Wilmington Riverfest returns to downtown for the 45th time Oct. 4-5 , and if not for two years lost to the pandemic it would be the 47th.

The Port City's largest fall festival holds a special place in my heart, if only because I've been going since I was a kid. I'm not sure if I was at the first Riverfest back in 1979, when I was 9, but I was certainly hanging out in the old "Kidz Zone" in the Cotton Exchange parking lot by 1980 or '81, if not all three years.

I know that some people like to poke fun at Riverfest and call it "Riverfuss" or whatever, but you know what? If people didn't love it, the festival wouldn't pack the streets year in and year out.

The festival has certainly changed over the years. The heart of Riverfest, with all of the vendors and food stands, used to run along

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