Local media company Beachlight Productions and The Better Way Project announce the inaugural Fort Dodge Summerfest, a two-day community event to be held in downtown Fort Dodge May 29-30.

Fort Dodge Summerfest will include a series of live music performances, a full carnival presented by Scott Amusements, a vendor fair, food trucks, a free pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, and a laser show after dark on Saturday night.

The event is free and open to the public, with the exception of carnival rides, which will require the purchase of tickets or wristbands.

Caleb Beacham, the owner of Beachlight Productions and a leading member of The Better Way Project, created Summerfest as a way to give the community a fun reason to come and enjoy downtown while celebrating the kickoff of the summer season.

“Summerfest is a culmination of months of hard work, planning and dreaming of different ways that we can help revitalize our downtown,” Beacham said. “Our offices, podcast studios and recording studio are all located in the Carver Building, and coming here to work every day for the past few months has been very eye-opening as to what a great neighborhood the downtown really is.”

“Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and the time and efforts of volunteers through The Better Way Project, we are able to provide this event without having to charge admission,” Beacham said.

He has been working with officials from the city of Fort Dodge to coordinate street closures along portions of Central Avenue, 11th Street and 12th Street for the event. The music stage as well as the carnival will all be held in the parking lot south of the Carver Building along First Avenue South.

Fort Dodge Summerfest will begin with the opening of the vendor fair at 3 p.m. on May 29. The carnival will open at 4 p.m, followed by a series of live music performances.

On May 30, the day kicks off with a free pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m, hosted by Prairie Lakes Church. The vendor fair opens at 10 a.m., followed by the carnival and live music stage opening later in the afternoon. The event culminates with a laser and music show at 9 p.m.

Live musicians performing at Fort Dodge Summerfest thus far include Jessica Heaning, Kraiger & Friends, Stadium Drive and Lone Tree Revival. Beacham said additional artists will be announced in the weeks to come.

More than 60 vendors will be featured during the vendor fair.

“We can’t wait to celebrate the summer season with the Fort Dodge community and bring fun and good vibes to our downtown,” Beacham said. “We’re praying for good weather and are hoping that people from all over the region will come and be a part of the inaugural Fort Dodge Summerfest.”

He added that additional volunteers will be needed to help during the event and asks that interested residents reach out to offer what help they can.

Sponsors for Summerfest include Beachlight Productions, The Better Way Project, Ziegler Cat, Tjaden Electric, Fort Frenzy, Brown’s Shoe Fit, Flannery & Salgren Tax and Bookkeeping, Baker Electric, Godfathers Pizza and the Crossroads Hotel & Event Center.

For more information on Fort Dodge Summerfest, contact Caleb Beacham at caleb@fdsummerfest.com