Harbor Fest cancels this year's festival

Photo by David F. Siegert and Sandy's Photography

After 21 years of Harbor Fest on Racine’s lakefront, the Harbor Fest Inc. board of directors has decided not to organize and produce a large festival in June.

The notice on their website this morning says only, "At this time the economic conditions did not appear favorable enough, based on revenue and expense projections, to allow Harbor Fest to fulfill its mission of investing back into our community through scholarships and donations.

"In light of this decision, the Harbor Fest Board is exploring other alternatives."

Without Harbor Fest, summer will have a big hole in Racine. The festival has brought scores of wonderful musical acts to the lake, performing on multiple stages simultaneously. Acts like The Radioactive Squirrels, the Bradburys, Mean Jake, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (my personal favorite), Spyro Gyra, Trick Pony, Maynard Ferguson, Grand Funk Railroad, Blue Oyster Cult, Brian Daniels, Pat McCurdy, the Andrew Gelles Band, Reason for Leaving, and on and on.

Loss of Harbor Fest will also affect a number of Racine organizations. Profits from the event were distributed to many local non-profits -- schools, the Zoo, Leadership Racine, Kenosha and Union Grove, the Racine Theatre Guild, the Kenosha Boy's Club were all recipients in 2006 -- and students in the form of scholarships.

Harbor Fest, which began in 1984, typically distributed more than $12,000 after each year's festival.

Another big loser will be the Racine Civic Center, which nets $28,000 after expenses for use of the lakefront facility. The Civic Center has not yet heard anything official from Harbor Fest about the cancellation, and is still "holding" this year's dates.