Seneca River Days to be held June 14-15

By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

While it might not feel like it, spring is on its way — and so is the Seneca River Days celebration. This year’s festivities kick off Friday, June 14, and the main event will be Saturday, June 15. It is the festival’s 25th year under the Baldwinsville Rotary Club, SRD Committee Chair Ken Schmidt said at the March 7 meeting of the Baldwinsville Village Board of Trustees.

Schmidt said the 2018 Seneca River Days raised about $26,000, nearly half of which was returned to community causes.

As at last year’s kickoff, the Flag Day celebration on Paper Mill Island will feature fireworks, food trucks and live musical acts, including Todd Hobin and Vote for Pete. The 2018 Friday night kickoff, Schmidt said, drew between 1,200 and 1,300 people to Paper Mill Island.

Schmidt appeared before the village board to ask permission for crafters and other non-food vendors to set up shop on Lock Street on Friday night. The vendors want to capitalize on the presence of boaters at the lock, Schmidt said.

The Rotary Club is working on revamping the Seneca River Days section of its website and duck ticket sales will begin soon. In the meantime, nonprofits and businesses interested in securing a booth for the festival can visit baldwinsvillerotary.org/page/seneca-river-day for information and the vendor registration form. Vendors must register by May 19.

Event promoter Chuck Chao of Creative Concerts, with whom the village contracts for Paper Mill Island events, will seek a waiver of the open container law for Seneca River Days at a future meeting.

“All we can ask for is a little sunshine,” Mayor Dick Clarke said.

Speaking of Chao, Village Engineer Steve Darcangelo said he recently met with the promoter to discuss the summer schedule for the island.

“He’s pretty upbeat. He’s ready to go,” Clarke said, adding that Chao has a few things on deck for Paper Mill Island that he could not discuss publicly yet.