The Eighth Annual FireFish Festival
FireFish Arts is pleased to announce that the Eighth Annual FireFish Festival will take place this year on Saturday, September 16th in downtown Lorain between 5th and 7th Street, on and off Broadway Avenue. Serving as the culmination and celebration of all FireFish Art’s programs in 2023, this always FREE event once again promises unique art installations, music, food, fun, fire – and the much anticipated and signature burning of the FireFish with its parade, pageantry, and performance.
This FREE annual themed festival takes place every September around the time of the full moon. With the theme of Transcending Dark and Light, artists, youth, and community members will explore the history, and engage with and interpret the duality and yin/yang nature of darkness and light.
NEW THIS YEAR – a youth, community, and artist-created Lantern Parade! The annual “Pied Piper-like” dusk parade is growing! This year it will feature a parade of lanterns created by youth, community members, and artists, alongside musicians, fire performers, and drummers, leading to the much anticipated Burning of the FireFish, taking place at sunset. Lantern workshops for all ages will take place throughout the summer in Lorain.
FireFish Festival Community Art Making – FireFish Finale Artist/Artistic Director Danny McNamara will arrive a week before the FireFish Festival, designing and building the FireFish with artists, youth, and community members.
Read more About the 2023 FireFish Festival.
Additional year-round programming leads to the much-anticipated festival and features arts programming with the Lorain community and local youth. Programming includes visual artists and performers from Lorain with the support of the FireFish Arts Program Board.
“While the FireFish Festival is the annual celebration of all of the work of FireFish Arts, the actual work of FireFish takes place year-round, bringing together Lorain artists, youth, and community members,” states Artistic Director Joan Perch.
All FireFish Arts programs are designed to bring outstanding arts programs and events to Lorain in partnership with Lorain community businesses, arts and creative partners, and the City of Lorain.
“Our goal is to work within the community to utilize the power of the arts to transform lives and this community,” says Board President Frank DeTillio. “It is becoming more and more understood that through creative placemaking, the arts and economic and civic development go hand-in-hand.”
Learn more about FireFish Arts year-round programs on the Programs & Events Page.
Volunteer
Sell Food
Artisan, Crafter, & Non-Profit Booth
Performance Art
