Alpena celebrates Independence Day
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg A huge bald eagle and Bigfoot are seen on the Northland Area Federal Credit Union float.
News File Photo of Minions marching in the 4th of July parade in Alpena.
File photo The Dinosaur Gardens float is seen in the Fourth of July parade in Alpena last year.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Jeanette Manning and family built a giant birthday cake made of sand for the Alpena News Sandcastle Contest in celebration of Manning’s 90th birthday. Manning is seen by the birthday cake in this photo.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Veterans lead the HPC Credit Union Fourth of July parade in Alpena.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Members of E-Free Church Alpena are seen with their float in the Fourth of July parade.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg A man on stilts entertains the crowd at the Fourth of July parade in Alpena.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Runners head for the finish line of the Dork Brothers 5K on Friday morning in Alpena.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Kids are pictured crossing the finish line of the mile fun run, which took place before the Dork Brothers 5K.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Runners take off at the start of the Dork Brothers 5K. The race started in front of the APlex.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg The rubber ducks are seen just as they hit the water for the 36th Annual Optimist Club of Alpena Rubber Duckie Race.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg A huge bald eagle and Bigfoot are seen on the Northland Area Federal Credit Union float.
News File Photo of Minions marching in the 4th of July parade in Alpena.
File photo The Dinosaur Gardens float is seen in the Fourth of July parade in Alpena last year.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Jeanette Manning and family built a giant birthday cake made of sand for the Alpena News Sandcastle Contest in celebration of Manning’s 90th birthday. Manning is seen by the birthday cake in this photo.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Veterans lead the HPC Credit Union Fourth of July parade in Alpena.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Members of E-Free Church Alpena are seen with their float in the Fourth of July parade.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg A man on stilts entertains the crowd at the Fourth of July parade in Alpena.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Runners head for the finish line of the Dork Brothers 5K on Friday morning in Alpena.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Kids are pictured crossing the finish line of the mile fun run, which took place before the Dork Brothers 5K.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Runners take off at the start of the Dork Brothers 5K. The race started in front of the APlex.
News Photo by Reagan Voetberg The rubber ducks are seen just as they hit the water for the 36th Annual Optimist Club of Alpena Rubber Duckie Race.
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ALPENA -- Independence Day festivities in Alpena started with a bang as runners in the Dork Brothers 5K took off at 9 a.m.
Prior to the 5K, the one-mile fun run gave kids the chance to race the clock and try for a personal best.
An unexpected hiccup affected some 5K runners as the 2nd Avenue Bridge opened mid-race, causing slower times for those that had to wait to cross.
Family and friends cheered on the runners as they crossed the finish line.
The HPC Credit Union Fourth of July parade began at 11 a.m. at the Alpena County Fairgrounds and wound its way through a crowd of onlookers down Chisholm Street then across the 2nd Avenue Bridge, finishing at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.
Children excitedly picked up candy thrown to them by parade marchers along Chisholm Street. People of all ages lined the street sitting in lawn chairs or on the curb, enjoying the variety of floats in this year's parade.
A group of veterans led the parade, marching with the American Flag and the Marine Corps League Alpena Detachment 1327 Flag.
The Alpena City Band followed on a float decorated with metallic red, white, and blue fringe.
Alpena Gymnastics girls proudly showed off their skills, performing cartwheels and walkovers while they marched.
One float featured Lady Liberty throwing out beach balls to the crowd.
A bunch of green grapes and purple grapes walked by with the Burrone Family Vineyard and Winery float.
A troop of yellow minions walked by tossing candy to the crowd, and a man on stilts leaned down to high-five a kid.
Bigfoot made an appearance in the back of a truck, which pulled a float carrying a large bald eagle wearing a stars and stripes top hat on the Northland Area Federal Credit Union float.
The Dinosaur Gardens float was decked out with a dinosaur behind bars and two blow-up dinosaur costumes.
The Alpena County Fairgrounds float featured two chickens roasting s’mores over a campfire.
Floats heading back to the fairgrounds after the parade passed over the bridge, receiving happy honks from vehicles heading the opposite direction.
The 36th Annual Optimist Club of Alpena Rubber Duckie Race was set to begin at the conclusion of the parade. The ducks were loaded into a tarp on the 9th Avenue bridge and dumped into the Thunder Bay River. Onlookers cheered for their duck to be the winner.
The wind got the better of the rubber duckies and they began to float backwards under the bridge.
Judging for The Alpena News Sandcastle Contest at Starlite Beach began at 3:30 p.m. Contestants built a variety of sculptures, including a giant birthday cake for Jeanette Manning's 90th birthday.
Some built more traditional castles, complete with moats. Other sculptures included a recreation of Kirby, a whale, and a dragon. One of the sculptures featured a live mermaid in the sand.
To view more photos of Fourth of July festivities, see the Lifestyles page on 7A, and a photo gallery online at TheAlpenaNews.com.