86th Annual Algonac Pike Fishing Tournament Will Provide Entertainment for All – The Voice

The 86th annual pike tournament hosted by the Algonac Lions Club will be held July 3-7 in Algonac.

The Pickerel Tournament will feature activities and events for all ages, including a funfair and beer tent, parades, competitions, entertainment, fireworks and much more.

Fishing contest registration opens at 8 a.m. July 3-6, with daily fishing prizes awarded July 3-5 and winners announced July 6.

Pickerel Tournament events will begin at 5:30 p.m. on July 3 with the Children's Parade in downtown Algonac. Registration will take place at 5 p.m. in the parking lot at 401 Chemin Pointe Tremble.

Dwayne Hrynyk, marketing director and social media chairman for the Algonac Lions Club, said the children's parade will start at the Woodside Bible Church parking lot, wind through the town's back roads and end at the carnival tent at Smith Recreation Park. He estimated the parade sees between 110 and 120 children each year.

Once the parade reaches the carnival tent, Mayor Rocky Gillis and members of the Algonac City Council will officially kick off the pike tournament from the main stage, Hrynyk said.

Each participant in the children's parade will receive a raffle ticket. After the festival opens, the Pickerel Tournament Queen's Court, consisting of five candidates, will be introduced and each candidate will then choose two of the raffle tickets so that 10 prizes will be awarded to the parade participants.

There will also be a donut eating competition on the main stage at that time.

On July 4, a celebrity dunk tank will take place near the main stage at 3 p.m. and a watermelon eating contest will take place on the main stage at 6:30 p.m.

Voting for Pickerel Tournament Queen will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. on July 4, and the Pickerel Tournament Queen crowning will take place at 8 p.m. on the main stage. This year’s queen candidates are Avery Baker, Audrey Beindit, Kileigh Bell, Grace Mann and Sarah Valdivia.

On July 5th, the fireworks will take place at 10 p.m., with the rain date being July 6th.

July 6 will begin with a children's fishing tournament at 8 a.m., with prize giving at 11 a.m. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., parade registration will take place at the Lions Club Hall and the parade will begin at noon on M-29.

Hrynyk, who is the parade chairman, said there were about 75 to 80 entries in this year's parade and the Michigan Festival and Events Association ranked the Pickerel Tournament parade as the No. 1 parade. largest and most entertaining in St. Clair County.

“Let me tell you, we have the best of the best artists this year,” he said. “It's going to be a fabulous show.”

He said the parade will include the Keystone Cops, the Shriners, the Detroit Fire Department clown squad, fife and drum bands, musical floats, the Rosie Riveters and more.

Following the parade, a family fun day at the Smiths Recreation Park carnival tent will take place from 1pm to 4pm, featuring free pizza and refreshments, as well as clowns, a juggler, face painting, a stilt walker and balloon animals.

Additionally, on the main stage there will be an adults-only hot dog eating contest at 5 p.m., and at 6 p.m. the off-road vehicle raffle will take place and the fishing tournament and winners cutest babies and animals will be announced.

On July 7, the annual Algonac Pickerel Run 5K walk/run will take place at 8 a.m. on the boardwalk. Participants are encouraged to wear red, white and blue, and medals will be awarded to all runners upon completion. Registration is available at runsignup.com/race/mi/algonac/algonacpickerelrun.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a car show will be held at Riverfront Park, with registration at 7:30 a.m. There will be dashboard plaques for the first 150 cars, a Class of 1986 award, a Queens Choice award and a Kids Choice award. There will also be door prizes and a brawl at noon. Dashboard plaques and other prizes are courtesy of LifeCare Chiropractic.

The cost of admission is $15 per vehicle. For more information, call 810-794-5000.

During the race and car show, the Algonac Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary Annual Pancake Breakfast will be held under the beer tent and will serve pancakes, French toast, eggs and sausage. The event begins at 8 a.m. and will last while supplies last. Donations will be accepted.

At 10 a.m., the Brian Cuthbertson Memorial Antique and Classic Boat Parade, sponsored by the Algonac-Clay Historical Society, will begin at Pearl Beach Pier behind the Johnnie Lega Restaurant and Tavern and end at the ACHS Community Museum on a course of 2.7 miles.

The public will have the best viewing opportunities at the pier, Riverfront Park and the ACHS Community Museum, a flyer for the event states. Registered boats will be assigned numbers displayed on their windshields and spectators will be able to download the list of registered parade boats along with vessel information at achsboatparade.org.

At noon, bingo will return with a bingo fundraiser hosted by the Marine City Maritime Days committee in the festival tent. Cards will go on sale at 11 a.m. The cost for 10 games will be $10, or cards can be purchased individually.

Hrynyk said organizers have received many requests to bring back bingo, so it will be brought back for a trial run this year.

Several events will take place throughout the weekend, including under the beer tent. Beer tent entertainment will include DJ Pete's Beats on July 3, Under Pressure on July 4, 86 Noodles on July 5 and headliner Parallel Fifth on July 6.

“There’s a really good lineup of bands this year,” Hyrnyk said.

Daily 50/50 draws will take place July 3-6.

The carnival amusement park will also be open from July 3 to 6. It will close at 6 p.m. on July 6 if the fireworks take place on July 5. If the fireworks show takes place on July 6 due to a delay, the theme park will close at 11 p.m. It will not be open on July 7.

Hyrnyk said nearly 35,000 people participated in the Pickerel tournament last year and the event went off without a hitch. He noted that this year's event has better security and planning and should also go off without a hitch.

“The Algonac Lions would like to thank the Town of Algonac, Algonac (Department of Public Works), the Algonac Fire Department and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office,” Hyrnyk said. “Without them, we would not be able to host this pike tournament. They play a big role in this pike tournament.”

For more information, visit algonaclionsclub.com or facebook.com/algonaclionsclub.