The Packers pre-season is underway in Green Bay this week, but "Titletown" has another tourist draw for the next several days, down on the Fox River.
Nine tall sailing ships grace the city’s riverfront for the weekend’s Tall Ships Festival, an international event that allows visitors to tour several of the ships and learn more about their history.
Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau President Brad Toll says the festival is just one of dozens of events the new community CityDeck has hosted this summer, marking a surge of vitality for the once lackluster downtown on the edge of the river.
As in many communities around the country, the Fox was a working river, Toll says, but the downtown often turned its back on the waterfront.
“The downtown in Green Bay is something that’s been changing, and there’s a real effort to get back to our water roots,” he says.
Linda, a lifelong Green Bay resident, says the Wednesday night farmers' market, also on the waterfront, is her favorite new addition. She doesn’t even remember to buy groceries, sometimes. “You can just enjoy the sights and sounds and the beautiful evening air,” she says. “When I miss it, it feels like the week isn’t complete.”
With hotel renovations, a convention center expansion, and a new headquarters for Schreiber Foods all in the works, Toll says the city has even more to look forward to: “There’s a real revitalization happening downtown.”
Linda says when she was growing up, downtown was a different story, in part because of pollution in the river. “The river was kind of a joke,” she says. “No one would even think of putting a boat on it.”
“The fact that we’ve cleaned it up and now it’s a place to be celebrated – it’s just so fun to see it come alive.”
Details on the weekend's festival can be found at http://www.baylake.com/Tall-Ship-Festival.htm
