Jacksonport Hosts Annual Maifest

Parade goers pet a passing horse at last year’s Maifest parade. Photo by Len Villano.

A weekend of fun and excitement will take place in Jacksonport over Memorial Day for the 41st annual Maifest celebration, May 25 and 26. Since 1973, the community has hosted Door County’s unofficial summer kick off festival at Lakeside Park.

New this year, helicopter rides will offer visitors exhilarating aerial views of Jacksonport and the Lake Michigan coastline. The rides will take off and land at the lot on Highway 57 across from Bley’s Grocery. Other event highlights include a juried arts and crafts fair beginning at 9 am both days, live music, the Maifest 10K and 2-mile Fun Run, and the Frontier Farmers Horse Pull.

The popular Maifest parade begins its 41st running at 10:30 am on Saturday and will run through Jacksonport along Hwy 57. This year’s honorary parade marshals are longtime Maifest volunteers Dean and Cheryl Larson. Both have been involved for many years with working and helping to coordinate the Maifest brat stand operation. They are proud to be the third generation in Dean’s family to be parade marshals at Maifest. Dean’s parents, Pete and Marlene Larson, and his grandparents, Emanuel and Eleanor Miller, were also Maifest parade marshals.

Immediately following the parade, a presentation of the flag by V.F.W. Post 3088 will take place in Lakeside Park. A Maypole dancing ceremony will take place at noon in the park as well.

The Maifest Family Midway in Lakeside Park will be open for fun starting at 11:30 am on both days and will feature a variety of fun inflatable activities and a variety of games. On Saturday, the Midway will also feature pony rides by the 4-H Horse & Pony Project.

Live entertainment will include a performance by Jerry Voelker & His Jolly Gents beginning at noon on Saturday. On Sunday, the performance tent will showcase the music of the Modern Day Drifters from 11 am – 3 pm.

A trombone player performs patriotic songs in recognition of Memorial Day during last year’s Maifest parade. Photo by Len Villano.

Plenty of great food and beverages will be available throughout the weekend. The concession stand in Lakeside Park will offer homemade brats from Bley’s Grocery in Jacksonport along with hot dogs, a corn roast, snacks and cold drinks. The Jacksonport Women’s Club food stand, also in Lakeside Park, will offer kolaches, funnel cake, cookies, pie, ice cream, popcorn and beverages.

The Maifest co-ed softball tournament will be held at the town ballpark on County V, a block west of Lakeside Park. Games will begin on Saturday morning and run until a champion is crowned. Food and refreshments will be available at the ballpark throughout the tournament.

On Sunday morning all are welcome to lace up their running shoes for the 30th annual Maifest 10K (6.2 miles) and 2-mile Fun Run/Walk. The race begins at 9 am in Lakeside Park and takes runners and walkers through the woods and out to Clarks Lake and back on scenic Lakeshore Road and Cave Point Drive. Racers can register on Sunday morning from 7 – 8:30 am at the concession stand in Lakeside Park.

The Frontier Farmers Horse Pull will take place at the ballpark on County V, one block from Lakeside Park, on Sunday afternoon. The festivities begin at noon with the singing of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” followed by a 4-H Horse and Pony Drill Team performance and a special trick-roping exhibition by Chewy, a local Door County resident known for his amazing cowboy rope tricks.

The main event, the Frontier Farmers Horse Pull, will begin at 1 pm. Horse teams from around the Midwest will compete to see which team of two draft horses can pull the heaviest load in this classic match-up of horse power and team cooperation.

The Jacksonport Advancement Corporation, a non-profit organization working for the betterment of the community, sponsors Maifest.

For more information about Maifest, visit jacksonport.org/manifest/.