Courtesy Photo Miss Nautical Coast 2025 Peyton Gohl, left, poses with Teen Miss Moya Newman on Friday night at the Miss Nautical Coast Scholarship Pageant held at the Rogers City Theater.

ROGERS CITY — The Nautical City Festival is a time for family and friends to reconnect and for visitors to visit and enjoy Rogers City.

The annual festival is here, with a long list of events and activities for people to enjoy.

The festival officially kicked off on Friday with the annual Nautical Coast Scholarship Pageant, and it continues at 6 p.m. on Tuesday with the Sailors’ Memorial at the bandshell at Lakeside Park.

On Wednesday, the annual Kiddie Parade will be held at 6 p.m. and the carnival will be up and running from 6 to 10 p.m. A teen dance will be held at 7 p.m. in the big tent on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Jedi Mind Trip will play in the big tent, which will certainly be a highlight of the week, and on Friday, the bands Bobbing for Piranhas and High Speed will play rock and roll for the crowd in the tent.

On Saturday morning, Aug. 2, the men’s and women’s softball tournament will begin and extend into Sunday, Aug. 3, when the champions are crowned.

The annual Nautical City Festival Grand Parade will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3, and the festival is capped off with a fireworks show on the shore of Lake Huron at dusk.

Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan said the lineup of events is too long to list, but said this year’s festival promises to be one of the largest and he suspects residents and people from out of the area will be impressed with what that festival offers.

“We are pulling out all of the stops and this year there will be as much or more than other years,” McLennan said. “Whether it is the arts and crafts, parade, fireworks, shopping, softball, or just walking around and looking at the murals, there is something for everyone to partake in.”

McLennan said the big tent is always a popular destination where people can enjoy live music, bingo and other entertainment options. He said the tent is also a place where people who grew up in Rogers City but moved away return to spend time with their loved ones and celebrate festival week.

McLennan said the festival is also important for local businesses. He said since Rogers City was declared a Michigan Mainstreet Community, tourism has blossomed, and as strong as the tourism is throughout the year, McLennan said Nautical City Festival is far and away the peak tourist time for the city.

“It is the most important week of the year for our small businesses,” he said. “I have had business owners tell me that if it wasn’t for the Nautical Festival, and the business they get from it, they may not be able to stay open all year long. The festival is just amazing and amazing for our local economy.”

McLennan said a full list of events, with the dates and times, is available on the festival’s website at rogerscitynauticalcityfestival.com.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.