05/01/2026
Dunkirk Festivals Announces 2026 Schedule of Events
DUNKIRK, NY: The City of Dunkirk is excited to welcome the upcoming season within its waterfront community along the Lake Erie with several family-friendly events scheduled for the entire year.
Mayor Kate Wdowiasz, Dunkirk Festivals Department, city council and staff offers a special thanks and recognition to the 2026 platinum level sponsors – Advanced Production Group (APG) and Van Buren Drive-In. National Grid is also a main sponsor as well as stage sponsors DFT Communications and Piede Tents.
The 10th Annual Dunkirk Flea Market, organized by Brian Meyer, will be held Saturdays, May 2 through August 29 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Route 5 and Washington Avenue parking lot. It is free admission to the public. To become a vendor for $20 per spot each week, please call Meyer at 716-680-0958.
The Annual Memorial Day Parade will take place Monday, May 25 at 11 a.m. on Central Avenue after a 10 a.m. memorial service held by Dunkirk Joint Veterans Council at Memorial Park. There is also a Knights of Columbus memorial service at the Dunkirk Lighthouse at 8:30 a.m. The parade is sponsored by APG, Van Buren Drive-In, Refresco Beverages, Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary Club & Dunkirk Veterans Club of WWII.
The popular Music on the Pier Summer Concert Series, presented by APG, Van Buren Drive-In, National Grid and stage sponsors DFT Communications and Piede Tents in addition to Merritt Estate Winery Slush Bus, returns for 12 weeks on Thursday evenings from June 4 through August 20. New musical acts and concession vendors will be on the Dunkirk Pier and/or Memorial Park along with Dunkirk Boardwalk and pier merchants open for business. The following is the 2026 musical line up:
June 4 - Party McFly/The Funkensteins with Dance Night sponsored by the harborfront businesses of Spike Dailey’s Irish Pub, Off The Hook, Chadwick Bay Marina, 64 on the Pier, Clarion Hotel/Steelbound & Tim Hortons
June 11 - We Speak Canadian/Canada Rocks USA with Canadian Night sponsored by Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union at Memorial Park
June 18 - Grungebox/AppleJack with Decades Night sponsored by KeyBank
June 25 - Ion Sky/Nerds Gone Wild with 80's Rewind & Boater Night sponsored by Community Bank (Note: Boater guests can tie off at pier or can moor out of the way of water traffic)
July 2 - Hintz of Thunder/Sean Patrick McGraw with Country Night during the Fourth of July Celebration sponsored by Owl Homes of Fredonia at Memorial Park
July 9 - Black Widow/Hurricane ROCKS You Like The Scorpions with Power Rock Night sponsored by Brooks-TLC Hospital System, Inc./Lake Erie Medical Services
July 16 - Furious George/Appetite For Voltage with Hard Rock & Biker Night sponsored by The Resource Center (Note: Motorcycle guests will have a designated parking area)
July 23 - The Midroom Drifters/Uncle Ben’s Remedy with Homegrown Night sponsored by Nestle Purina and Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation & Improvement Corp. (CHRIC).
July 30 - Silver Xtreme/Midnight Recovery with Ladies Night sponsored by Universal Stainless
Aug 6 - Porcelain Busdrivers/Flipside with Party Night sponsored by Lake Shore Bank
Aug 13 - DTO/The BroFish Band - Hootie & the Blowfish/Darius Rucker Tribute with 90's Night sponsored by Wells Enterprises and ImmunityBio Inc.
Aug 20 - Reset To Vinyl/Wanted: The Bon Jovi Tribute Band with Arena Rock Night sponsored by DFT Communication in Memorial Park
The pier will be closed to traffic at 2 p.m. on Thursday concert dates at that location. Guests are reminded to bring a folding chair.
The City of Dunkirk and Primitive Patriot Outdoors are proud to announce the third annual Dunkirk Walleye Festival taking place on June 5 through June 7 on the city pier.
Professional walleye anglers will compete in the 6th Annual WNY Walleye Classic directed by Josh Larsen, tournament director, while the festival portion with food, craft and fishing gear vendors will be directed by Dunkirk Festivals.
The Primitive Patriot Outdoors WNY Walleye Classic, celebrating 6 years in operation with registration now available, will be the highlight of the festival.
New this year, Big Fish Friday is eliminated to make the event two days (Day 1 - Friday, June 5 and Day 2 – Saturday, June 6) of anglers catching 6 fish each day for a total of 12 fish over a two-day period with fishing from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anglers can now launch out of any port and fish on any New York waters of Lake Erie as long as coolers are returned to the Dunkirk Boat Launch check-in area by 3:30 p.m. sharp.
Presented by title sponsors Doc’s Tackle LLC, Lime Lake Marine & RV and VT Power and Lighting along with Ronald Viavada - Senior Financial Advisor of Merrill, A Bank of America Company and Vexus Boats, Smoker Craft Boats, Ranger Boats, Nitro Boats, Tracker Boats, Daniel Terhune - Century 21 Turner Brokers and Church Tackle, the tournament weather determinant make-up date is Sunday, June 8. The host hotel is the Clarion Hotel Conference Center.
Pro angler and National Walleye Tour Championship finalist, Craig Sleeman, will also conduct a free kid’s fishing clinic and tournament Sunday, June 8 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Dunkirk Pier. The winner of the tournament will win a guided fishing trip with Sleeman and also a winner’s plaque.
The Matthew Hazelton Memorial 5K Run/Walk, hosted by the Dunkirk Police Benevolent Association, is schedule for Saturday, June 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the Clarion Hotel Pavilion.
