News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena’s Christmas stands tall at Culligan Plaza on Tuesday, but it will be the focus of the community on Friday, when the lights on it will come to life during the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The lighting will take place after the Bolenz Holiday Parade.

ALPENA — Thanksgiving is just around the corner which marks the unofficial beginning of the holiday season for many community members. There are many opportunities this Thanksgiving weekend to kick-start the festivities and even an opportunity to see Santa.

Bolenz Holiday Parade

The annual Bolenz Holiday Parade will take place in Alpena at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and will feature floats built by community members and local businesses. Following the parade, the tree lighting ceremony will take place at the newly renovated Culligan Plaza.

Alisha Bouchard told The News that the parade will begin at the Annex building parking lot, which is located at the corner of Chisholm Street and Ninth Avenue.

The parade will turn left onto Second Avenue, then right onto Water Street, and will end in the parking lot behind City Hall.

Bouchard added that the parade usually lasts 45 minutes, and since there are 45 floats this year, the parade will likely take that amount of time to complete its route.

She said that as always, the chamber is excited to see what kind of floats the community brings to the event on Friday.

“We are just looking forward to everyone’s fun themes they came up with,” Bouchard said. “It should be a great time.”

Tree lighting at Culligan Plaza

Following the parade, Mayor Cindy Johnson invites the community to join her, and the robotics teams from Alpena Public Schools and Alpena Community College, for the tree lighting at Culligan Plaza.

Johnson told The News on Nov. 21 that she chose the two robotic teams to lead the tree lighting because of their sportsmanship and leadership at the 2025 Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) World Championship this past June.

She said that both teams “represented Alpena with so much grace and dignity.”

This year’s tree lighting marks the first tree lighting at the renovated Culligan Plaza. The Department of Public Works (DPW) has been hard at work this month decorating the city and preparing downtown for holiday festivities.

Holiday Market downtown

Community members looking to start Christmas shopping should also consider checking out Water Street Commons and the downtown businesses for deals. Alpena Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is hosting a Holiday Market grand opening for their new vendors at Water Street Commons.

Vendors will be open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For the rest of December, vendors will be open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.