St. Johns Mint Festival — Downtown St. Johns

The St. Johns Mint Festival opens Friday, Aug. 7, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 9, with this year’s event moving into downtown St. Johns for 2026. The festival’s official site says the weekend will again center on the city’s mint-farming heritage, with arts and craft vendors, food, sports tournaments, live entertainment and family activities. WLNS reported on Aug. 5 that Jason Denovich, president of the St. Johns Area Chamber of Commerce, discussed the event’s new downtown location in a “6 in the City” segment. ### Why is the 2026 festival drawing extra attention? The 2026 change is the move downtown. The festival website says “all Mint Fest festivities” and the craft show are being held downtown St. Johns this year, while Lansing.org describes the shift as a more walkable and connected setup tied to the downtown car show, live entertainment and stage events. (mintfest.org) WLNS said Denovich highlighted the new location during the station’s Aug. 5 segment previewing the weekend. The station also said the annual event will run Aug. 7-9 and promoted it as a broad community festival with activities for multiple age groups. ### What is actually on the schedule Friday? Friday, Aug. 7, begins with the Mint Condition Tennis Tournament at 8:30 a.m. and the Mint City Showdown 4v4 Soccer event at 9 a.m., according to the official schedule. (lansing.org) Senior Day activities at the Pavilion are listed from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. From 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, the schedule lists the craft show, food trucks, a mint ice cream booth, a retro arcade in the Depot and programming at the Silos stage. (wlns.com) The beer tent and photo booth are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., with School of Rock from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., live music by Roadside Attraction from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a DJ dance party from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (mintfest.org) ### What are the main Saturday events people usually ask about? Saturday, Aug. 8, includes the Grand Mint Parade at 10 a.m., one of the clearest anchor events on the published schedule. Festival hours that day are listed from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The same schedule lists a 3-on-3 basketball tournament starting at 8 a.m., a car show along Clinton Avenue from noon to 4 p.m., bingo hosted by the VFW, and evening live music by Bachelors Before Breakfast from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (mintfest.org) A sober party at the UAW Hall hosted by RecoveryWorx and sponsors is scheduled from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. ### What is new or different this year besides the location? (mintfest.org) WLNS said this year’s highlights include the car show, children’s activities and sports competitions, plus “all-new this year” bingo and a retro arcade. Those additions also appear in the official event schedule, which places the retro arcade in the Depot on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and lists bingo on Saturday. (mintfest.org) The festival website also points visitors to event signups and festival maps, alongside parking information and volunteer links. That suggests organizers are using a more centralized online setup as the event expands its downtown footprint, though the site does not quantify attendance or vendor totals. ### What is planned for Sunday and where should people check before going? (wlns.com) Sunday, Aug. 9, is scheduled to start with an American Legion breakfast fundraiser from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Festival hours then run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with craft vendors, food trucks, the mint ice cream booth, the retro arcade and stage programming continuing, according to the official schedule. (mintfest.org) The festival website says visitors can find parking information, maps and event details online, and WLNS directed viewers to the same site for more information. For anyone planning a visit this weekend, the next concrete checkpoints are Friday’s 2 p.m. opening for the craft show and Saturday’s 10 a.m. Grand Mint Parade in downtown St. Johns. (mintfest.org) (mintfest.org)