufficient profits, and we accumulate those profits, we provide a blues artist to go into the schools and put on a little mini concert and explain to the students in the schools about the roots of the blues music, and how it came up, and how all music sprung from blues and gospel,” Hickok said. “It’s been a very interesting program and successful program for the kids. They seem to really latch onto it and enjoy it.”
Bands include local favorite Way Out Wayne and the Neck Benders, featuring Val Ventro; The Smokin’ 45s, from Detroit; Downriver Dan, from Detroit; Broken Arrow Blues Band, from Brighton; and Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers, from Columbus, Ohio.
“Ray Fuller is the guitarist and singer,” Hickok said of the headliner. “He’s an international star, he really is. He’s played all over, mostly in Europe … He plays all over heck in the States, too … He plays slide guitar.”
“The old-style blues,” he said. “Just down and dirty blues, that’s them. They’re a five-piece. Four of the five guys sing, three play lead guitar, one plays bass guitar, and one plays drums. That’s a lot of music, and they come right at ya.”
We are located on the beautiful Thunder Bay River and have 37 acres of scenic shoreline where you can enjoy camping, fishing, biking, and wildfowl sanctuary.
