CANTON − Football fans and foodies can eat their way through the NFL at a new attraction during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival.
Signature dishes representing the NFL’s 32 markets will be served at the USA TODAY Great American Tailgate during Sugardale Fan Fest, which runs Aug. 5 to 9.
Hot dogs with stadium mustard will represent Cleveland. Sausage and peppers for Pittsburgh. A “Juicy Lucy” burger for Minnesota. Texas sheet cake for Dallas. Buckeyes for Cincinnati. And that’s just the start at the ticketed event, a partnership between USA TODAY and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It’s going to be very cool,” Jim Porter, president and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said of the Great American Tailgate. “You can eat yourself around the league with 32 different food options.”
Football-themed food is a highlight of Sugardale Fan Fest, which debuted in 2025 with great fanfare when sports talk star Pat McAfee broadcast his show from outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the event.
McAfee, 39, was a big draw for fans both young and old while creating a festive atmosphere with his big personality and unorthodox style of sports debate and analysis. Crowd engagement was highly spirited and special guests appeared, including music superstar Machine Gun Kelly, a Cleveland native, as well as a few members of the 2025 enshrinee class.
McAfee, a former punter for the Indianapolis Colts, will return to Fan Fest Aug. 6. He’s also expected to broadcast The Pat McAfee Show from the Hall of Fame on Aug. 7.
Fan Fest itself runs: 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 5; noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 6; noon to 10 p.m. Aug. 7 and 8; and noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 9.
Other popular podcasters and sports talk personalities are also expected to broadcast from Sugardale Fan Fest, including Bussin’ With The Boys, which has more than 700,000 subscribers on YouTube and is hosted by former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan.
Also new to Fan Fest this summer will be free concerts by national acts. Performing on the Raising Cane’s Stage will be Jefferson Starship, Phil Vassar and Collin Raye.
Porter called them “three great acts.”
Entertainers of that stature haven’t performed for free during the Enshrinement Festival since decades ago when the Ribs Burnoff was in downtown Canton, he said.
Porter hopes McFee’s return, the Great American Tailgate, and free concerts with known artists attract bigger crowds to Fan Fest than last year.
Most of the Fan Fest events will be at a new location at Stadium Park due to a construction project outside the Hall of Fame museum. McAfee, however, will be broadcasting from the same spot in the upper lot outside the museum.
Here’s a closer look at Fan Fest, the Great American Tailgate, and other new developments for the 2026 Enshrinement Festival, plus a look ahead to 2027:
Community Parade on a new day
The Community Parade will be on a Saturday morning for the first time, kicking off at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 1 in downtown Canton.
Darla Brown, vice president of marketing at the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the Community Parade and several other festival events, said it’s a big change aimed at drawing more people to the event, as well as more participants.
Past Community Parades have been on a Sunday.
“We’re hoping for cooler temps in the morning, as well as more participation,” Brown said.
The parade will stage across from the Canton Memorial Civic Center on Market Avenue N in the former Nationwide parking lot before traveling on Market Avenue south downtown and disbanding at Third Street.
Nearly 100 units will be in the parade, including marching bands, antique cars and costumed characters.
No fireworks but lots of drones at Balloon Classic
Traditional fireworks will be absent the Balloon Classic this year, but organizers promise spectacular drone shows with aerial choreography.
The Drone Light Shows have grown from 300 drones the first year in 2024 to 500 last year, said Brown of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce. Six hundred drones are expected this year.
“The drone technology has advanced quickly each year, and we’ve seen a significant jump in quality,” she said.
“We know fireworks are a beloved summer tradition, and there will be many wonderful displays across the region this year, especially with America 250 celebrations,” Brown said. “For the Balloon Classic, we’re choosing to lean more fully into the popular (drone show), which is something truly unique to our area.”
The Drone Light Shows are sponsored by the Timken Co. and Synchrony.
“After offering both fireworks and drones for the past two years, this felt like the right year to focus on the feature that really sets our event apart and gives guests a one-of-a-kind experience,” Brown added. “Look for a few surprises this year.”
The Balloon Classic presented by Aultman will be July 24 to 26 and precedes other major festival events, which occur Aug. 5 to 9. Drone Light Shows will be at 10 p.m. July 24 and 25. Drone preview shows will be at 9:20 p.m., a new addition this year.
Sydney Klein, director of events for the chamber, said the Balloon Classic will be a multi-faceted spectacle.
“We’ll have about 40 balloons coming in to fill up the skies,” she said. “Combined with the expanded drone shows and skydivers, plus all the food vendors and more, guests can expect a full weekend of energy and fun.”
“Last year was our first year having craft vendors, and this year we have over double the vendors,” Klein said. “Friday night, the drone show will have an outer space theme … and Saturday night will celebrate America 250, giving us a chance to honor this milestone year in a big, memorable way.”
The chamber is also again collaborating with Canton-based FM radio station Mix 94.1 to simulcast the drone shows with music, she said.
Balloon flights begin between 7 and 8 a.m. July 24 to 26, weather dependent. Evening flights will be between 7 and 8:30 p.m. July 24 and 25. The event at the Kent State University at Stark campus, 6000 Frank Ave. NW, opens to the public at 4 p.m. July 24 and 25 with food vendors, craft tents and children’s activities.
Admission to the Balloon Classic is free but parking costs $15 (cash only).
