The 2023 Waterfire festival in Sharon is set to kick off on Saturday, July 22. Here's everything you need to know before you go.

Folks are invited to come to downtown Sharon from 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Saturday to enjoy some food, art and entertainment. This year's theme is "Midsummer Night's Dream."

Artists will be set up along State Street in downtown Sharon all throughout the day, many of which are regular mainstays at the festival each year. Folks are encouraged to visit them and see what they've created since last year.

"Arts have always been a focal event of Waterfire Sharon. We're focused on bringing art to the area so that our guests can experience and shop for unique pieces and for the artists to gain exposure," said Waterfire Sharon Board Secretary and fine artist, Alane Jewel.

Additionally, a food court will be open all throughout the event offering up many delicious options for guests. Guests with a sweet tooth can visit some food vendors along the street offering treats like popcorn, flavored nuts and more.

"I think that water fire has been a catalyst," said Karen Anderson, Director of Sharon Waterfire. "If you talk to different businesses in town as well as city officials when we first brought water fire, it really sparked the interest in revitalizing downtown."

Waterfire has fun activities for all ages including a children's area sponsored by PNC Bank. The children's area will be open between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times in this section.

New this year is the Gaming Plaza at the corner of Walter Street and Main Street, offering life-sized games like chess and Jenga.

If you're looking for some live music, there's plenty of it including reggae and jam rock band, Qwister from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., 2nd Avenue Project from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Latin funk and soul group, The Labra Brothers from 9:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

River entertainment begins at 8:30 p.m. with Leon Briggs returning to offer a traditional Native American blessing. Following that, Jimmy Pyro will light up the river with his fire twirling, and Aaron Shaw will provide live entertainment throughout the evening.

Additionally, area-favorite, Ally Grande will be performing on the State Street Bridge between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

More details and information can be found on the festival's website.