What to Expect at This Year’s 2010 Canandaigua Art and Music Festival
By Kelly Sabetta
This year’s annual Canandaigua Arts and Music Festival is almost underway, and is expected to be even bigger and better than previous years. The Festival, which will be held July 16th – July 18th, will feature not one, but two stages of musical talent performing for those who attend.
Similar to previous years, there will be a main stage, Commons Park Stage, where the majority of acts will be performing. Unlike previous years, there will now be a second stage, Time Warner Stage, which will only be active on Saturday July 17th and Sunday July 18th. The second stage will feature a Country and Bluegrass theme, and will continue to add to the Festival’s quality and diversity of music performances.
The musical acts, booked by Rainbow Talent Agency, continue to grow each year. There are more than 20 bands performing throughout both stages this year, with incredible talent from around the Upstate NY region.
Carl Labate, Producer and Agent of Rainbow Talent Agency, is responsible for booking all of the musical acts and making sure they are a good fit for the venue.
“The bands must be a good quality act and very good at what they do,” said Labate. “This is our fourth year doing this and we now have a good waiting list of bands who want to play.”
Labate, who believes in providing opportunities for original bands who create their own material, makes sure he also provides the audience with a wide variety of music, different from year to year.
“This year is really exciting, because we’re adding a new stage,” Labate said. “This year you’ll hear some of the best bluegrass and country bands playing on that stage. And on the main stage, you’ll hear a great variety of bands, from jazz to rockabilly to Latin.”
Along with Rainbow Talent Agency, we must also thank Canandaigua’s Business Improvement District for putting this event together. This year with the expansion of musical talent and second stage for performances, people should expect to see more high-quality acts and vendors, and enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere.
“We were very impressed with the quality of artists who came in and were accepted, which benefits the community in numerous ways,” said Denise Chapel, Owner of Sweet Expression and Co-Owner of Mobile Music, with her husband Tim. “The festival helps our stores and restaurants during that particular weekend, provides great exposure for the community, and keeps people coming back,” Chapel continued. “It offers another outlet that residents can enjoy that’s free, and is always family-friendly.”
Whether you join the festivities for one day or all three, it’s guaranteed that you will enjoy the variety of music, vendors, and the friendly atmosphere.
“No matter what time of day people come, they are going to catch good, top-quality entertainment,” said Labate. “I refuse to have anything else.”
For those of you who plan on attending this year’s events and activities, festival hours are:
Friday, July 16th: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, July 17th: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, July 18th: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
To see this year’s musical acts, please take a look at the schedule of performances.
Friday, July 16th:
Commons Park Stage
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Sam & Levi
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. It’s My Party
3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Steve Grills & the Roadmasters
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NEVERGREEN
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Speak Easy Three
Saturday, July 17th:
Commons Park Stage
11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Legacy
1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Out of the Blue
2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Dirty Bourbon Blues Band
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Matt Homan & The Bluegrass Disciples
Time Warner Stage
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Ruckus Juice Jug Stompers
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Josie Waverly
3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. The DixieKats
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Dang!
Sunday, July 18th:
Commons Park Stage
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lake Effect
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Bachata Jazz
3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. GRÜVOLGY
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Kristen Maxfield Band
Time Warner Stage
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. The Skiffle Minstrels
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Gone Fishin’
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. The McCarthy-Paisley Band
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Grand Canyon Rescue Episode
Thanks to All for a Great Festival!
Thanks to all who helped make this year’s Canandaigua Art & Music Festival a great success, including our Artists, Musicians, Food Vendors, Attendees, Merchants, Chamber Representatives, Volunteers, Suppliers and Staff Members who contributed to the success of this year’s event!
The Kids Korridor was constantly busy, despite the threat of rain, which never came
Renowned artist and scultpor Dianne Dengel painted her lovable characters onsite
The Crowds were steady throughout the weekend
For some of the Artists, such as Crystal Creations, exhibiting is a family affair
For local attractions, such as Ganondagan State Historic Site and Sonneberg Gardens and Mansion, the Festival was an opportunity to share insights and information
The Festival offered many unique products
Attendees enjoyed a variety of non-stop exceptional entertainment
Everyone was glad that the rain held off all weekend
Exhibitors came from near (Finger Lakes Jewelry, Canandaigua)...
...And far (Hudson River Inlay, Hudson Valley)
Karen Miller, artist for Wick-edly Sent's Karen Miller line found time to paint landscapes at the festival
Works by local artists and photographers, such as Dewey Fladd, were popular
The Chamber was on hand to help guide visitors throughout the Festival
Spanky Haschmann's Big Band Orchestra swung the festival to a close in style!
A great Festival, right to The End!
We look forward to seeing you next year at the Canandaigua Art & Music Festival on July 16-18, 2010!
All photos courtesy, Carol White Llewellyn, Finger Lakes Travel Maven.
History of the Canandiagua Art and Music Festival
Each summer, Canandaigua residents look forward to the Canandaigua Art & Music Festival, started over 20 years ago by the Canandaigua Business Improvement District (BID) .
Nicole handles BID's events and marketing
To establish the event as one of Canandaigua’s premier festivals, BID brought it in-house and hired seasoned event organizer and marketer Nicole Mahoney to run it. Nicole also handles marketing, events, merchant liaison and promotion of the Business Improvement District.
Nicole began her career out of high school when she went to work for her father’s business, Roc Communications Car Stereo on West Ridge Road in Rochester.
“I discovered I really enjoyed event planning. I organized in-car stereo competitions called ’Sound Offs,’ where car stereos are tested for sound, installation and decibel level.”
From there, Nicole worked with Beau Productions, organizing Rochester’s Annual Air Show, the Charlotte Carousel and Harbor Festival, Rochester’s Lilac Festival and other events. She rose to Executive Director at Beau Productions.
About the time her first daughter was born – she has four, ranging in age from 7 months to 10 years old – she decided to do freelance event management.
She had such success working with Canandaigua’s Business Improvement District on a freelance basis, they hired her and, in 2006, she took over organizing the Annual Canandaigua Art & Music Festival.
New developments have made the festival spectacularly popular
Today, the Art & Music Festival is one of Canandaigua’s most popular events.
“We’ve really enhanced the festival and it now focuses only on Downtown Canandaigua. We get between 100 and 150 exhibitors, Our art show is now juried which has really raised the quality. Jury members review the applications looking for variety in the work as well as the price points.
“One thing we’ve done to differentiate ourselves from other shows is to bring in music hired by a talent agency. We get some terrific performing artists!
“And It’s very family-friendly. We have the Kids Korridor with a performance stage and lots of activities. Each year it changes, and we’ve offered everything from a petting zoo and face painting to an interactive music program offered by Hochstein.”
The Canandaigua Art & Music Festival is free to attendees so it draws a great crowd!
