LakeFest

Returns to Pell City’s Lakeside Park on Logan Martin

It’s easy to say an event is bigger and better than ever, but organizers for Logan Martin LakeFest 2023 mean it.

When LakeFest kicks off Friday, May 12, through Sunday, May 14, at Pell City Lakeside Park, be ready for the Southeast’s largest in-water boat show featuring a host of dealers and onsite financing, row upon row of vendors, a variety of entertainment and food vendors galore.

“We’re excited,” said Eric Housh, one of the organizers of what has become a Logan Martin tradition. “Overall, this is our 13th year,” and each year seems to get better than the one it follows.

This year is no different, and there’s a reason for that. “We listen,” he said. Community feedback helps them improve on the strong foundation already in place. “We are refocusing to a full family event – fun for the whole family.”

The outdoor festival features entertainment throughout the weekend, lake lifestyle vendors and the splash pad open for the kids for free all day on Saturday.

The event moved from its normal third weekend in May, which this year makes it fall on Mother’s Day weekend. So, organizers have added a special gift for mothers on Sunday – “Mimosas for Moms” – with 1,000 Mimosas given away courtesy of United Johnson Brothers, a major LakeFest sponsor. America’s First is providing free flowers for mothers, too.

“We have had fantastic sponsors over the years,” Housh said. “They make it happen. Without them, we wouldn’t have an event, and they come back year after year” to support it.

Judging by the size of the crowds, support from the community grows year after year, too. An estimated 45,000 to 50,000 attended the 2022 event.

From the beginning when the late Jerry Wood and others envisioned it, it has been LakeFest’s way of “welcoming people into our community and showing them Logan Martin Lake. We are very fortunate to have it here in our backyard,” Housh said.

Because of its sponsors, they have been able to keep the event free to the public. They even offer major giveaways and hourly door prizes as well as nearly nonstop entertainment and a fireworks show in honor of veterans.

“It was important to Jerry to honor veterans,” Housh said, and it has been a tradition since LakeFest’s inception. Veterans from Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home are hosted for the spectacular display in their honor that lights up the sky after dark Saturday.

Entertainment throughout the weekend features a family friendly version of the Velcro Pigmys as the headliners, a number of bands, and children’s television character, Blippy, will appear at this year’s LakeFest on Saturday.

Everyone who enters LakeFest has a chance to enter for major giveaways. “We’re super excited about the giveaways,” Housh said. A Seadoo will be given away by Munford Motorsports. LakeFest is giving away an ATV from Tracker Offroad, and Talladega Home Center will give away a Big Green Egg. “These are going to be really popular,” he added. That’s in addition to impressive door prizes –everything from kayaks and paddleboards to Tshirts and hats to boating accessories.

“We’re looking forward to it. We learn something every year,” Housh said. “Let us know what you think.” l

Giveaways

You can imagine an ear-to-ear smile as Shelia Bunch recounts by telephone her first ever Alabama Fishing Show & Expo.

Held in March at The Venue at Coosa Landing, the show brought in vendors from across the Southeast with wares ranging from rods and reels to lures and lines to boats and everything else perfect for the water.

Bunch is a veteran of these shows, having presented the East Tennessee Fishing Show for the past 30 years. But the Alabama one was new.

In its Gadsden debut, it drew more than 100 vendors and a crowd attendance of over 6,500. “We ran out of space” for vendors before the show even began, which required “thinking outside the box,” she said. Tents were installed outside, making room for even more products.

“Everybody really worked together,” she said, noting that the city, her team and even the vendors joined the effort to make the inaugural show a success.

When a major storm threatened one day, vendors shared or gave away space to accommodate the move inside. “It was wonderful.”

The question she got most often throughout the weekend confirmed a success story in the making: “Are you coming back next year?” Of course, her answer was a quick, “yes.”

“It ended up being a really good thing. I was about as perfect as it possibly could go this year,” she said. “It ended up being great.”

As for next year, additional features are already under discussion, including Crappie vendors, a kids’ fishing tournament and more food vendors.

“We’re going to make it an even better event for next year for everybody,” she said. Save the date – March 8-10, 2024. l