ALPENA –Led by the Color Guard and Parade Grand Marshal Thomas Kaminski, 91-year-old Korean War veteran, Alpena’s Performance Locker Independence Day Parade kicked off the communitywide Independence Day celebrations on Thursday.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Alpena,”Casey Stutzman, parade director, said in a news release. “People have so much fun with their floats and parade entries and this year was no exception.”

Nearly 80 floats and hundreds of participants paraded from the Alpena County Fairgrounds to the Thunder Bay Maritime Festival. The judge’s booth was again placed at the Alpena Furniture and Flooring parking lot on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Fletcher Street.

Judges were Bradley Przeslawski, Matt Muszynski, and Mary Beth Stutzman.

Hare are the parade winners:

Commercial Division:

1st Place: Northland Area Federal Credit Union

2nd Place: Dinosaur Gardens

Non-Commercial Division:

1st Place: Thunder Bay Folk Festival

2nd Place: 4D 2nd Street Dance Studio

Best Interpretation of Secondary Theme (Alpena’s Lumber Era):

1st Place: Shipwreck Alley Rollers

2nd Place: Pesky Paws

Winners can pick up their awards at Performance Locker, located inside Mich-E-ke-wis Park, any time after Monday, July 8.