Tethered balloon rides are also returning this year − $25 for adults and $15 for children ages 6 to 12. Kids under age 5 can go on the rides for free. Tethered rides begin at 7 p.m. July 24 and 25, and are 6 to 8 a.m. July 26.
The night glow event will be at 9 p.m. July 24.
For more information about the Balloon Classic, go to www.profootballhoffestival.com/balloon-classic.
What’s cooking at Fan Fest?
Foodies will be delighted with the USA TODAY Great American Tailgate.
USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures, the events division of USA TODAY, will work with the Pro Football Hall of Fame to host the event. USA TODAY Inc. owns The Canton Repository. Porter, president of the Hall of Fame, is the former publisher of the Repository.
The event “is a one-of-a-kind fan experience that brings together football, food and tradition during a celebrated week of professional football’s highest honors,” says the website of the Great American Tailgate.
So what tasty eats can attendees expect?
Handhelds, sides and desserts will be available and served at food stations.
Culinary goodies include Baltimore crab dip; New York’s breakfast bagel; Philadelphia cheesesteaks; New Orleans jambalaya; Miami’s Cuban sandwich; Kansas City barbecue mac and cheese; Carolina pulled pork; San Francisco cold noodles; Los Angeles street corn; Green Bay cheese curds; Atlanta peach cobbler; and Seattle beignets with coffee-infused chocolate sauce.
Other NFL franchise-inspired dishes include Indianapolis’ Korean barbecue dogs. Detroit has coney dogs. Tennessee will be represented with Nashville hot chicken sliders. And New England has Boston baked beans with candied bacon.
Menus are subject to change.
Great American Tailgate hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 5; noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 6; noon to 10 p.m. Aug. 7 and 8; and noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 9.
How much do tickets cost for Great American Tailgate?
Tickets for the Great American Tailgate, also referred to as passports, will be priced in tiers:
Tickets can be purchased at https://greatamericantailgate.usatoday.com.
When can you see Pat McAfee?
McAfee will broadcast his show from outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 6 prior to the Hall of Fame Game at 8 p.m. between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals.
McAfee’s weekday sports talk program airs on ESPN noon to 3 p.m., with streaming on ESPN+ and YouTube.
His fan base and reach are enormous. McAfee’s YouTube channel alone has roughly 3 million subscribers. And he has 3.3 million followers on Instagram.
McAfee is known for his charisma and unfiltered sports takes. But Porter said he was most impressed by McAfee’s devotion to his fans last year, including signing autographs for an hour-and-a-half.
“He loves all sports, but football teaches you a lot about integrity and perseverance and all those things that I think that he has,” he said. “I just find him to be a very kind, generous person.”
New location for Fan Fest
Most of the Fan Fest activities will be in the main parking lot of Stadium Park along Fulton Road near Stadium Park Drive, about 200 yards below the Pro Football Hall of Fame museum area.
It’s the same general area as where the Hall of Fame Ribs Burnoff took place this past May.
“We’re expecting that many people will take advantage of the parking at the Stark County Fairgrounds and use the courtesy shuttles to the (Hall of Fame) campus,” said Rich Desrosiers, chief communications and content officer for the Hall of Fame.
When are the free concerts at Fan Fest?
As for the concerts, Jefferson Starship performs at 7 p.m. Aug. 5. Vassar performs at 6 p.m. Aug. 8, followed by Collin Raye at 7:30 p.m. the same day.
Forming in the mid-1970s, Jefferson Starship was an offshoot of Jefferson Airplane.
Vassar is a country music singer-songwriter who emerged in the mid-90s. Billboard hits include, “Just Another Day in Paradise,” which was released in 2000, and “Prayer of a Common Man” in 2008.
Raye debuted in the late ’80s with the album, “All I Can Be.” Popular songs include “Love, Me,” “In This Life,” Somebody Else’s Moon” and “That was A River.”
KeyBank Center will be ready for the 2027 festival
Those traversing the Hall of Fame campus will notice the ongoing construction of the KeyBank Center, adjacent to the football museum on the northern edge of the property.
Work on the $19 million project is expected to be finished in March or April, Porter said.
Desrosiers said it’s too early to say whether festival events like the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner and Fashion Show Luncheon will relocate in 2027 from the roughly 5,000-seat Canton Memorial Civic Center to the KeyBank Center “because the events themselves would need to be revamped for a space that accommodates fewer spectators.”
The new facility will include a kitchen and have roughly 12,000 square feet on the ground floor. In addition to hosting Hall of Fame events throughout the year, the KeyBank Center also will be open to nonprofit community groups for free use, Porter said.
He said the “the Civic Center has been great for many years,” but it doesn’t meet all of the modern production needs for enshrinement events.
KeyBank Center will offer convenience and efficiencies, with a capacity of 850 to 1,000 people, Porter said.
The event center will hold up to an additional 500 people on a 6,500-square-foot turf rooftop terrace. The second floor also will include a cafe and 1,000-square-foot VIP Club, with room for 120 to 150 people, Porter said.
An integrated 27-foot-high glass system will open to the outside for some events while incorporating a mini turf field for additional space.
“This is our gift to the community,” Porter said.
Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: NFL-inspired food, Pat McAfee, free concerts pump up fun at Hall of Fame Festival
Reporting by Ed Balint, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ed Balint, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
