36th annual Essex Fun Fest goes over well, despite the heat

by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative

With a packed schedule of activities, live music, and variety of entertainment, the 36th annual Essex Fun Fest offered a solid four-days of excitement for families and individuals to enjoy inside the fairgrounds at the Essex Center Sports Complex from Thursday to Sunday.

  Fairgoers also had the opportunity to enjoy the popular rides and games the World’s Finest Shows midway provided, and the ability to peruse the goods available for purchase in the vendor area and try great eats in the food court. 

  Essex Festival Committee Chairperson Joe Garon was pleased with the outcome of this year’s four-day festival.

  Reflecting on the festival after it wraps-up is always a bittersweet moment for Garon, who is happy the Essex Festival Committee tirelessly executed another successful event and the to-do list has finally been completed. He is, however, already looking at planning next year’s festivities.

  “Considering how hot it was all weekend, with the humidity, I was pleased with our numbers.”

  Despite the heat experienced, attendance was good, likely comparable to the good numbers recorded in 2024. The numbers through the gate may end up being down a little, due to the excessive heat experienced this year, but he does not expect the numbers to be down much, if at all.

  He said there were huge line-ups to get into the fairgrounds at certain points.

  New this year, the Essex Fun Fest offered an additional layer of protection with bag searches at the front gate, which did slow-up the line some.

  “We wanted to offer that extra level of safety, because we know we have people who drop their kids off, and we want to make sure that when they are inside of our grounds – we are inviting them into our setting – the least we can do is make sure it is safe,” Garon said.

  He added there were some hiccups with the process as it was new, but things will be streamlined for next year.

  Garon heard the firework display was a great show, and that the Friday night car show and Saturday morning parade went over well. The Fun Fest parade and car show take place downtown Essex Centre, spanning the activities to the business core.

  Committee members also strive to offer something for everybody of all ages, and are also always making tweaks to ensure the festival is all it could be. With that in mind, a rock-climbing wall was introduced this year and the OLG 50th anniversary interactive display was welcome onsite.

  Garon was proud of the use of the shuttle service on the Saturday and Sunday, which offered free pick-ups and drop-offs at seven locations around town. The bus completed the route three times every hour, and the Fun Fest committee may bump that up to four next year, as it becomes more popular.

  For Garon, the 4th annual Sip ‘n Shop Wine Mixer continues to be getting better and better, and a real gem on the Fun Fest activity roster. For ticket holders, 19-year-of-age and older, admission to this year’s iteration included a free character sketch, on a first come, first served basis, and a photo booth, and business and winery booths. That all took place while live music was offered.

  A portion of the proceeds of this event support Community Living Essex County.  

  Garon noted the Saturday evening main stage entertainment continues to be a large draw for the festival, which is followed by the always impressive firework display. This year’s Saturday evening entertainment was well received, with the Country Under the Stars line-up including Elyse Saunders and multi-CCMA and Juno Award nominee, Aaron Pritchett, on the main stage.

  This year, the Essex Fun Fest worked with community organizations to work admissions, including the Essex Ravens and Skate Lakeshore. Both groups did a great job, Garon noted. Local non-profits are welcome to reach out to the Fun Fest Committee to get involved next year. There are opportunities for charities to get involved and make some money for their group.  

  This year’s festival, Garon noted, was put on with the biggest budget to date, yet there was no increase in the price of admission.

  Garon noted often the committee is approached about the cost of admission. He explained it cost the committee around $225,000 to put on the four-day festival this year, and those expenses need to be covered, from insurance, security, set-up, and entertainment. The festival pays for itself, without tax dollars.  

“We are trying to keep everything down, cost-wise,” Garon noted. “It is costly to put these things on.”

  Before any gate admissions or other revenue is collected, the Committee has to make up all of the expenses.

  Garon thanked the volunteers, Town staff, and members of the Committee for their dedication to the four-day festival, especially with the temperatures being so hot.

  He also thanked all those who supported the event by attending or through some way.

He added that the business and sponsorship support was fantastic.

  As someone who attended the Fun Fest, Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley said he noticed how hard those on the Essex Festival Committee worked to bring the event to fruition, which also includes Councillors Kim Verbeek and Katie McGuire-Blais.

  “You put on an amazing show, it was excellent to watch from the outside looking in,” Shepley added.