The Dunkirk Farmers Market, sponsored by Refresco, starts June 10 and will continue every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through October 7 at the Dunkirk Senior Center Pavilion. For more information, contact E.J. Hayes at (716) 366-9876.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Chautauqua County Great Strides will host a community walk on Saturday, June 13, at Point Gratiot Park with a 10 a.m. check-in and 11 a.m. walk start. For more information, visit https://fundraise.cff.org/CHQ2026.
The City of Dunkirk vs. Dunkirk City School District Charity Softball Game at Wright Park’s Prommenschenkel Stadium will take place on June 18 at 5 p.m. For More Information, call Alexis Tofil at (716) 366-9877.
The 30th Annual Juneteenth Celebration is scheduled for June 13 (12 noon – 8 p.m.) and June 14 (12 noon – 6 p.m.) at Memorial Park featuring music, food, vendors, games, kids’ tent, petting zoo, ice cream eating contest, spades tournament and gospel.
The three-day Fourth of July Celebration (July 2-4) with food/refreshment vendors kicks off Thursday, July 2 at 5 p.m. in Memorial Park with music provided by Hintz of Thunder at 6 p.m. followed by Sean Patrick McGraw at 7:15 p.m. with Country Night sponsored by Owl Homes of Fredonia. Friday, July 3 will feature vendors open at 5 p.m. along with music by Tiny Music (5 p.m.) and Two For Flinching (7:15 p.m.). The Fourth of July day starts at 11 a.m. with music by Screamin’ East (1 p.m.), Prestige Worldwide Band (4 p.m.) and headliner ONE – A Tribute to U2 (6:30 p.m.).
The night concludes with Dunkirk resident Cathy Ruch singing the national anthem followed by the Starfire Corporations fireworks - the largest fireworks display in Chautauqua County. A special WDOE 101.5 FM/1410 AM Independence Day 250th Anniversary Broadcast will be played during the fireworks show. July 5 is the rain date.
The event is sponsored by the City of Dunkirk, Refresco Beverages, Town of Dunkirk, Town of Pomfret, Lawley Insurance, Add Lumber True Value, North Chautauqua Dental, Moniuszko Social Club Inc. and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks 922.
The 12th Annual Marauder Trotter Run/Walk 5K (Wright Park) is happening Saturday, July 4 at 9 a.m. at Wright Park. For more information, call DJ Wilson at (716) 785-1537 or sign up at www.runsignup.com.
The Music at the Point Sunset Concert Series sponsored by Southern Tier Environments for Living, Inc. (STEL) and Lawley Insurance will perform on the following Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. at Point Gratiot Park: July 8 - FootSteps, July 15 - Backlog, July 22 - Two Towns (STEL VIP Night), July 29 - Ion Sky, August 5 - Zen City, August 12 - Astro Galaxy Sound, August 19 - The Living Room Jam Band (Lawley Insurance VIP Night) and August 26 – Furious George.
The Dunkirk Beach Bash, sponsored City of Dunkirk and Beach Dog Grill, on July 25 (9 a.m. – 11 p.m.) at Wright Park features sports tournaments (slow pitch softball, pickleball, beach volleyball), live music, vendors, inflatables, beach games and more. Band/DJ performances will be Wright Park Beach DJ Joe Gould (12 - 2 p.m.) and on the Beach Dog Grill stage with Melissa Sauers (2-4:15 p.m.), Aces & Eights (5-7:30 p.m.) and Mayflower Hill (8-11 p.m.).
The 33rd Annual National Night Out free community event hosted by the Dunkirk Police Department is slated for Tuesday, August 4 at 5:30 p.m. at Washington Park. Bounce houses, Dunkirk Police and Fire Departments, music, food, refreshments, giveaways will be available.
On August 24 (with an August 25 rain date), the City of Dunkirk, Dunkirk City School District, United Way of Chautauqua County, Wells Enterprises, Refresco Beverages, CHRIC, Dunkirk Fredonia Lions Club and Universal Audiology will put on a complimentary Back to School Bash at Point Gratiot Park from 4 to 6p.m. for Dunkirk City School students and their families only. DJ Giulia Giuffre of Star Sirch will provide children’s entertainment while a bounce house, school supplies, giveaways, food, Wells ice cream and refreshments will be available at no cost.
The Halloween Trunk or Treat to be held at the city municipal lot (Route 5 & Washington Avenue) on Friday, October 30 from 4 to 6 p.m. will feature trick-or-treating with local businesses, city officials and more!
Dunkirk’s Christmas on Central Holiday Spectacular and Parade is slated for Saturday, December 5 in downtown Dunkirk.
Christmas on Central (11 a.m. – 7 p.m.), presented by APG, Van Buren Drive-In, Refresco Beverages, Putnam Record Agency & J.F. Grant Consulting Services, includes merchant/vendor holiday shopping throughout downtown Dunkirk, live music (11 am - Footsteps, 1 pm - Slim and Red and 3 pm - DJ Joe Gould), free horse drawn wagon rides, Santa Claus/Mrs. Claus/Rudolph visits, holiday ice sculpture demonstration, free hot cocoa, children’s activities, holiday dancers, annual tree lighting and the holiday parade.
The Dunkirk Holiday Parade is also on December 5 at 6 p.m. on Central Avenue from Third Street to Fifth Street. The theme is “Winter Wonderland” with 5 p.m. pre-parade entertainment at City Hall and parade lineup with check-in at Robin Street and Third Street.
The overall schedule of events is available on-line at www.cityofdunkirkny.gov under the Residents/Festivals tab. Event brochures, printed by Copy Boy of Dunkirk, will be available at the Dunkirk Boardwalk atrium and City Hall.
For more information about Dunkirk’s schedule of events, sponsor/vendor opportunities or local attractions, please visit www.cityofdunkirkny.gov, Facebook at Dunkirk Festivals & Special Events or contact (716) 366-9876 or [email protected].
