The Alpena Flower Festival will begin on Thursday evening with the new Petal Pub Crawl, presented by Lakeshore Fiber. Participants can hop between 10 different downtown and taprooms and enjoy flower-themed cocktails and have a chance to win Flower Fest swag and Downtown Dollars with a poker run style card game.

At each stop, a person can pick a flower card and try to form the best possible poker hand. They can then swap out cards by purchasing a drink to attempt to improve their hand.

The event is slated to begin at 5 p.m. and end late Thursday night.

Anne Gentry, DDA executive director, said there will be no flower displays out yet on Thursday for the crawl, but displays will be out on Friday when the festival shifts into high gear, with much to do for the balance of the weekend.

Courtesy Photo Visitors to the Alpena Flower Festival will enjoy numerous floral displays, flower-themed activities, live music and more in downtown Alpena Thursday through Sunday.

She said there will be many events for people to enjoy, including plenty of live entertainment, a pottery demonstration, places for people to create their own bouquet of flowers, and a 5K. She said a complete list of events and times can be found on the Downtown Alpena website at downtownalpenami.com or its Facebook page.

This is the third year for the Flower Festival and Gentry said it has become more popular each year. She said she expects growth again this year and believes the event has the power to evolve into one of the most popular festivals in Michigan.

“Flower Festival is a celebration of all things flower and flower-related,” she said. “Thousands of cut flowers will be on display in elaborate displays all over the downtown and then there will be other interactive experiences and plenty of photo opportunities. We are really trying to make this a state-recognized festival because there is nothing else like it in the Midwest.”

A benefit from the growth of the festival is the increase local small businesses see when the people flood downtown to see the flowers and enjoy the events. She said several business owners told her that their most profitable days last year came during the Flower Festival. As a result, Gentry said, some businesses have planned for stand-alone events that run in conjunction with the festival.

“We definitely see more sales and more foot traffic, which are good things,” she said. “More businesses this year are hosting their own events, so it is really nice to see buy-in from the small businesses too.”

Gentry said those events will also be listed on the Downtown Alpena website.

The Flower Festival will also offer people a chance to finally visit the new Water Street Commons market downtown. The market, which features several small businesses in little cabins, is slated to open Friday.

Most of the events during the Flower Festival are free and it appears that Mother Nature is going to cooperate.

The local forecast for Thursday until Sunday shows that temperatures will be in the upper 60s and there is little chance of rain.