MINOA — The Village of Minoa will be hosting its 11th annual Festival in the Park from noon until dusk this Saturday, Sept. 7.
The event, which is held in Lewis Park on South Main Street, will feature live music under the gazebo, face painting stations, balloon making, other craft activities, the Bob Barker’s Famous Hot Dogs and Coneys food truck, and vendors arranged in a horseshoe shape on the grass.
In the later part of the day, closer to nightfall, the Minoa Fire Department will control and monitor a bonfire in the gravel lot, and the festival will wrap up with a firework display.
Vendors in the past have sold goods like jellies, fudge products, pies, knit hats, crocheted blankets, stone art, bracelets and thermoses at the Festival in the Park. There will be newcomers putting up stands this weekend as well as returning vendors, and none are charged anything to set up to ensure the experience is worth their while financially, Minoa Mayor Bill Brazill said.
There will also be “NOA” merchandise for sale on Saturday, including long-sleeve shirts, T-shirts, crew necks and hoodies emblazoned with that abbreviation of the village’s name.
As for the live music aspect of the festival, there will be less acts on the schedule this time around because Brazill’s musician brother J., who had been in charge of coordinating the music and recruiting the performers since the very beginning 11 years ago, was unable to lend as much assistance this year.
Keyboardist and singer Tom Chick will start his set at 3 p.m., and he’ll be playing until 5 p.m. Brazill calls him an “unbelievably talented” musician who has toured all 50 states but has an especially strong presence locally having grown up in the area, so much so that the mayor has dubbed him “The Billy Joel of Minoa.”
Chick will be followed onstage by Mood Swing, a local band consisting of SAMMY winners and nominees that plays blues, rock, country, jazz and funk as well as covers of dance songs from the 1970s to today—or, in other words, music for every mood. That group, which Brazill calls “one of those great party bands,” will play from 6 to 8 p.m.
Both Mood Swing and Tom Chick have participated as performers at prior Festivals in the Park and for car shows hosted in Lewis Park during the summertime.
Whereas before there would be as many as eight acts in the lineup other years, since it’s down to two this year, that gives the performers showing up that much more of a spotlight for their tunes, the mayor said.
Brazill said he’s “forever grateful” to his brother for the instrumental part he’s played in the organizing of the festival in previous years and the help he’s offered bringing in bands simply as a favor. The idea for the festival was conceived by the two brothers alongside Greg Rinaldi, a local resident and the owner of Superior Seal and Paving.
Brazill said he’s enjoyed seeing the festival become a yearly tradition that takes place as the seasons transition from summer to fall. He said people in the community look forward to its return and that attendees tend to come and go as they please throughout the day, giving the event a “fluid” feel.
Brazill added that attendees over the years have come in from all over Onondaga County, other parts of Central New York, and elsewhere for the festival, often because they’re devoted followers of the musical groups playing. He said he loves hearing what those people coming from further distances think about the vibe of the village and its sense of community.
The stack of pallets piled high for the bonfire hearkens back to when every class of East Syracuse-Minoa High School students would go around collecting wood for the yearly parking lot bonfire dances held during football season in the 1970s.
Brazill said that when it comes time for the festival’s fireworks, people who weren’t even planning on stopping by the event tend to pull over and park on the roadside to watch them go off in the night sky, making the display an even bigger draw.
If Saturday’s weather forecast doesn’t look promising, the festivities—the music and vendors included—can always move inside Lewis Park’s spacious pole barn, Brazill said.
