One More Pondering About Porchfest

It's festival season in the Binghamton, New York area.

We had Porchfest the last Sunday of August.  The last Saturday of August we had our garlic festival (we didn't go this year).  This weekend is Colorscape in Norwich, New York (well worth the 30 mile drive) and LUMA. Next weekend is Blues on the Bridge.  That isn't all, either.

But one close to my heart is Porchfest.  I don't know the organizers but I do know one of the performers who comes year after year.

What is a Porchfest?  It's a neighborhood celebration of music and the arts, organized by the community.  People open up their porches to musicians, who play half hour or hour sets.  There are vendors, some closed streets, and a family friendly atmosphere. My thanks and congratulations go to all the hard working people who get it done every year, in the tradition of the first Porchfest, held in Ithaca, New York in 2007.

Its slogan is "The West Side is the Fest Side" because it takes place on the West Side of Binghamton, New York.  .

This first performer we saw grew up here but lives in Brooklyn now. Give her a nice round of applause, especially because we had no intention of hearing her.  The band we wanted to hear, several doors down, didn't show.  No band? No problem, just walk around and find another one.  I enjoyed this talented solo artist who sang covers and original material, playing either an electric guitar, keyboards, or a ukulele.  

Her name is Chelsea Bolles.  She sang a song about her grandmother's dementia that touched me.  I can't seem to find a good version online but I would be certain it's on Tik Tok, which I don't use.

Or, you could wake up the city with this heavy metal band.

I think you are getting the idea now.  It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

It's a lot more than that, though, and it circles back to the origins of the original Porchfest.

How many of us know our neighbors?  Or people a few blocks away from us?  Where I live, more and more houses seem to be becoming rentals.  There's nothing wrong with renting or renters, but, instead of having people living next to you for years, it is a too-often annual parade of tenants.  We've become the old timers of our block.

With a Porchfest, you get out, walking from street to street.  When you stop at a house playing music you like, you may see people you haven't seen for a while.  You may even meet and like a  neighbor.  It's not forced.  It becomes natural.

Our Porchfest takes place several miles from where I live.  It's too bad it isn't in my neighborhood, but I've seen enough of these interactions in the years I've gone to Binghamton's to know the value of the festival.

It's a lot of work, though, organizing it.  Each year it grows bigger.  Shuttle buses and golf carts now run.  Police give protection. Vendors have to be selected (all family friendly).   Schedules (and there are schedules so you don't have two loud bands playing right next to each other and so you have an idea of where you want to go) have to be compiled.  There is the need for a lot of volunteers day of, and fundraising, too.  There are sponsors but a lot of money from individuals is also needed.

The good news?  There will be another Porchfest in Owego, New York on October 6. That's only 20 miles from here.

Hopefully, the idea will continue to grow and grow.  We need this.