OBSERVER Photo Tents and food trucks are in place near Memorial Park for Saturday’s Great Lakes Experience.

Get ready to celebrate our waterfront on Saturday.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the sixth Great Lakes Experience will take place in Memorial Park in the city of Dunkirk. This year’s event is part of the Spring Festival, which takes place at the park.

“This special event targets all members of the community — young and old, avid fishermen and those attempting their first cast,” said Hector Rosas, special events and Dunkirk Festivals coordinator.

In addition to the festival, which is presented in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Lower Great Lakes Region, there also will be fishing for youth and adults at the site in the hours preceding the event. Zen Olow, president of the Chautauqua County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, said he had secured free fishing for the event that occurs from 8 to 11 a.m. at the docks behind the old marina near Memorial Park. Parents are asked to attend with their children.

The first Great Lakes Experience was held in Memorial Park in 2013 and continued through 2015 and again in 2017 and 2018. In all, more than 10,000 people attended the events, which included a number of exhibits focusing on the lake, fish and birds.

Returning exhibitors include the Primate Sanctuary, Skyhunters – USA Birds of Prey as well as the Department of Environmental Conservation and area non-profit groups.