Mayor Shannon Glover urges visitors to celebrate downtown Portsmouth; free ferry runs four days

Mayor Shannon Glover invited residents and visitors to a downtown Portsmouth celebration, urging them to enjoy family-friendly attractions, support local businesses and take advantage of a free ferry running between Portsmouth and Norfolk for four days. "I'm Shannon Glover, mayor of the city of Portsmouth," she said as she greeted people in the downtown area.

Glover said the event aims to draw families and visitors into the city center for food, music and community activities. "I want their children to be able to ride on our rides for free," she said, adding that the gathering has drawn people from across the water in Norfolk and from throughout the region. She described the response from attendees—"people coming up to me and saying, this is really good for Portsmouth"—as the most rewarding part of the event.

The mayor framed the celebration as part of an economic and civic push to make Portsmouth more vibrant and business-friendly. She pointed to foot traffic on High Street and downtown vendor activity as proof the city is supporting restaurants, retailers and other local enterprises "not just in words, but in deeds." Glover said the event involved coordinated work across the Hampton Roads region, noting participation from parks and recreation staff, business leaders, civic organizations and the Portsmouth Partnership.

On transportation, Glover highlighted a temporary, free ferry service that will operate between Portsmouth and Norfolk during the celebration: "the ferry service ... for 4 days is free," she said, describing the arrangement as the result of intercity coordination to make travel seamless for attendees. She congratulated everyone involved in planning and encouraged people to "find your way here these next couple of days because Portsmouth wants to celebrate you and our community."