FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — While summer seems far away, those in Brady Lake have their eyes on a major moment for the community: the return of Captain Brady Day.
Brady Lake, a now quiet community of about 500 residents, is planning to revive Captain Brady Day, a festival that last took place in 2007.
The event was once a major attraction that drew visitors to the former amusement park and summer resort village.
"It was nothing to have 10,000 people here," Hal Lehman, former mayor of Brady Lake, reminisced.
While the festival ended in 2007, Brady Lake would go on to vote to dissolve the village in 2017 after 90 years of incorporation.
"It just got so hard to try and keep up," Lehman said in a 2024 interview with News 5.
Watch that 2024 story about small villages dissolving below:
Now, a team of volunteers spanning multiple generations is coming together to bring back the community celebration.
The new Captain Brady Day plans include a parade, kayak race and other family-friendly attractions designed to bring neighbors together like in years past.
"It was important just to get people together and bring their kids," Lehman said. "It would be good to know who the neighbors are now compared back to when I was a kid when we knew everybody around the lake and go for the day and just lock your screen door and that was it."
Joe Quallich, who moved to Brady Lake 10 years ago, couldn't believe it when he heard about the festival's return and told News 5 he's excited by the push to revive some of Brady Lake's small-town charm.
"You see some new houses going up – let's include those people and what they bring to the area. Get to know your neighbors," Quallich said.
In the coming months, the community plans to host fundraising events and is actively looking to recruit volunteers for the festival.
Captain Brady Day is scheduled for July 25.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
