Attractions, events, entertainment venues, recreational opportunities, and sports programs and teams in the City of Alpena, Michigan are the focus of topics in this guide.
This may include museums, historical places, libraries, theaters, and art galleries within the city, but it may also feature parks, bowling alleys, arcades, and amusement centers, as well as recreational centers, or sports programs, whether operated through the city, school district, community organization, or as a private, for-profit business.
Websites representing concerts, fairs, festivals, or other events within the city may be found here, too.
For example, the Alpena Events Complex (APlex) may be used as a wedding venue or as a conference center, but it also features four indoor tennis courts and four pickleball courts, as well as a full pro shop, sauna, and fitness center, and APlex is used for a variety of community events, craft shows, volleyball, karate, and gymnastics.
Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is situated on an eight-acre campus in Alpena and features thousands of historical artifacts of local significance, houses a full-dome planetarium, and a two-story Foucault pendulum. Visitors to the museum can also experience an 1890s Avenue of Shops, as well as a Historic Village with five original structures, each more than a century old.
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary protects nationally significant collections of Great Lakes shipwrecks, with nearly a hundred shipwrecks discovered within the sanctuary. While the Marine Sanctuary is not enclosed entirely within the city, Alpena is the largest city within its area, and it serves as the headquarters for the sanctuary, and its Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center is located in Alpena.
Regularly scheduled two-hour shipwreck cruises are offered to a wide variety of groups and individuals, and flexible private charter tours may be available in May, June, September, and October.
Thunder Bay Theatre is a year-round, non-profit theater group offering productions, as well as educational opportunities in theater. Additionally, the Alpena Civic Theatre has been active since the 1950s and, through the years, thousands of people have been involved with ACT in one way or another, and the theatre group offers open auditions.
Thunder Bown Lanes offers regular bowling, bumper bowling, league play, and open bowling, while Northern Lights Arena features two NHL-sized ice rinks within one building, with seating for 1,200, and in-rink concession stand, private locker rooms, and a rubberized walking or running track.
There are also several sports programs, some operated through Alpena Public Schools, and others through various non-profit community organizations, such as Thunder Bay Soccer Association.
The city is also home to several annual, regularly scheduled, or occasional events, such as the Michigan Brown Trout Festival, Summer Concerts in the Park, and The Reel Fun, an ice-fishing tournament, as well as arts and crafts shows, and many others.
Things to do and places to go in Alpena, Michigan are the focus of this category.
Recommended Resources
Representing the athletics programs of Alpena Public Schools, the site highlights the district’s junior varsity and varsity programs, most of which are identified as the Alpena Wildcats, including boys and girls sports for the fall, winter, and spring seasons. A calendar of events is published to the site, and viewers can sign up to receive alerts. Wildcat staff contacts are posted, along with announcements, camps and clinics, directions, photos, and videos.
https://alpenaathletics.com/
Created in 1956, the ACT is an amateur theater group and a member of the Community Theatre Association of Michigan. Staffed and produced by volunteers, the group holds open auditions. A schedule of upcoming shows is presented, and currently playing productions are highlighted, with showtimes, box office information, seating charts, and online ticket sales, including the advantages of purchasing season tickets. Photos of past productions are displayed.
http://www.alpenacivictheater.com/
APlex is capable of accommodating up to 650 people for banquet functions, and features five large rooms, and may be available for weddings, holiday parties, conferences, concerts, and other events. It also includes a fitness center, an indoor tennis center, beach volleyball, table tennis, and two pickleball courts. The facility also hosts a karate club, gymnastics classes, ballet, and yoga, as well as art exhibits and craft shows. A gallery of photographs is presented.
https://www.aplex.org/
Affiliated with the U.S. Figure Skating Association, the Alpena Figure Skating Club is a non-profit organization created to promote the sport of figure skating, encouraging the instruction, practice, and advancement of its members in freestyle, moves in the field, and dance, as well as basic skill classes, and group lessons for skaters at all levels. Its organizational structure is outlined, the board of directors is acknowledged, and its annual ice show is highlighted.
http://www.alpenafigureskatingclub.org/
Offering regularly scheduled seasonal two-hour tours of shipwreck sites, as well as specialized tours, and flexible private charter tours in May, June, September, and October, tickets may be purchased online or at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center Museum gift store in Alpena, Michigan. Tour schedules, fares, charters, and school tours are featured, and a gallery of attractions that might be seen during the tour, or in the immediate area, are included.
http://www.alpenashipwrecktours.com/
Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan
Situated on an eight-acre campus in Alpena, the museum includes a 42,000 square-foot facility with more than 47,000 artifacts of historical significance to the city and surrounding area, as well as a full-dome planetarium, and the ability to dig and keep Devonian period fossils found in its outdoor Lafarge Fossil Park exhibit. These and several other features are highlighted here, along with membership information, and a schedule of shows in its Sky Theater.
https://www.bessermuseum.org/
First held in 1975, the annual ten-day festival is held on the waters of Thunder Bay in Alpena, Michigan. The freshwater fishing event features several different fishing tournaments, including the Lafarge Super Tournament, the Jack Daniels Ladies Classic, the Walleye Extravaganza, and others. Those who are not participating in tournament competition may still be eligible for daily prizes for the largest fish caught. Fishing schedules, entry forms, and rules are posted.
https://www.browntroutfestival.com/
Offering two official NHL-sized ice rinks within one building, the ice skating and hockey arena has seating for 1,200, an in-rink concession stand, eight large, private locker rooms, and an eighth-mile rubberized track for running or walking. Managed by Multi-Purpose Arena Coalition, the arena is used by a variety of hockey teams, skating clubs, and other organizations. A calendar of events, sponsorship opportunities, tournament schedules, and tournament registrations are included.
https://www.northernlightsarena.com/
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve are a US marine sanctuary in Thunder Bay, on Lake Huron. Headquartered in Alpena, Michigan, it protects more than a hundred historic shipwrecks. Directions to the sanctuary visitor center are posted, its educational and resource-protection services are defined, and the shipwrecks of the Thunder Bay region are highlighted.
https://thunderbay.noaa.gov/
Thunder Bay Soccer Association
The youth soccer league hosts Alpena FC Travel Teams and TBSA Recreational Teams, utilizing two home fields: the East Campus Fields, which can host up to ten fields, and is the primary home field for its Recreational programs, and the Woodward Avenue Fields, which are home to both the Travel and Recreational teams. Team information is provided, along with parent information, instructional videos, conduct and policy information, and an overview of the facilities.
https://www.thunderbaysoccer.com/
The year-round non-profit theater company in Alpena, Michigan strives to provide consistent, high-quality productions and educational opportunities through a professional core company, augmented by community talent. Its board of directors, employment opportunities, and audition instructions are put forth, along with a season schedule, special events, and ticket information, including the online purchase of individual tickets, children’s production tickets, season tickets, and group discounts.
https://www.thunderbaytheatre.com/
The bowling facility in Alpena, Michigan offers general bowling, as well as league bowling, bumper bowling, a dining facility specializing in burgers, pizza, and fries, and a pub with drinks, pool tables, shuffleboard, big-screen television, and music. Bowlers may sign up to join a league, with a variety of leagues to choose from, and a variety of bowling tournaments are hosted throughout the year, as well as youth recreation bowling for 5-12 year-olds. Hours and contacts are posted.
https://thunderbowlinc.com/
