Dover Days 2017 begins Friday and the 84th edition of the event that celebrates Dover – past, present and future – has additional meaning this year.
Dover Days marks the official start of the city’s celebration of its 300th birthday – including a birthday cake presentation Friday night around 8:20 before a fireworks display.
Kent County Tourism organizes Dover Days. It’s marketing and communications director Danielle Jonigan says they wanted to make sure they created an event worthy of such a major milestone
“Of course, we want to make it special and get the community involved. We wanted to put a little kick on to it with the birthday cake," said Jonigan. "So, yeah, we definitely wanted to spruce it up this year and add some character to it for the 300th.”
But if you want to take part in the festival, you’ll have less time to do so.
The event has been cut from three days to two.
Kent County Tourism executive director Wendie Vestfall says the decision was based on feedback it received from vendors, participants and attendees.
“We got a lot of feedback about Sunday being a family day. People like to be with their families at home. It wasn’t a well attended day," said Vestfall. "So, we’ve really concentrated all our entertainment on the Friday and Saturday nights so that way you can spend time with your families at home, but still participate in Dover Days.”
But all of the usual Dover Days events are still on the docket, including the annual parade, kids maypole dancing and the car show.
The annual Dover Days parade is once again set for Saturday morning, starting at 9:30 am.
You can find the full Dover Days schedule here.
