Food, festivities, and family fun: that’s the legacy of the Yankee Homecoming in Newburyport, which brings in the crowds every summer and this year proved no different. The Yankee Homecoming in Newburyport is a community event hosted over eight days every summer, during which visitors and Newburyport residents alike can enjoy the city by shopping the sidewalk sales, partaking in the tasty fare of food vendors that line Market Square, or lounging on the grassy lawns of Waterfront Park for the waterfront concert series.
The first Yankee Homecoming was hosted in 1958 by Newburyport and 29 other communities on the North Shore. Historically, homecoming celebrations were a way to instill a sense of pride in locals and therefore, stimulate the economy of downtown communities back home. Now in it’s 55th year, Newburyport’s Yankee Homecoming remains an annual celebration.
So what keeps people coming back year after year? Long-time Chairman of the Homecoming Committee Geri Dorr says that it’s the ever-evolving calendar of events.
“You need to give back to the community and that’s what it’s all about. We try to make sure everyone’s having fun,” Dorr says, who was appointed as the first female chairperson to the committee back in 1989. “We think it went off without a hitch.”
The Yankee Homecoming has expanded over the years to include a variety of events from wine tastings to waterfront concerts, heritage tours and fireworks, all culminating in the city parade, which caps off the week-long celebration with pomp and circumstance. Special to this year, Newburyport became the 14th community in the country to be designated a Coast Guard City, a special distinction that recognizes the city for its consideration of members and families of those in the maritime service. Even if you missed all of the fun last week, you can relive this year’s Homecoming by clicking through our photo gallery. – Alexandra Churchill
Â