Centennial Lake Fest & Grand Opening of Staley Basin
July 2023 marks 100 Years of Lake Decatur! Please join us at the Centennial Lake Fest & grand opening of the “Staley Basin” – July 8 & 9, 2023. This two-day event will feature tons of activities in the Marina and along the lake front. 100 Years of Lake Decatur is a collaboration between the City of Decatur, Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Decatur Park District, and Staley Family Foundation. Join us to honor the first 100 years of Lake Decatur and build new connections for the community and the next 100 years.
Activities include (list will be updated):
- Food Trucks
- FREE family activities
- Boat Parade
- Local arts & history
- Guinness World Record attempt!
We are very thankful to our partner – the Staley Family Foundation. Without the vision of A. E. Staley, there may not have been a lake at all! To honor them, we will rename basin 3 – the “Staley Basin” and will have a ceremony during the Lake Fest. We thank them for supporting this event and future watershed initiatives to protect our Lake for the future!
Follow our Facebook event page! – opens in a new windowwww.facebook.com/CentennialLakeFest/
100 Years of History
As you can imagine, there is a lot of history that happened throughout the first 100 years of Lake Decatur’s existence. We will honor that history with weekly posts on the opens in a new windowCity of Decatur’s Facebook page up until the Centennial Lake Fest in July. They will also be posted on our website opens in a new windowhere.
The weekly posts certainly won’t cover all the history! For additional historical posts, and to share your own, check out our separate opens in a new windowFacebook group.
If you are unable to upload your pictures/documents, you can visit the Staley Museum or the Decatur Public Library History Room during regular business hours and they will help with your Lake history submission.
Get Involved!
Wanna be Involved? Volunteer? Belong to a Civic Organization? Have a Food Truck?
- Artists, Artisans, and Craftsmen – apply for a spot at our festival through the Decatur Area Arts Council’s opens in a new windowapplication
- Local Musicians – email our Music Director, Darin Coffman, with interest in playing at our festival – dmanbookingdtown@gmail.com
- Food vendors – please complete this opens in a new windowapplication
- All other inquiries – get in touch with event organizer Stephanie Endsley – stephanie@havingaball.com
Please note: your application/email to be a part of our festival is not a guarantee that you are booked. We are getting lots of inquiries and cannot possibly accommodate every person/group. Thank you for your understanding!
