HarborFest a resounding success
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MARQUETTE -- The 2026 edition of HarborFest is in the books and, according to a representative of Marquette Harbor Rotary, the organization that stages the event, the most recent gathering was among the best ever.
"We did really well," said Pamela Christensen, club secretary. "Especially Thursday. It was the biggest crowd we ever had for a Thursday. Friday and Saturday were near records."
This was the second HarborFest under a March 2025 amalgamation of the Marquette Breakfast Roary Club and Marquette Rotary West. Last year, the club cleared $15,000 in a schedule shortened by inclement weather. A good year averages $20,000-30,000, she said.
"It's going to take (about several weeks) before we know," she said.
The money raised is distributed to community groups throughout the area, she said. Including the annual fish boil, the individual clubs, and now together as one, have given out an estimated $1.5 million.
"It's a lot over the years," Christensen said. "You can help make a difference."
Christensen credited the blend of food vendors and musical acts with helping entice crowds of people into the Mattson Lower Harbor Park. This year, the festival had nine musical acts that played to enthusiastic crowds, a dozen food vendors plus two additional vendors, one that taught basic instruction in gymnastics while a second engaged in face painting.
An additional attraction was local concern Double Trouble's inflatable games and activities, she said, this year augmented by several carnival-style games of skill.
Attendees included a blend of local residents, tourists, Northern Michigan University students and, in some cases, parents of NMU students who either hung around for the past week to take in the festival or returned for it.
Christensen said of special note was the number of volunteers who help make the festival a reality.
"There are a lot of moving parts in an event of this size," she said. "We are already planning nest year's bands."
She also underscored the key role sponsorships play. This year's included Eagle Mine-Talon Metals, Shorts Brewing, Miller Coors, Mark Aho Financial Group, Vango's, Media Brew Communications, the city of Marquette, Northern Michigan University, Ojibwa Casinos, Fairfield Inn, UPHP, Lincoln Dental, TruNorth Credit Union, IDI, Double Trouble Entertainment, Oberstar, Travel Marquette, Embers Credit Union, Northland Equipment, Incredible Bank, Thrivent, Airstream of Northern Michigan, First Bank, Premium Sheds, TV6, Superior Design, Flourish Financial Partners, Marshfield Clinic, Mill Creek Senior Living, 41 Lumber and Superior Designs.