Port Washington's Fish Day is canceled for this summer, event's future is unclear

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Inventors Brewpub pirate entertains spectators during the Fish Day parade in Port Washington in 2019. Organizers have canceled Fish Day for 2023 and the event's future is uncertain.

Port Washington Fish Day will not return this summer after nearly six decades of festivities, the event's organizers announced Tuesday.

The festival, which included a parade, fireworks and fish, was typically held on the third Saturday of July every year in the harbor area of Port Washington.

Fish Day was canceled for two years due to the pandemic. It returned in 2022 with a shortened parade and smaller grounds.

"We have a lot of people that are upset about the decision. But we're not folding. We're not broke. We're just going to go on hiatus for a bit until we can see the trends in events and trends in our own community," said Fish Day President Mary Monday.

The festival was canceled due to multiple factors, like increasing costs, lack of volunteers and safety concerns, said Monday.

"We do not have the manpower to do the fundraising, even for a slimmed down version. We have to step back," said Monday. "There's no one specific thing to blame. This is a decision that took a lot of time and energy to come to."

It's unclear when or if the festival will return to Port Washington.

"We just want to remember the good times and pray that we're going to reassess and come back, but we don't know," Monday said.

Contact Alex Groth at agroth@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @grothalexandria.