Rochester, NY – County Executive Adam Bello and Rochester Mayor Malik Evans today announced the return of the Rochester Harborfest at Ontario Beach Park June 17-19. The three-day festival comes after an 11-year hiatus and will mark the opening of the summer season at the beach as well as celebrate and commemorate the 200th anniversary of Monroe County and the Charlotte/ Genesee Lighthouse. The festival is presented by the Ontario Beach Park Program Committee, the City, and Monroe County with sponsorship from Wegmans, Greenlight Networks, California Rollin II, and Matthews and Fields Lumber.

“The return of Harborfest coincides with our celebration of two milestone anniversaries for our community – the 200th year of the lighthouse at the Port of Rochester and Monroe County’s bicentennial,” said County Executive Bello and Mayor Evans. “Some of the area’s earliest residents were guided by the beacon of the lighthouse to the shores of Monroe County to settle. We invite families from across the county to join us in celebrating our heritage and future at the reimagined Harborfest.”

“We are proud to be able to help the County and the Lighthouse celebrate these significant benchmarks, but are even more excited to be able to bring back this community favorite to the beach and port area,” said Ontario Beach Park Program Committee Chairperson, Jim Farr. “We invite everyone to join us at the beach for this historic weekend to enjoy and appreciate not only the festival, but all the great businesses and most importantly, our beautiful beach and port.”

The three-day festival will offer food from local vendors, daily musical entertainment, free rides on the Dentzel Menagerie Carousel and a professional sand sculptor who will build a giant replica of the lighthouse constructed with 25 tons of sand. Other activities for families to enjoy include a sand sculpting competition with cash prizes, tours of the lighthouse, volleyball tournaments, art vendors, a car show and boat parade, and more.

“Greenlight Networks is committed to supporting the communities we serve and is proud to sponsor Harborfest as it makes its return to our community,” said Greenlight Networks Founder and CEO Mark Murphy. “We look forward to being part of the event and congratulate Monroe County and the Lighthouse on their bicentennials. Greenlight looks forward to continuing to partner with the City and the County to build out the fiber internet infrastructure for the next 200 years.”

For a detailed schedule of events and offerings during Harborfest’s three-day celebration, visit https://ontariobeachentertainment.org, https://Facebook.com/ontariobeachprogramcommittee, https://cityofrochester.gov/harborfest or call (585) 865-3320.

Merchandise and other vendors wishing to participate may contact jme.lyn.g@hotmail.com for an application and details.