Ladybug Festival a huge success in downtown Milford

Female-led bands filled downtown Milford on Saturday (Photo courtesy of Marcia Reed Facebook)

After a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Ladybug Festival, sponsored by Downtown Milford Inc. in partnership with Gable Entertainment, was a phenomenal success. The downtown area was packed with people dancing in the street and enjoying music performed by female-led acts.

Photo courtesy of Scott Supplee Facebook

“Ladybug was fantastic!” Miranda Collins, Events Manager for DMI said. “I especially love seeing the way that these events bring our community together. One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing the owners of businesses supporting each other. Sincerely Clay owner, Jessica Ward, does permanent jewelry and La La Liz owner, Laura, wanted a bracelet. Laura didn’t have someone to watch her booth so Jessica made a house call! It is so uplifting to be part of such a fantastic community.”

Crowds fill downtown Milford during the Ladybug Festival (Photo courtesy of Marcia Reed Facebook)

Executive Director Janne Collins stated that they believed more than 4,000 people attended the event.

“We had so many folks come by the DMI table to tell us how much they love Milford and all of the activities we have in our downtown,” Janne said. “The theme seemed to be “thanks for another wonderful day!” The most asked question was “when is the next festival?’ Then, at the close of the festival was a group of folks walking to their cars and I heard them shout “Milford rocks!” People see Milford as a fun place to hang out with friends and they can’t wait to come back.

Photo courtesy of Scott Supplee Facebook

Janne explained that there are still t-shirts available if anyone still would like to purchase one. Simply contact DMI and they will explain how to get a shirt.

Businesses downtown agreed that the festival was a huge success.

“Holy smokes, we had an amazing time during The Ladybug Music Festival yesterday!” Katie and Brandon Coenen, owners of Red Bandana, posted on their Facebook page. “I wish we had snagged more photos, but it was so busy that we didn’t have time to step foot outside the shop for 12 full hours. We had the absolute pleasure of introducing entire new families and crowds of festival goers to our little slice of toy and comic heaven. Our hearts were touched by the droves of locals who made it through the packed streets and into our shop, especially those who checked in on us throughout the day. Between the fantastic stage music, laughter and triumphant cheering of kids who were pulling their favorite cards from our Pokemon machine, we couldn’t have asked for a better shop symphony!”

The Ladybug Music Festival featured more than 40 bands performing all over the downtown area. All bands were female-led musical acts, bringing attention to the contributions women bring to the music industry. Originally designed as an alternative to Firefly which brings more nationally recognized acts to the area, the Ladybug Festival, held in Wilmington and in Milford, focuses more on local acts in addition to female artists.