Main Street Port Clinton is ready to light up its summertime schedule of great bands and entertainment on The District Stage. City heavy equipment operators putting the final boulder in place are, left to right, Hogan Taylor, Francisco Arambula, Gage Taylor and Troy Whiteside. (Photo by D’Arcy Patrick Egan)

BY D’ARCY PATRICK EGAN

The summer season in Port Clinton will begin this week with an explosion of events, ranging from the debut of The Main Street Entertainment District and The District Stage today (Thursday, May 25), to the opening of the 42nd annual Walleye Festival and the many Memorial Day Weekend events.

There is much to see and do, and local folks and visitors alike will have plenty of entertainment to choose from in the days and weeks to come during the summer season.

The Main Street Port Clinton Entertainment District, or “The District,” is the hub of the Port Clinton’s expanding downtown entertainment, with bands appearing on Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. The RiverFront Live bands play on The District Stage on Friday at 6 p.m.

Art Walks from 5-8 p.m.on Thursdays are hosted by the Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council today (May 25), as well as on June 22, July 27, Aug. 24 and Sept. 8.

The District also features Sunday morning Farmer’s Markets every other Sunday in July from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and a Night Market on the third Thursday in July, August and September from 5-8 p.m.

Daytime adventures for boys and girls and their parents by the Ida Rupp Library, are very well subscribed events in The District.“We’re looking forward to a busy summer, providing an outstanding range of entertainment,” said Nicole Kochensparger, president and CEO of the Port Clinton Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Port Clinton. “When we approved the MORA laws in 2019 to allow the open carry of alcoholic drinks in the downtown district, and added the Madison Street stage and booked a lot of great bands, we enjoyed surprising success.”

“We have huge expectations this year for Madison Street,” said Mayor Mike Snider, a driving force in creating the new focus on entertainment. “People from the local neighborhoods now head downtown to eat, drink, shop and listen to great music.”

So do couples and groups from cities like Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland, said Snider. As a result, The Beacon newspaper now features the listings of live bands and other enjoyable events in the Lake Erie Coastlines! section in the free newspaper distributed around the area and on the Beacon website at www.thebeacon.net.