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Arts, crafts, entertainment and more will again be a part of this year's festival in Youngstown. (File photos)
Arts, crafts, entertainment and more will again be a part of this year's festival in Youngstown. (File photos)

Annual Youngstown Arts & Music Festival returns to Youngstown Oct. 1

Sat, Sep 24th 2016 07:00 am

Event to feature music, wine, art, family activities and more

By Terry Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Autumn is now here - the days are shorter and, following a scorching-hot summer, the temperatures are now finally beginning to change. The fall harvest season is underway.

With that, a number of festivals celebrated both locally and throughout Western New York are shaping up.

Up in Niagara, fall festivals are aplenty with the recent Niagara County Peach Festival and this weekend's events: the annual Lewiston Harvest and Craft Show, the New York Power Authority Wildlife Festival at the Power Vista, and a "Fall Fun Party" put on by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Niagara Falls.

Hey, the weather has been spectacular and, thus far, the Buffalo Bills have not. So get out and enjoy.

Next weekend, the River Region's celebrations of fall continue - above the hill with the Autumn Festival in Sanborn (see related on Page 3), below the hill in Lewiston with the annual Marble Orchard Ghost Walks, and scarecrows popping up everywhere with the start of the month-long Scarecrow Display.

 

So what about Youngstown? Glad you asked.

A relatively new event - the third annual Youngstown Arts and Music Festival - takes over Falkner Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Sponsored by a number of local businesses, with support coming both from the Youngstown Business and Professional Association and the Village of Youngstown, this family-friendly affair will offer a number of activities - from musical performances to arts and crafts, wine and beer offerings, foods, children's activities, even a farmer's market.

And all at no cost to attend.

"We're really looking forward to it. It's a free festival, I want to emphasize that," said event organizer Marcia Jones of Step in Time Music. "We have a lot going on; we've expanded this year."

She added, "We've got music all day long. We have a variety of genres. We have Celtic; we got folk and country; we have Native American; and some wonderful local singer songwriters. It's going to be an amazing day of music."

Musical acts include Farther Along, Limerick and Cairde, along with performances by Darryl Tonemah, Joe Webber and Mike Reardon.

Complimenting the event will be some of the best from the Niagara Wine Trail with Honeymoon Trail, Midnight Run and Black Willow Winery, plus Woodcock Brewery is expected on site with a beer garden. A variety of food offerings will also be available, provided by the Mug and Musket of Youngstown and the 700 Center Street Bistro in Lewiston.

Throughout the day, visitors can also check out a variety of crafts and artwork. Jones said 15 artisans will attend the daylong fest.

"We're going to be featuring crochet and knitted items, handcrafted jewelry, glassware, photography, graphic arts," she said. "Most of them are local, but we do have some individuals coming in from Buffalo, and we also have a wonderful artisan jewelry maker coming in from Rochester. So, we're really expanding our footprint on the community, to reach a wide range of people."

"We just have a lot going on at this festival," she added.

Local service agencies, including the Youngstown Lions Club and Hart Interfaith of Lewiston, will also have booths in the park.

"We'll have Hart Interfaith, which is a non-for-profit organization providing affordable, in-home care for disabled persons and the elderly, and also employment opportunities for health care workers," Jones said.

A farmers market featuring area produce will also be offered.

"We'll have pumpkins; our apples are coming in. I think we'll have a few leftover tomatoes, squash - the produce has been amazing," Jones said, inviting visitors to check out the offerings.

And there will be plenty of activities to keep the little ones busy at the festival, too.

"There will be a craft activity with the Youngstown Recreation Department. And First Presbyterian Church, some of the teenage volunteers will be doing face painting," Jones said.

"New this year, we will have the historical society - they're going to do a really fun event, where they'll have historical dress-ups for the kids," she added. "So they'll have old-fashioned clothes and the kids can dress up and maybe talk about the era of the clothing, and who might have worn something like that."

To cap the day off, the Youngstown First Presbyterian Church will present more music, plus a rather neat quilt show, featuring some of the finest crafted locally.

"We'll have a free concert at First Presbyterian Church in Youngstown by Four Shillings Short, and they are an amazing duo who have travelled the world. They perform Celtic music," Jones said. "Also, First Presbyterian Church is having a quilt show, so you can spend some time at the quilt show while you're waiting for the concert to start."

The third annual Youngstown Arts and Music Festival is sponsored by Anchor Spirits, Porter Empty Return, Step in Time and Treat Enterprises. All invite you to spend the day in Youngstown for an enjoyable fall experience.

"This is our third year, and we have been growing every year, and we expect quite a few people to come down," Jones said. "The event is rain or shine, but let's have a lot of shine, and do stop by."

For more information on this event, visit the YBPA at
www.youngstownnewyork.com.


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