Fest draws a crowd and then some

To say Saturday’s Community Street Festival was a big draw might be an understatement.

The crowd started gathering even before the festival officially began and didn’t disperse until the city’s fireworks — held over from the Fourth of July, when they were postponed because of bad weather — were shot off from Coal Dock Park.

“We’re really happy,” Kristina Tadeo, executive director of Port Main Street Inc., which staged the event, said.

Although she doesn’t have any attendance estimates, Tadeo said, the event attracted a huge crowd.

“When I talked to people, anecdotally, I think this was one of the busiest events people had seen in Port. I think this was a bigger crowd.”

People began arriving at 11 a.m., an hour before the fest opened, she said.

“Lots of people, even during the set-up, were making sales,” Tadeo said.

“It was a great sales day, especially for the food vendors. Some of them sold out.”

The Kiwanis Club, she said, sold out, went to the store to buy more food and sold out again.

The cool, crisp weather was perfect for a fall festival, she said, adding that the midday sun warmed the air.

And despite the crowd, the festival retains its small town charm and is a more relaxing event than larger gatherings.

A number of people told her they prefer this to the Cedarburg festivals because those are so crowded they couldn’t move freely or get to vendor booths.

“People appreciated it was a little more relaxed —a fun, relaxed vibe,” Tadeo said. “And the vendors said it was great because people could stop and shop.”

Tadeo said she talked to a number of people who had never been to Port before and were impressed with the city.

“That’s our goal with these events, to get people here so they can realize how fantastic our town is,” she said. “It definitely worked from that perspective.”

And, she said,  the event “ had something for everyone, from children to 80-year-olds.”

The car show, in its inaugural year, drew a large crowd, Tadeo said.

“It adds a whole new constituent group. Lots of people came for the car show, and they stayed for the rest of the festival,” she said.

Tadeo said the crowd Saturday is just another indication that Port Washington is coming into its own.

“The word is getting out about Port,” she said. “And fall is such a popular time of year. People love celebrating it.”