The Alpena Downtown Development Authority, along with its many partners, has over time created a substantial calendar of events and seeks to add more it believes will be appealing to residents and people from out of town.

In the last several weeks alone, the DDA and local businesses hosted the Witches Night Out which is a tip of the witches’ hat to Halloween and a Day of the Dead celebrations.

For both events, many people who went downtown dressed up in costumes and visited local businesses, many of which had games, photo ops, and food and drink specials.

Anne Gentry, executive director of the DDA, said staff and partners are always tossing around ideas for events that they believe will be well received, and Witches Night Out and Day of the Dead are only two of them. She said other events, like the annual Flower Festival and Ice Festival, have become popular and well-attended. Gentry said having events throughout the entire calendar year is good for small businesses and gives people more to do.

News File Photo Stacy Rieger arranges a bouquet of flowers at one of the flower bars set up for the Flower Festival in Alpena earlier this year. Rieger staffed the bar for Classic Designs by Doreen Thomas.

“We’ve made a conscientious effort to organize events downtown that aren’t in the peak tourism season to bring people downtown and support downtown businesses year-round,” she said. “Earlier this year, we reviewed all our events we organized and looked at why we have them and see if they achieve our goals. This led us to remove the Chili Chowder Cook-off and focus our efforts on new events like Day of the Dead or the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebration. Both of these new events are at times of the year when business typically slows down. We also are prioritizing events that have strong buy-in from downtown businesses, as well as the help of partners, to bring them to life.”

Gentry said during specific events, the DDA tries to incorporate activities for kids and families. She said often there are arts and crafts booths, games, and other fun things to do.

Some of the events geared toward families include the Trunk or Treat and downtown trick-or-treating event, the annual holiday parade, and more.

Gentry said the downtown businesses have been very receptive to events and come up with unique promotions and deals during them to motivate customers into their stores. She said the buy-in from business owners is key to making all of the events successful.

“These events not only increase the quality of life for residents but strengthen downtown businesses by driving sales during slower months,” she said. “For example, during our Flower Festival this year, we had four businesses downtown report they had their best sales day ever on the Saturday of the festival. You can’t argue these events are economic drivers downtown.”

Courtesy Photo A large, lighted spider web hung over the alley in downtown Alpena last month during the Witches Night Out event.

Earlier this year, the DDA expanded its social district. It now extends further down 2nd Avenue and down Chisholm Street to the George Washington Bridge. Gentry said she hopes to hold events in other areas of the downtown and that the businesses in that area of the district rally to help with them.

“We hope to have more events in the expanded district, but ultimately it depends on participation from those businesses,” she said. “All our events are open to DDA businesses to participate in, and we’ve already seen businesses in the expanded area participate and benefit from them, especially our larger events like Flower Festival.”

Another new event hosted by the DDA and its partners is the new Sunrise Side New Year’s Eve celebration. The event is still in the works, but there will be live entertainment downtown, and businesses that serve food and drinks will be open.

Gentry said currently, there isn’t a large New Year’s Eve celebration in the region and she expects this will be a hit with many.

She said more details about the New Year’s Eve party will be released in the coming weeks.

Courtesy Photo The Witches Night Out event in Alpena last month lured many women to the downtown for fun, games, and deals. Many of them dressed up as witches and often posed together for photos.

News File Photo An artist from Ice Creations creates an ice throne at Culligan Plaza during the Alpena Ice Fest in Alpena in February. Ice Fest is one of a host of new events the Alpena Downtown Development Authority and its partners have hosted.