By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
Fourth of July revelers can extend the party one more day in Baldwinsville. The second annual Baldwinsville Canal Arts Festival takes place Thursday, July 5, at Paper Mill Island and along the Southwest Trail.
The festival, which is run by the Baldwinsville Center for the Arts, is a showcase of local talent — musical, artistic, culinary and more — centered around the village’s waterfront.
Last year’s inaugural event coincided with the bicentennial celebration of the Erie Canal and featured a performance by the Albany Symphony, which was funded by New York state’s Water Music NY grant.
“When the Albany Symphony approached us, it was like kismet,” Kelley Hamilton, artistic director of the BCA, said of last year’s event.
This year, however, the BCA was left to its own devices to plan the festival. Despite the lack of state funding for a musical act, the organization has been working with Chuck Chao of Creative Concerts, which partners with the village to handle entertainment for Paper Mill Island.
“Some folks really like the rock concerts, but we bring different styles of music and something more family-friendly,” Hamilton said.
This year’s entertainers include the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild’s youth performers, jazz fusion group the Gabe Condon Band and local party rockers Atlas, who will top off the evening’s performances.
The arts festival encompasses more than music. Visual artwork from Mike Conway’s Canton Woods Senior Center arts group will be on display, and representatives from the North West Family YMCA will host a pottery demonstration with a throwing wheel.
“They do dancing and painting and pottery, and those are the people we’re trying to reach,” said Jim Dale, BCA board member and co-owner of the Baldwinsville Bed and Breakfast.
BCA’s mission, Dale and Hamilton said, is to promote various forms of art from around the community. Their goal is to connect artists, venues and audiences similar to the way the Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce connects local businesses.
“We’ve been around such a long time now, [but] most people don’t know we’re here and what we can do for the community,” Dale said. “Ultimately, we’d like to be able to create an umbrella for artists of all kinds, give them an opportunity to create profiles and promote their art.”
In addition to celebrating all that the B’ville art scene has to offer, the Baldwinsville Canal Arts Festival is a fundraiser for the BCA. Chao and the BCA are selling $10 souvenir cups to support the effort; the initial purchase includes one serving of beer or wine.
The proceeds will go toward future BCA events. Hamilton said last year’s “Ghostwalk,” which featured a tour of historical locations throughout the village narrated by actors portraying “ghosts” of B’ville’s past, was a hit with the community. Since the BCA does not have a physical headquarters, the organization is free of much of the administrative overhead that many groups must deal with.
“There’s so much we can do without a physical space. We can plug into existing spaces,” Hamilton said.
While the organization is looking into securing its own space someday, right now the BCA is hoping to fill the village’s parks, restaurants and other locations with performances and events.
“As we build our 2019 calendar, we hope to fill that calendar with monthly events and help people see it’s really a vibrant arts community unbeknownst to them,” Dale said. “We love when people say, ‘There’s tons of things to do in Baldwinsville.’”
To learn more about the BCA and its events, visit bvillearts.org.
Schedule of events
The Baldwinsville Canal Arts Festival takes place from noon to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 5, at Paper Mill Island and along the Southwest Trail (Water Street to Lock 24). The festival features more than 50 artists and crafters as well as food trucks, kids’ activities and live music. The entertainment lineup includes:
- Noon: Preview from “Footloose,” the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild’s summer youth production, at the flagpole on the Southwest Trail
- 2 p.m.: Frenay and Lenin at the Visitors’ Center on the Southwest Trail
- 3:30 p.m.: “Baldwinsville’s Got Talent” karaoke contest at Paper Mill Island
- 5 p.m.: The Gabe Condon Band
- 6:30 p.m.: Brig Juice Brass Line
- 8 p.m.: Atlas
