For Dundalk, annual celebration brings community together

Forty years ago this summer, Heritage Fair made its appearance as a one-time-only tribute to the nation’s bicentennial.

The activities of the bicentennial year of 1976 were more touted than anything anyone could remember. There was a national bicentennial commission and states, cities, towns, villages and local neighborhoods had been planning appropriate events for years.

But a funny thing happened to Dundalk’s nod to the country’s milestone anniversary.

It was so popular that residents asked that the event become an annual gathering. Thanks to the diligent work of a handful of volunteers, some hard-scrabble fundraising and the cooperation of community organizations, private businesses and local government departments, the three-day Heritage Fair at Heritage Park celebrates its own milestone anniversary this weekend.

Running Friday through Sunday, the festival has grown to the size of a temporary small town itself, with three days of nearly non-stop music, carnival rides and games, an arts and crafts area, plenty of activities and demonstrations, business and community organization booths, a beer garden and plenty of food and drink offerings.

Thanks to this year’s timing of July 4 being a Monday, the three-day block party will be capped off with the annual Independence Day parade and fireworks on Monday.

Thanks to the perseverance of this event, it now serves as the catalyst to brings families and former classmates together, causes people to traverse many states to come “home” for the weekend and cause others to camp out early for the parade to claim the spot that has been the family’s watch spot for 50 or 60 years (or longer — the parade predates the fair by many years).

The fair’s musical acts run the gamut from local school groups to nationally known groups. This year’s main headline offerings are Almost Queen (a Queen tribute band), Friday at 8 p.m.; Heart by Heart ( a Heart tribute band featuring two Heart members), Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Kix (a rock band with its roots in Maryland), on Sunday at 8 p.m.

Image from Heritage Fair website.

All three main acts will appear on the Shipway stage.

Two stages plus the karaoke stage in the beer garden will provide a variety of acts, including performances by the Sparrows Point High School steel drum band, The Gigs (a local favorite) and The Mahoney Brothers, a tribute group that has gained quite a Dundalk following.

Tickets cost $8 per day, and admission includes all entertainment.

For more information, or to view the entire entertainment schedule, visit the Heritage Fair website.

One final request: Throughout the weekend, if you see a fair volunteer (they would be hard to miss; the staff the ticket booths, main gate, beer garden and parking areas, they empty trash, answer a lot of questions and in general, roam the grounds and are helpful wherever they're needed), thank them for their efforts. They're the reason the fair still exists!