Potomac River Festival
2021 Schedule:
Normally the Carnival would be on Town Hill thru Sunday, but it will not be taking place during 2021s event.
7:30 p.m. Firemen's Parade. Begins on Colonial Avenue, turns onto Washington Ave.
New for 2021 is the special expanded parade route for Friday evening's Firemen's Parade.
10:00 a.m. Arts & Crafts Vendors and Food Vendors on Town Hill and the Boardwalk until 5pm.
10:00 a.m.
Miss Colonial Beach Pageant on Town Stage.
11:00 a.m. Kids Zone on Town Hill. $3.00 all day, on Town Hill until 6pm
12:00 p.m. Grand Feature Parade on Colonial & Washington Avenues
1:00 p.m. Scavenger Hunt until 3:30pm at various locations
1:00 p.m. Beer and Wine Garden on Town Hill until 8pm
4:30 p.m. Male Beauty Pageant> on Town Stage Sponsored by High Tides Restaurant
6:00 p.m. The Real Deal Band on Town Stage
9:15 p.m. Fireworks
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Vendors on Town Hill and the Boardwalk
11:00 a.m. Kids Zone, $1.50 all day until 3pm
12:30 p.m. Gospel Singer on Town Stage
1:00 p.m. Boat Parade. Great views of the parade from The Riverboat's outdoor deck or from the Municipal Pier.
2:00 p.m. Pet Parade on Town Stage
The annual Potomac River Festival is in its 70th year in Colonial Beach. It's a weekend-long event in mid-June with fun for the whole family. The gentle river breezes and warm sunshine make for a great time as you take in all the fun-filled events, sights and sounds of this wonderful event, sponsored by the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce.
2020s event postponed until 2021
Potomac River Festival Events
There's a Carnival that usually arrives on the Wednesday before Festival weekend.
Friday
The Potomac River Festival usually kicks off at 7:30pm with the Colonial Beach Volunteer Fire/Rescue Parade. Units from all around the region join in. If you've never been, you should know that it's quite a sight, as well as quite an earful! Those engines will have their horns and sirens blaring, and lights flashing. Here's the video from 2015's parade:
More video clips can be found on our YouTube Channel. The Miss Colonial Beach Pageant also takes place during the Friday evening festivities, typically right after the parade.
Saturday
Vendors on Town Hill and along the Boardwalk open their booths at 10:00am until 5:00pm. You'll find various vendors with all sorts of wares such as clothing, food, art, jewelry, wood sculptures, yard ornaments, furniture, antiques, sewn items, dolls, candles and other knick-knacks. Here's a tip: Buy it when you see it, because if you come back for it later, you won't be able to find it.
DJ on Town Hill provides music for your listening
pleasure. Heck, you can even get up and dance if you feel like it.
Oftentimes, line dancing will take place and it's a blast!
Grand
Feature Parade and entertainment and is so much fun! You'll
see some great groups and floats as they make their way through the
streets from their beginning point, usually at the High
School. Sometimes there's a Majorette
competition on the schedule, too.
Sometimes live bands on Town Stage provide the music for an enjoyable afternoon and evening concert.
A
grand display of Fireworks cap off a great day of
festival fun and usually begin at 9:00pm. Get there early as the beach
area fills up quick! There's always a good turnout for this event
because Colonial Beach always puts on a great
fireworks show. I sometimes park near the BB&T bank branch and walk a
few blocks. It's a good idea to bring chairs or a blanket to set down -
especially if you're in the sandy part of the beach area. A flashlight
is also helpful.
Sunday
The vendors usually open their booths at 10:00am and will last until 4:00pm.
Colonial
Beach Yacht Club puts on a Boat
Parade travels from Monroe Bay up past the Town Pier, to the
Riverboat and back. Get your cameras ready for all the beautiful boats
as they float by.
2014's Potomac River Festival took place June 6 - 8
2013's event notes:
62nd Annual Potomac River Festival
June 7 - 9, 2013
Grand Marshal for the Grand Feature Parade: TORREY SMITH
of the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens
parade theme: Hometown Heroes
The Miss Colonial Beach pageant was rescheduled to Saturday, June 8th due to a tropical storm.
The Friday night Firemen's Parade was moved to Saturday and was a part of the Grand Feature Parade.
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. There were Deck tours of the historic sailboat Edna E. Lockwood at the Municipal Pier.
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