There is one weekend during the summer where there is a single event that appeals to people of all ages and backgrounds in the city of Portage. The annual summer festival is underway at Nativity of Our Savior Church. The fest kicked off on Thursday evening and will continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Children, parents, couples, singles, teenagers, senior citizens, families and friends were among the wide spectrum of attendees for the opening night of this year’s Nativity Fest. Some people came for the rides, others for the food, others for the music and others for the company.
For Father Andrew Corona and the Nativity Fest Committee, the opening night of the event is the culmination of nearly a full year of hard work and preparation. The staff was working as hard as ever to make sure that all the festivities occurred without a hitch on Thursday night.
“When we come in for the fest, the last thing that I tell our committee is that all of us here are ambassadors for our community and we need to be very welcoming to everyone that comes here,” Corona said.
It did not take long after the 6:00 opening for the people to start marching in and for the parking lot to fill to capacity. The weather was picturesque with temperatures hovering around a warm but comfortable 80 degrees.
“Once the band starts, everyone will start coming in,” Corona said. “They’ll hear the noise, and the neighbors will know we’re having a party.”
One of the highlights of this year’s festival will occur just before it wraps up.
“We’re really excited about having a Mariachi band here on Sunday,” Corona said. “That’s sort of an ethnic thing that we’re doing. We do have a large Hispanic population here, so we’re hoping that that will be a nice draw.”
The Crawpuppies entertained the crowd on opening night. The 47th annual festival continues through Sunday with the live entertainment lineup featuring Final Say on Friday, Nawty on Saturday and Mariachi Jalisco on Sunday.
Whether it is the face painting, the book sale, the Ferris wheel, the corn, the candy apples or something else, the Nativity Fest has a little something for everyone.
Click here for our full preview of this weekend’s events at the 47th annual Portage Nativity Fest!