Summerfest in Marysville attracts thousands – The Voice

Marysville’s annual Summerfest was held June 13-16. (Courtesy of Joe Nieporte)

Despite closing early on opening night, Marysville’s annual Summerfest, held June 13-16, was a success.

The festival is hosted by Funfest Events and includes a fair, petting zoo, free concerts, a vintage car show, fireworks and a new drone show. It was held at Marysville Municipal Park.

“The festival was a huge success,” said Joe Nieporte, one of the owners of Funfest Events. “The weather was great and attendance was higher than last year.”

He estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 people came over the weekend.

The new drone show, held on June 15, celebrated Marysville’s 100th birthday and also had a patriotic theme. Nieporte, who previously said he believed the show was one of the first of its kind in the county, also called the drone show a “huge success.”

“It drew a huge crowd and everyone loved it,” he said. “It exceeded our expectations.”

He also noted that feedback on the festival in general was very positive.

Due to an incident, the festival ended in the early evening of June 13th.

“The decision to close the fair on Thursday, June 13th was made due to a large group of juveniles causing disturbances and multiple fights on the fairgrounds,” said Lt. John Stover of the Marysville Public Safety Department. “Operations command decided to close the fair for the remainder of the evening to ensure public safety and disperse the large crowds causing disturbances. Several officers and neighboring jurisdictions assisted in this process.”

The festival continued as planned with normal hours the next day – June 14 – and for the rest of the weekend. Due to the shortened night, organizers said in a Facebook post that Big Rock Amusements, which hosted the fair, would consider providing a replacement wristband if a guest purchased it after 7:30 p.m. on June 13.

Stover said several juveniles will face charges, but could not provide further details about the incidents because the individuals are juveniles and the investigation is ongoing.

“As a department, additional personnel were assigned to the event, along with support from the Michigan State Police, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, Port Huron Police Department, Port Huron Major Crimes Unit and the U.S. Border Patrol,” said Stover. “The Marysville Police Department would like to thank all of our neighboring counties for their support of Marysville Summerfest.”

“It’s a shame that a few unruly teenagers tried to ruin it for everyone else,” Nieporte said. “We are taking measures to prevent this from happening again next year.”

He had previously said that organizers would begin planning for next year’s event immediately after the end of this year’s event.

“We look forward to next year,” he said. “Our priority is to make this event fun and safe for everyone.”

For more information about Summerfest, visit summerfestinmarysville.com or facebook.com/summerfestmv.

Read more at The Voice