Loss of longtime civic group stand among Fish Day changes

Fish Day, Port Washington’s biggest festival, is turning 55 this year, and there are some major changes in store for this year’s July 20 event.

The Greater Port Washington Kiwanis Club, which has operated a fish and chips stand on the festival grounds for more than 25 years, won’t have a presence this year, a decision made by club members in part because of planned development along the lakeshore.

Wristbands will be required for anyone purchasing alcoholic beverages — an initiative long championed by the Port Washington Police Department as a way to curb underage drinking.

And there won’t be a carnival this year. The company Fish Day has contracted with for the past three years is tied up elsewhere, leaving festival organizers looking for an alternative.

“There are a lot of changes this year, but these changes offer a lot of opportunities,” Fish Day General Chairman Mary Monday said. “Change is inevitable.”

The Kiwanis Club’s decision was the result of multiple factors, among them the possibility that Ansay Development would begin construction of its Newport Shores project this summer — and with that, the Kiwanis shelter at the north end of the marina, which doubles as its fish and chips stand, would be gone, club member Mike Gasper, who was to be in charge of the stand, said.

Club members asked repeatedly where their stand would be located if that occurred, Gasper said, but never got a clear answer from the Fish Day organizers.

As it turns out, Ansay isn’t going to begin work on the development until fall, but club members made their decision based on the information they had at the time, Gasper said.

The fact that the main entrance to Fish Day was moved from Washington Street to Jackson Street last year also played a part in the decision, Gasper said, noting that fewer people were funneled toward the club’s stand. 

“There was basically no lunch rush last year,” he said. 

“Fish Day is a lot of work. It takes a lot of people, and it was getting to be increasingly difficult to do, especially for the amount of profit we made. The Chili Bowl makes us as much money as Fish Day did last year, with a whole lot less labor.

“So for right now, it’s just too much uncertainty.”

Monday said Fish Day assured the club it would find a place for its stand if Ansay’s development moved forward this summer.

“They were a good partner,” she said.
“We’re sad to see them leave this year. We’d like to see them come back someday.”

Gasper said he wouldn’t rule that possibility out, especially if an advantageous location can be found for its stand.

While there will be fewer stands serving the crowd, wristbands will now be required for people to purchase alcoholic beverages.

“It just makes it a lot easier for all the volunteers down there who are serving alcohol,” Police Chief Kevin Hingiss told the Police and Fire Commission last week. “They won’t have to check IDs.”

The Ozaukee County Health Department will check IDs at three locations — in Upper Lake Park, at the Jackson Street entrance to the festival and along Lake Street between Jackson Street and the Upper Lake Park hill, Monday said.

The stands will have a limited number of the wristbands that are intended for people who are obviously older than 21, she said.

“If you need to be carded, you need to go to one of the checkpoints,” Monday said.

The stands will still check IDs if someone has a wristband that looks like it’s been used or tampered with, she added.

Wristbands are becoming commonplace at festivals, Monday said, and because young people are used to being carded, it shouldn’t come as a shock.

“It’s going to take some getting used to,” Monday said. “Some people will be upset just because it’s a change — I think that’s a natural reaction.”

Although officials have said wristbands will help curb underage drinking, Monday said there isn’t a history of this at the festival. More young people come to the event after partying elsewhere than get their alcohol at Fish Day, she said.

“We look at this as a precautionary, education measure,” she said.

Monday said Fish Day organizers are also seeking input from the public on what should take the place of the carnival.

“We don’t want to have a vacant space,” she said. “We need the creative minds of our festival-goers.”

Fish Day would prefer to bring in another event or attraction for children, she said, but is open to all ideas.

This year’s Fish Day on July 20 will follow the theme “Dive Into Fish Day 55.” Head East will be the headline act, with SFO, a Journey tribute band, opening for the group.

Although the blues stage ended last year after the north marina slip parking lot was sold by the city, Monday said it will be replaced this year by the Harborview Stage, which will be set up in the main marina parking lot north of the main stage.