Passengers wait to board a Pictured Rocks Cruises tour boat for a previous Yoopers Ride Free and Pictured Rocks Days event. This year’s event will be held Saturday and Sunday at Binsfeld Bayshore Park in downtown Munising. (Journal file photo)

MUNISING — Pictured Rocks Days festival — hosted by the Alger County Chamber of Commerce — is now in its seventh year.

The event will take place on Saturday and Sunday at Binsfeld Bayshore Park in downtown Munising. During the weekend, Pictured Rocks Cruises is hosting its annual free cruises to Upper Peninsula residents.

The Pictured Rocks Days festival, which started in 2013, has grown to more than 7,500 attendees from across the U.P., the Munising community and both international and domestic visitors.

Over the years, the Pictured Rocks Cruises has provided up to 3,000 free cruises over the weekend.

“Combining our efforts with Pictured Rocks Cruises has been a win-win,” said Kathy Reynolds, Alger County chamber executive director, in a news release. “The first year the cruises did a Yooper cruise free event and we here at the chamber thought, why not add a festival? While people are waiting for their cruise, or before or after their ride, they can enjoy the festival and we have something for people of all ages.”

What started out as people coming to Munising for a few hours has now blossomed into staying at least a day or more. According to the release, many of the people the chamber staff talks to are staying the whole weekend.

The festival now includes bands, a petting zoo, nature shows, vendors of all types, food, bounce houses and interpretive, demonstration and informational booths.

“In 2013 we started with 60 booths, last year we had over 100, and this year we expect the same if not more,” Reynolds said. “It is now the largest event in Munising, other than the July 4th celebration, and as far as vendor participation, it is the largest ever in Munising and Alger County and one of the larger festivals in the U.P.

“Year after year, the festival has been record-setting for Munising’s Binsfeld Bayshore Park. We started with a one-day event and after a couple of successful years, we expanded it to two days. Also, one of our biggest sponsors is the Munising Visitor’s Bureau and I can say without them, and the numerous other sponsors we have, this could not take place,” Reynolds said.

“Partnering up with a private business like the cruises, and support from local businesses, has made this a huge success. Not only has this event become a success because of collaboration, but we think a big part of Munising’s overall success is our collaborative efforts across the board.

“An event like this takes a lot of work, time and team effort. The neat thing to watch over the years is how this is now a staple event that people make vacation plans around and stay the whole weekend. Some people come for the free cruise, some for both the cruise and the festival and now some come for the festival alone.

“They not only enjoy the event, they also come to enjoy all the area has to offer, which is a lot.”

John Madigan, manager of Pictured Rocks Cruises, looks forward to the event and sees this as giving back to Upper Peninsula residents.

“Providing this free cruise weekend for Upper Peninsula residents gives people that may not otherwise take the cruise the opportunity to do so. It is neat to watch people that live here get to enjoy the cruise for the first time,” Madigan said in the release. “After our first year the chamber joined in with their festival, Pictured Rocks Days. Once that happened it drew even more people to Munising; whether they wanted to do the free cruise itself, go to the festival or do both. This combined effort with the chamber has made Munising a destination for that second weekend of every June.”

The largest sponsor of the event, the Munising Visitors Bureau, has watched the growth.

Cori Gerou-Cearly, president of the Munising Visitors Bureau, said: “Pictured Rocks Days is one of our community’s signature events and has something for everyone. Over the last seven years attendance has increased steadily, and the festival keeps growing and becoming more popular. What started out as a one-day event, with no accompanying festival, has grown due to the partnerships and collaboration in our community between the chamber, Pictured Rocks Cruises, the Munising Visitors Bureau, private business sponsorships and the Downtown Development Authority.

“We are proud to support this event and to have the collaborations that have helped this community’s tourism flourish. We thank the chamber and Pictured Rocks Cruises for their hard work and partnership.”

Weather permitting, the free cruises for U.P. residents will depart every hour on the hour from the Munising City Pier starting at 9 a.m. and running until 7 p.m. Tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis on Saturday and Sunday with a limit of 1,500 free tickets available per day.

In order to obtain a free ticket, you must present in person a photo ID with an Upper Peninsula address at the Pictured Rocks Cruises’ ticket office those days. A child must be accompanied by a parent in the ticket office to receive a ticket.

For more information about the free cruise, visit the website www.picturedrocks.com or call 800-650-2379.

For more information concerning Pictured Rocks Days festival events, call the Alger County Chamber of Commerce at 906-387-2138 or visit www.picturedrocksdays.com and its Facebook page for a schedule and event news updates. The festival hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.