Small town, big tradition: Jacksonport’s Maifest marks unofficial start of summer

DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — Jacksonport marked its 52nd annual Maifest on Sunday, with many attendees coming out for the beloved tradition.

• Thousands gather in Jacksonport each year for Maifest
• Meet Ken Honold, who has been a part of the Horse Pull Competition since its very beginning
• Maifest features more 60 vendors, an art fair and introduced food trucks for the first time this year

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)

For 52 years, Ken Honold has worked in the horse pull competition at Maifest in Jacksonport.

"The crowds are a lot larger now than they were in the early years," Honold said. "The guys that are pulling today, I worked with their dads and granddads in the early years."

Teams from all over the state compete in the horse pull, where horses drag a sled called a stone boat.

The contest begins with 2,500 pounds, and horses compete in two classes, lightweight (under 3,500 pounds) and heavyweight, which features horses weighing more than that.

Don’t miss NBC 26 getting up close to the horse pull and taking you inside Maifest. Watch below:

Maifest has more than 60 vendors, an art fair with more than 50 artists and this year, food trucks are joining the fun for the first time. Robert Geitner of the Jacksonport Business Association says his grandfather helped found Maifest back in 1972.

"We’re over 2,500. For a community of only a couple hundred people, that’s a lot of folks to welcome to our small community," Geitner said.

Since the 1970s, Maifest has grown, bringing in visitors who keep coming back year after year like Patricia Treinen.

"As long as this Maifest has been in existence, we've been coming," Treinen said.

Spending her summers in Door County, Treinen says Maifest is the perfect way to start the season.

"This is considered the holiday weekend that starts the summer coming up, and it's just glorious," Treinen said.

Maifest may have ended Sunday, but the Jacksonport Business Association says their Tuesday farmers markets will keep the fun going until planning starts for next year’s festival.