Fairs, Festivals are Returning in a Big Way

People are returning in a big way to to festivals a fairs. It's like "busting out" since COVID-19 took over the country. Everything was cancelled and it was tough to say the least.

Fox17 reported that since mid-May every festival, fair, and event held within the state has broken revenue records set in 2019. Even with staffing shortages and long lines,  most people are excited about the return of traditions like the National Cherry Festival, the Venetian Festival, and the Brown Trout Festival, the Ionia Free Fair, and now the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven!

Ionia Free Fair organizers believe this year’s festival brought in a record number of people.

Coast Guard Festival, which usually attracts 350,000 visitors, started on Friday and organizers expect attendance levels to near their averages.

With the COVID19 variant, what kind of safety procedures with the Coast Guard Festival take? The festival installed hand-sanitizing and washing stations and set up contactless ticketing to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, but expects this year’s event to be similar to years past, with concerts and a carnival among the planned activities.

The Michigan Festival and Events Association estimates 36 million people attend 800 statewide events each year, with the majority taking place in the summer. That  added  $1 billion to the state’s economy in 2018, and that's a healthy chunk of change.

That means may folks that would not normally be at a festival, fair, or event, are spending money at the restaurants, the bars, the gift shops, at the ice cream parlors, and that's great for Michigan!