Plattsburgh, New York – With summer officially underway, the city of Plattsburgh has a full schedule of events for people to enjoy. Despite ongoing construction with many projects throughout the city, it’s full steam ahead for big events this summer. Starting this weekend with the start of a series of bass fishing tournaments on Lake Champlain. 

Kristy Kennedy, of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, says the fishing tournament has had a positive impact on the local economy. “We started doing one or two of them 20 years ago and we are up to a record-breaking 8 of them this year that will be taking place, they usually bring somewhere around 3.2 million dollars to the local economy each year.” Plans haven’t changed for the city’s Fourth of July celebration either, which is shaping up to be the biggest parade yet. 

Community engagement coordinator, Courtney Meisenheimer says this year’s celebration will add new elements to the traditional events. “This year we really tried to up our game a little bit, so we’re going to see lots of different types of emergency service vehicles, trucks, we’ve got marching bands, we’ve got performance groups, so we’re really looking at a really fun robust parade experience downtown.” And it wouldn’t be summer in Lake City without the Mayor’s Cup Regatta and Festival, which will be celebrating its 46th anniversary. 

Mayor’s Cup chair,  Sue Leblanc-Durocher says last year over a thousand people took place in the festival. “We try to count every year how many visitors come in, where they’re coming from, and we had over 1,000 participants last year…and to have even just one day in our beautiful area to support what’s happening and to let people know that there’s so much that we offer in our community.” 

Other returning events include the Parks Come Alive Series, the Lake City Arts Festival, the Strand’s Jumpin’ in July concert, and many more. A new event series this year is family movie night, put on by a new volunteer community organization created by Friends of Penfield Park. A full list of events can be found on the city of Plattsburgh’s website. 

Mayor Christopher Rosenquest said it’s great to see each of the events continue to grow thanks to community partnership and volunteer efforts.