A parade, car show, arts and crafts, and the beach: Algoma hosts Shanty Days festival

ALGOMA - After a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Northeast Wisconsin's biggest annual community festivals to the Lake Michigan shoreline with this weekend's Shanty Days.

The 34th annual Shanty Days, also called a "Celebration of the Lake," is a three-day family-friendly festival set for Aug. 13 to 15. This year's theme is "Fun in the Sun," appropriate for an outdoor lakeshore festival that includes a large parade, a street fair and juried arts and crafts fair, a car cruise and show, beach volleyball, a superhero run, fireworks, food, music, games and more.

New this year is a cornhole tournament with two-person teams competing Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening next to the CTI Tent on the main festival grounds. The entry fee is $20 and cash prizes will be awarded for first through third places.

The main festival grounds are at American Legion Park, on Second Street between Fremont and Clark streets. A Kids' Area with bounce houses and other activities also will be on the grounds; a separate fee is required for admission.

The parade, which starts at noon on Saturday and claimed to be one of the largest in Wisconsin, features floats custom built to fit the festival theme, entertainment, clowns, candy and more. It runs from Washington Street and Parker Avenue to Fremont Street, then east to Fourth Street, north to Steele Street, east to Second Street, then south to the main grounds.

Preceding the parade at 11:30 a.m. Saturday is a car cruise that starts from Olson Fabrication on Perry Street and winds its way west into the country along County S before heading south on Willow Drive past Bruemmerville Park and picking up Fremont Street to head back into Algoma and join the parade route through the city, ending with a car show at the Algoma Youth Club.

The arts and crafts and street fairs both take place along Fremont Street during the day Saturday and Sunday, with the street fair on the two blocks east of Fourth Street and the arts fair on the two blocks west of it. A festival wristband is not needed for admission.

The coordinators of those two fairs are receiving special recognition, too. Shanty Days traditionally honors a local resident or residents who've made an impact on the city, and this year's honorees are Katie Brandt and Tina Lawrence, owners of The County Cupboard, a downtown gift shop on Fourth Street providing locally made items from foods to body care products to home goods. They've been an integral part of Shanty Days by coordinating both fairs for more than 10 years.

The annual Shanty Days 5K run/walk at 8 a.m. Saturday, followed at 9 a.m. by the Kids Superhero Fun Run.

Then, just south of the festival grounds, Crescent Beach gets to show off by hosting the annual Battle on the Beach volleyball tournament starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, featuring four- to six-person coed teams competing for cash prizes. A Junior Quads beach volleyball tournament starts at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Main Stage concerts on the festival grounds will be held all three days, featuring local and regional rock, country and polka bands such as Johnny Wad (8 p.m. Friday), The One and Only Billy Shears Band (4:30 p.m. Saturday), Annex (8 p.m. Saturday), the Mark Jirkovec Band (11 a.m. Sunday) and Spice (4:40 p.m. Sunday).

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Along with the music on the grounds, the Music on the Green concert at noon Sunday has the Algoma Community Band performing in memory of three band members who passed away this year: Carolyn Jorgenson, Patti LeBotte and John Koehn. Tom Mueller will be directing his last Algoma Community Band concert, and Richard Dorner, who played clarinet in the band for 19 years, will be recognized for his many years with the band.

The family-friendly fishing contest runs from Wednesday through Sunday morning.

Helping kick off the final day of the festival, Algoma Fire and Rescue hosts its pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to noon Sunday at the fire station, 400 Third St.

Wrapping up the festival is a fireworks show over Lake Michigan at dusk Sunday.

The main festival grounds for Shanty Days will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. A wristband good for the entire festival is required for admission for ages 12 and older; cost is $10 at the gate, $5 Sunday only; admission also is free from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Shanty Days is sponsored by the Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call 920-487-2041 or visit visitalgomawi.com/shanty-days; for updates, visit the "Shanty Days in Algoma" Facebook page.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: A parade, car show, arts and crafts, and the beach: Algoma hosts Shanty Days festival