Lighthouse, Maritime Festival set in Port Clinton
PORT CLINTON — The Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy’s annual Lighthouse and Maritime Festival, being held Saturday at Waterworks Park, is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet.
Added to the bill this year will be a Plein Air Art Show sponsored by the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council, as well as Port Clinton’s first-ever Antique and Classic Wooden Boat Show, featuring more than a dozen classic small craft. In addition, this year’s festival will feature live music, events for the kids, nautical merchandise vendors, tasty food, demonstrations, historical talks, and free tours of Port Clinton’s historic 126-year-old pier light. The festival runs from 10:45 a.m. until 5 p.m.; admission is free.
The festival kicks off with an opening ceremony featuring the presentation of colors by the Coast Guard Auxiliary, a rendering of the national anthem by Rosemary Schram, after which Mayor Mike Snider will introduce U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur who will deliver the keynote address.
John Davenport to pay tribute to John Prine
Musical entertainment will be provided by John Davenport, with a tribute to the late singer/songwriter John Prine, and by the Ottawa County Bluegrass Band, a perennial local favorite. To satisfy hungry appetites, the Rotary Club Perch Wagon will again be on hand, as well as the Gaucho and the Gringo, and X-Treme Cuisine.
An "Arts & Craft Tent," sponsored by Lilly and Gert's, will be there for kids to engage in painting and crafts, and a scavenger hunt. For the adults there is the "Speaker's Tent" where John Gibson will speak on the topic of Prohibition, Bob Reynolds will narrate a video recounting the "Voyage of the Onward," and Conservancy President will give a history of the Port Clinton Light Station. Throughout the day, training docents will guide visitors through the historic lighthouse at no charge.
Local artists will again be competing to produce the best portrait of the lighthouse, with the winner receiving a $100 cash prize. The winning painting will be featured on next year’s festival poster.
Models of lighthouse to be raffled off
The conservancy will hold a raffle, awarding the winning ticketholders a beautiful model of the Port Clinton Lighthouse, a signed Ben Richmond lighthouse print, a lighthouse floor mat, and other items. The owner of the boat selected as “Best in Show” at the antique boat show also will receive a model of the Port Clinton Lighthouse.
The lighthouse festival is put on by the Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy, which restored, owns, and operates the Port Clinton Lighthouse, which was in operation on the west pier at the mouth of the Portage River from 1896 until 1952.
The Conservancy created the festival as a fundraiser for the lighthouse and as a way of showcasing both the historic structure and the rich maritime history of Port Clinton. The festival, which has not been held since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is held on the third Saturday in August to coincide with International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, which honors lighthouses around the world and radio operators who make communications with the various light stations possible.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Lighthouse, Maritime Festival to be held Saturday in Port Clinton
