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What Is the Barnum Festival ?
For P.T. Barnum, whose worldwide influence is felt from
Bridgeport to Bangkok, every day was like the Fourth of July, every
one of his promotions produced a fireworks display. And that's
precisely what the Barnum Festival is a 30-day-long Fourth of July
celebration. A time to kick back, lighten up, block out all of the
distractions in your life and embrace a mega-celebration of
parades, concerts, parties, drum corps and the fireworks
extravaganza at Seaside Park.
The Barnum Festival was created to make people feel good about
celebrating the life and times of P.T. Barnum. During World War II
Bridgeport was a beehive of activity. The city was a working
person's paradise, supplying the brain and brawn for the war
effort. Unfortunately, Bridgeport learned that its dependence on a
wartime economy during the peacetime transition could not be
sustained. Unemployment soared to shocking levels by the late
1940's, discretionary income fell, the citizenry was not in the
best of moods.
The city and the region needed a lift. Bridgeport Brass
executive Herman Steinkraus stepped up to the plate with an idea
that would take residents' minds off the post-war troubles, much
like the way P.T. Barnum thrilled and entertained residents and the
growing number of immigrants who escaped their troubled foreign
countries to seek a better life in Bridgeport in the late 19th
century.
In 1948, so that Barnum's "kind acts may live forever,"
Steinkraus and community leaders established the Barnum Festival,
saluting Barnum and the people and events that made him the
greatest showman on earth. The Festival was the jolt of adrenaline
the area needed. Concerts, circuses, parades, big bands and
fireworks attracted huge crowds while celebrating Barnum's
wide-ranging contributions to the city.
Today, more than ever, the Barnum Festival is an entertaining
escape for the entire region, leading up to America's Fourth of
July birthday celebration like a circus parade leading spectators
to the glory of the big top.
In case you're wondering, Barnum was born on July 5, probably
because he wanted the Fourth of July celebration to last another
day. So whether you're watching the Wing Ding Children's Parade,
the spectacular fireworks display at Seaside Park or Great Street
Parade roaring down Park Avenue, remember that the Barnum Festival
is a month-long Fourth of July celebration. Embrace it, enjoy it,
exult in it.
Mr. Barnum is watching you.
--Lennie Grimaldi, author of Only in Bridgeport: An Illustrated
History of the Park City
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