Port Washington Fish Day

Port Washington Fish Day is a wildly popular festival held in the town of Port Washington along the shores of Lake Michigan every year. Admission is free, and the festival sports the typical food, music, fireworks and general merriment of any summer festival.

There are also carnival rides and helicopter rides if that’s your pleasure.

But Port Washington Fish Day is all about the Fish!

Fish and chips...shrimp and chips...although I think I saw one place that also sold burgers.

Basically, if you go, prepare to eat fish! And all of the vendors who sell the fish prepare it the same way, so you’ll get the same entree no matter where you eat.

Not sure what type of fish it was – some type of white fish, or maybe a haddock, but it was really good...I was pleasantly surprised!

Actually, I was surprised quite a bit by this whole festival in general. I thought it was going to be boring (sorry Port Washington!) but it was really nice. The town is quaint, the crowd was nice, the food was good, and the music was entertaining.

Our group decided to walk all the way out on the pier, and we were able to catch a fisherman bringing in his salmon catch. I didn’t even know there WAS salmon in Lake Michigan!

The walk out to the pier was a bit treacherous for me, though. At one point the cement slab that we were walking out on was only about 4 feet wide, and did not have any railings or anything to hang onto.

With 2-way traffic back and forth to the pier, I was a bit nervous about being pushed overboard accidentally. Fortunately, no mishaps, and all was well! :)

I’ll definitely plan on attending Port Washington Fish Day again next year, and encourage you to do so as well. It would be a really nice place to sit and enjoy the fireworks too. Not too crowded and enough of a display to get your firework “fix” satisfied.

This festival supports the local community which makes you feel good about your attendance. To read more about the festival, and see the full schedule, visit the official festival website (opens new window).

Enjoy all of the festivals Milwaukee and the surrounding areas have to offer!

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