When Port Clinton puts on the Walleye Festival you can be sure you are getting the festival to outdo all community festivals. Where else do the local kids and teenagers prefer to spend their weekend at a festival when they only live 20 minutes from the worlds best amusement park?

The Walleye Festival in Port Clinton, Ohio is a tradition of five days of Memorial Day weekend entertainment. The resident children of Port Clinton can barely sleep just before the Walleye Festival kicks off as they watch the rides set up along Lake Erie, purchase their five day Walleye Festival passes and begin to make plans with their friends. First loves, new friendships and all the junk food a teenager can eat abound at the Walleye Festival in Port Clinton.

But the Walleye Festival isn't just for the kids. Parents of Port Clinton's kids, vacationers and visitors from neighboring cities and counties all gather along Lake Erie to enjoy the Walleye Festival tradition that includes live entertainment in the beer tent.

A variety of bands throughout the five day event keep parents in the cool shade while enjoying draft beer, wine coolers, bratwurst and fries and a dance floor between the band and the tables is a great place for the ladies to gather for some good old fashioned girl talk while the gentlemen gather for beer tickets.

The locals gather around 50/50 raffle tables to help their favorite community project as travelers enjoy the bargains at vendor tables set alongside the Walleye Festival walkways. And everyone enjoys some very guilty food icluding gyros, bbq ribs, pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, elephant ears and onion rings washed down with an ice cold lemonade, sun-tea or a soda pop.

In the evening as the sun sets over Lake Erie and the lights of the Walleye Festival rides are turned on, the captivating sound of the merry-go-round fills the air as screams of joy radiate through the smells of cotton candy and popcorn.

Toddlers ride the choo choo train and pre-teens take their first ride on the Hurricane or Scrambler. Teenagers quickly begin making plans to be sure everyone will be meeting at the Walleye Festival again tommorrow while vacationers discuss visiting the beach just down a bit for an evening walk along the sand. The live band in the tent attracts new fans as Madison Street storefront owners begin bringing their wares indoors after a day of open doors and sidewalk sales and Port Clinton's finest begin helping the thousands of cheerful Walleye Festival visitors across Perry Street with a nod and a friendly goodnight. Tired and content, all of Port Clinton, Ohio goes to bed with a restful smile and sweet dreams of good food, fun rides, neighbors and fresh air.