Congratulations to Tom McCarthy ‘92 who had the honor of being selected as the 76th Ringmaster of the 2026 Barnum Festival! The Barnum Festival dates back to 1948 and was created to help support local businesses and honor showman and Mayor P.T. Barnum. Tom is no stranger to the Festival. Growing up in Bridgeport, he looked forward to the Festival every summer and celebrated the festivities with his family and neighbors.
“I’m so honored to have been chosen as this year’s Ringmaster,” Tom said. “I’m excited to give back to my city and bring some energy and life to the Festival.”
He has sat on the Barnum Festival Board and currently serves as Treasurer. Tom encourages everyone to visit www.barnumfestival.org to stay up to date on this year’s events and he personally invites the Notre Dame community of the past, present, and future to attend the Barnum Festival events this year. Congratulations again to Tom and we wish him a successful Festival season as Ringmaster!