Scaffolding has been erected to accommodate renovations of the iconic Marblehead Lighthouse, shutting down tours during the popular Lighthouse Festival on Oct. 12.

Scaffolding was erected last week by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Parks and Watercraft to facilitate a restoration of the iconic Marblehead Lighthouse. As a result, there will not be tower tours during the 24th annual Lighthouse Festival to be held on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Tours will not resume until the Memorial Day weekend in late May 2020.

The free, peninsula-wide Lighthouse Festival will include a variety of activities for the entire family. Scheduled are tours of the Wolcott House, live entertainment, children’s games and crafts, a pumpkin-decorating contest, arts and crafts vendors, a farmers’ market, hayrides and much more in Lakeside Chautauqua and Marblehead. A clambake dinner will follow the day’s festivities.

Admission and parking at Lakeside Chautauqua for the Lighthouse Festival are free. For Lakeside activities, guests are encouraged to park in Lakeside’s South Gate parking lot off Route 163, the Bradley Temple parking lot on Cedar Avenue, Fountain Inn and Hotel Lakeside parking lots, as well as along streets that do not have designated parking. Complimentary golf cart shuttles will be available from the South Gate parking lot near the Welcome Center and throughout the Lakeside grounds.

The Lakeside-Marblehead Lighthouse Festival is organized by Lakeside Chautauqua and the Marblehead Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.