CANTON – Carnival games. Carnival rides. Live music. Fireworks. Food trucks. The annual Liberty Fest brings all of this to the Canton community every year.
The annual Liberty Fest was held at Heritage Park on June 16-18 and is annually one of the biggest events to happen in Canton every year. The event brings hundreds of people, family and friends together to kick off summer vacation.
“Liberty Fest is obviously a great family friendly event for the Canton community,” said Officer Patty Esselink, who works for the Canton Police Department.
Many people prepare for this event every year and a lot of planning is required through many different organizations and businesses. Live bands come early to set up their instruments, tents and carnival rides are set up days in advance by Skerbeck Entertainment, staff and volunteers help to coordinate the schedules, and the Canton Police Department prepares to help keep the people and area safe.
“It’s one of the largest events that we hold here in Canton, on a police department end, our goal was to make sure it is a safe environment for everybody,” Esselink said.
This year is the first year back for the Canton Liberty Fest since the start of COVID-19.
“Because of the past two years I didn’t get to work at Liberty Fest,” says Alyssa Ewell, a staff member for Canton Leisure Services.
The Liberty Fest is usually held on the first weekend of summer vacation for the local schools in the Plymouth-Canton District. Though it brings a lot of people together, Sophie Skerbeck, a carnival worker at the Liberty Fest, said it is not the same as it was before,
“I’ve seen less people around, it’s not as crowded as it used to be,” Skerbeck said.
While the spread of COVID-19 is still a lingering thought in many people’s minds, there is not a mask mandate or vaccine mandate for the event and it is completely open to the public, Canton Liberty Fest organizers said they are “required to meet CDC and MDHHS guidelines.”
The annual Liberty Fest dates for 2023 have not yet been announced but organizers said they hopeful it will return again next summer.
