FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio -- The annual Fairport Mardi Gras delighted thousands of festivalgoers over four days, celebrating its 82nd year with numerous activities and events.
The festival, featuring a Christmas in July theme, kicked off on July 3 and concluded on July 6 with a spectacular fireworks display.
After the event wrapped up, the Fairport Mardi Gras Committee posted a video of the fireworks on Facebook and thanked the community for a successful and fun festival.
“That’s a wrap,” the Facebook post read. “Thank you all for a wonderful Christmas in July!”
That’s a wrap! Thank you all for a wondeful Christmas in July! We’re sorry we couldn’t live stream the fireworks like usual, but there were so many people that we couldn’t get service! Here’s a behind the scenes video of the finale for you!
Posted by Fairport Mardi Gras on Saturday, July 6, 2024
The 2024 Mardi Gras took place daily from 1 to 11 p.m. at Fairport Harbor Beach Park. Dozens of vendors, rides, and games filled the streets and parking lot near the beach, where festival attendees could swim, relax, and enjoy fair food.
In addition to the fireworks display, the festival featured a vibrant parade and numerous live music performances that entertained the crowds throughout the event. The festivities also included the crowning of the 2024 Mardi Gras queen, with Caroline Brown from Lake Catholic earning the title.
Shannon Barnhill, president of the Fairport Mardi Gras Committee, shared with cleveland.com the annual festival’s rich history.
She said the festival started as a street dance in 1939 to celebrate the paving of the lakeside village’s Chestnut Street.
As for the Mardi Gras name, Barnhill said it was “just the name they gave their street festival, and it stuck.”
Barnhill and Fairport Harbor Mayor Timothy Manross told cleveland.com that Mardi Gras usually draws over 15,000 people to the lakefront village.
“We have estimated upwards of 50 thousand for parade and fireworks nights in past years,” Manross said.