DOOR COUNTY - The month of May brings a lot more than the flowers from April's showers to the Peninsula.

They also bring the first of the many community festivals that help draw visitors from near and far throughout the spring, summer and fall to Door County.

In some cases, this also marks a return for some festivals that haven't taken place the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and those organizers look forward to having locals and visitors come out and see what they have to offer, not just during the special event but also throughout the season.

"It's kinda nice to get back to some sort of normalcy," said Robert Geitner, president of the Jacksonport Area Business Association, which presents its annual Maifest over Memorial Day weekend for the first time since 2019. "And it shows that even though we're on the 'quiet side' (the Lake Michigan side of Door County), we do have restaurants, we have the best beaches. It's really to showcase we have something to attract people to town."

And, so far this month it's been apparent people are ready to get back out and celebrate as a community. Two annual May festivals that didn't take place the last two years – the Shipyard Tours sponsored by the Sturgeon Bay Rotary Club the first Saturday of the month and the Door County Scottie Rally taking place this weekend, May 20-21, in Baileys Harbor – sold out shortly after reservations went on sale.

(However, people can catch of glimpse of the Scottish terriers from the rally in action –more below.)

To get your festival season started, here's a quick look at four of them coming between now and Memorial Day.

Almost all events for the weekend-long Scottie Rally, a gathering of Scottish terriers and their owners from across the country and in some cases around the world for training, seminars and camaraderie, require advance registration and are closed to the public. And, as noted above, participation sold out a month ago.

But one traditional part of the rally that's open to the public, and has been popular over the years, is the Parade of Scots, which has the dogs and their owners, who are encouraged to dress for the event appropriately, often in their best tartans, march down County F/EE in Baileys Harbor. Leading out the canine crew is the Clan Donald Pipe and Drum Corps from the Fox Valley area.

Many of the dogs coming to the rally have been rescued from shelters and/or abandoned and have found their forever second-chance homes. Proceeds from this annual gathering of Scottie devotees raises funds to support Scottish terrier health-related research and Scottie rescue; rally organizers said they've raised more than $464,000 in the event's 19 previous editions.

For more information, call 920-493-5664 or visit doorcountyscottierally.com or facebook.com/scottierally.

OK, this isn't a "festival" in the true sense of the word, but the annual Spring Art Crawl hosted by members of the Ellison Bay Arts group help kick the Door County art season into gear while bringing visitors to far Northern Door County.

Five art galleries and studios, a cider house, coffeehouse and adult folk school welcome guests from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day to see new art and demonstrations and sample refreshments.

The featured locations taking part in this year's crawl are Clay Bay Pottery, Turtle Ridge Gallery/Boutique, Gills Rock Pottery, Ellison Bay Pottery, Rob Williams Studio/Gallery, The Clearing Folk School, Island Orchard Cider House and Kick Ash Coffee/Door County Love Artisan Granola. Information and maps to the locations are available at each gallery.

For more information, visit facebook.com/EllisonBayArts.

The first of the more traditional type of Door County community festivals takes place over Memorial Day weekend with the 49th annual Maifest back on the schedule for the first time in two years – and it almost didn't happen again this year.

Geitner said while COVID-19 understandably was to blame for the summer kickoff being canceled in 2020 and '21, this year's festival was in jeopardy because the Jacksonport Advancement Corporation, which presented Maifest over the years, had trouble coming up with enough volunteers to properly run it this year.

So, Geitner said he and the business association stepped up to make sure the festival, which in recent years has drawn at least 3,000 people to Jacksonport over its two days and raised about $18,000 to $20,000 annually for local organizations, kept going.

"(My grandfather) used to run Maifest back in the day," Geitner said. "(The business association) just didn't want it to go away."

Geitner said although the juried art fair that's part of the festival has about 70% of its usual number of vendors, it will be very similar to what it's been in the past.

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Maifest is headquartered at Lakeside Park, on the Lake Michigan shoreline off State 57, and most events take place there, with some happening just across 57 at the Erskine Rest Area and Ball Park on County V.

Running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, the festival features children's activities on a midway in the park as well as a juried art fair featuring works on display and for sale by about 70 artists.

Saturday is highlighted by the annual parade starting at 10:30 a.m. from Cave Point Road on the south end of Jacksonport and following State 57 north through the town, with a presentation of the flag by VFW Post 3088 and a maypole dance immediately following at Lakeside Park, at about noon. Live music starts afterward at the park. 

Sunday features the Lake to Lake 10K and 2-mile fun run/walk at 9 a.m. The route heads through the woods from the start-finish line at the park; advance registration is recommended.

Sunday afternoon also has some of Maifest's biggest traditional events at the ball park, starting at noon with a show by the 4-H Horse and Pony Drill Team and the Frontier Farmers Horse Pull, featuring teams of two draft horses from across the Midwest in competition.

The eating starts at 8 a.m. both days, with the concession stand offering brats, hot dogs, roasted corn, snacks and beverages, and the Women's Club stand featuring kolaches, funnel cakes, ice cream, fruit and more.

For more information, visit jacksonport.org/maifest.

The other big traditional Memorial Day weekend festival in Door County is this one, with about 80 artists coming to the Peninsula for the 24th annual juried fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 29 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 29 at Martin Park in downtown Sturgeon Bay.

"I think it's an important event to start off the year," said Rachel Malcore, marketing coordinator for Destination Sturgeon bay, which sponsors the fair. "I hope it brings a lot of people. It's a great family event, so I think it'll be a great start to our event season."

Artists from across the Midwest will be on hand to showcase and sell original works of art, in media including sculpture, glass, painting, jewelry, fiber, print, metal, photography, wood and ceramics. A variety of food items and beverages will be available all weekend.

It's also a competitive fair, with cash prizes and ribbons for first through third places for in two-dimensional and three-dimensional work along with Best of Show and honorable mention recognition in each category. for two-dimensional and three-dimensional categories will be awarded. Winners will be announced Saturday afternoon.

For more information, call 920-743-6246 or visit sturgeonbay.net.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.