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.

Growing Older with Porchfest

Once again, on Sunday, Binghamton, New York its West Side became its Fest Side, with the ninth annual Porchfest. 

A porchfest is exactly what the name states - bands set up on porches in a city or town neighborhood and play music on a designated day. The original intention was to bring neighborhoods together, was run by volunteers, and took place in Ithaca, New York in 2007.  This movement has now spread to at least 224 cities and towns in the United States and Canada.

Our first Porchfest in Binghamton was in 2015, with 50 bands on 20 porches, and wasn't even officially sanctioned by the City of Binghamton.  Sunday, there were 140 bands on 64 porches, all between (officially) noon and 7pm. It's family friendly, alcohol free (although there are restaurants serving alcohol) and best of all, there's no admission charge. Contributions and purchase of T-Shirts and other merchandise is more than welcomed but each year there are more and more corporate sponsors, too. 

There is all kinds of music, from rock, to opera, to big band era skits, to classical.  You can even throw in a ukulele, although this young lady (a little more on her tomorrow) also played electric guitar and a keyboard.  A couple of her original songs, accompanied by ukulele,  were pretty good.

Here are some of my past Binghamton Porchfest posts:

Porchfest 2023

Porchfest Preview (2022)

Porchfest 2021 

Your Grandmother Would be Ashamed 

Won't you Be My Neighbor? (2019) 

Porchfest 2017  

What Makes a Community a Community (Our first Porchfest, 2015) 

and, finally, 2020, the year it was cancelled due to you-know-what, Musical August Memories

So, why is my post called Growing Old with Porchfest?

This year, the sun got to me early.  I only stayed about two and a half hours and I left one venue after 15 minutes because the music was just Too Loud. (Perhaps the huge speakers by the house should have given me a clue.)

In some previous years we did come early (parking is easier), left, and then came back later in the day.  But that didn't appeal this year.  

Time flies.  I can measure myself and my energy level against the memories of 2015 and come up a little short.  I know low energy and aging don't necessarily go together.  A 92 year old woman I've known for some 50 years has taught me that. But there are some adjustments I need to make for Porchfest 2025.

So, yes, I was tired.  But I recovered overnight.  Yesterday it was on the road to the New York State fair for a concert.  More on that another time.

As for Porchfest, there's always next year, with some better planning.

Porchfest 2023

It's time for Binghamton, New York's eighth annual Porchfest.  I was going to do my normal annual post:

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.    Some streets close. It's a massive undertaking and my congratulations go to all the hard working volunteers and people who get it done every year, in the tradition of the first Porchfest, held in Ithaca, New York in 2007.

The first Porchfest in Binghamton was in 2015, with 50 bands on 20 porches, and wasn't even officially sanctioned by the City of Binghamton.  Today, there will be 162 bands on 63 porches, stoops, driveways, or other venues, all between (officially) noon and 7pm. It's family friendly, alcohol free (although there are restaurants serving alcohol) and best of all, FREE.  Although, contributions and purchase of T-Shirts and other merchandise is more than welcomed.

Time for enjoyment!

But then, this morning, we found a fraudulent charge on our debit card account (alas, our modern life) and getting this reported on a Sunday was a bit of a process.  And, just as we discovered this charge, I got a text from someone I've worked with, letting me know that her father had passed away.

It was expected, as he had been declining, but still....

Just a reminder from the universe that a fraudulent charge isn't the worst thing that can happen to someone.

So, we'll be leaving in a few minutes to enjoy some sun and music.

Casting Our Musical Fates to the Wind

Binghamton held Porchfest 2022, in the Abel Bennett Tract (a historic tract on the West Side of Binghamton, New York) Sunday.  Here's my Sunday post previewing it.

Each year was different.  This year was - a bit unexpected.  This is a bit long, so please bear with me.

But first, what is a porchfest?  It's a neighborhood celebration of music and the arts.  People open up their porches to musicians, who play half hour sets. (Some acts draw big crowds, well, big for a city of 47,000 people).   You wander until you find a band you like, or check the schedule and visit the bands of your choice.  Neighbors talk to neighbors. People run into people they haven't seen in a while.  

Our 2020 Porchfest was cancelled due to "it that will not be named", but in 2021 it returned to Binghamton, somewhat shrunken.  This year it was back and (I think) bigger than ever.  And we saw all of the above.  A lot of bands, a lot of porches, a lot of neighbors saying hi, and someone even thought we were a former neighbor of theirs (we've never lived in that neighborhood).

Before leaving home, we did a quick scan of times, acts, and places and decided on a couple of streets.

On the surface, Porchfest is unchanged from the last pre pandemic Porchfest.  People settled in front of an act they liked, or wandered up and down the street.  This year though, it was so big that a local hospital offered some of their lots normally unused on Sundays, and a shuttle system was arranged.  The shuttle was supposed to stop at the lots, and then was supposed to stop at several named locations in the performance areas.  In theory, not having to hunt up parking sounded great, especially as several streets were closed to traffic.

The reality was slightly different.

At a hospital lot, we gathered with others and waited.  We were all in a good mood.  The bus showed up.

I was expecting a school bus, or even a large golf cart (the literature talked about golf carts), but, to my delight, a city bus showed up. It was a hybrid electric, and it was air conditioned. 

Doesn't that look inviting?

We got on.  The bus took off.

At some point, after several twists and wide turns where the bus had to try to turn onto narrow streets with cars parked on both sides, we (and some others) realized the bus driver was not stopping at any of the concert drop off points.  

By this time we were far from the streets we wanted.  And, I was getting a vertigo attack, something I am prone to. (I've ridden city buses many times, and have no idea what caused the vertigo.) But I could barely see where we were going when it kicked in.  There was some kind of film on the windows of our bus which had an advertisement printed on it.  Maybe that had something to do with the difficulty.

Some of us called out for the driver to stop and told him he had missed some stops. Turns out he thought we would tell him when to stop.  We thought he would just stop where he was supposed to stop.  Isn't failure to communicate wonderful?

He finally stopped, we got off with much of the bus, and there we were. Fortunately, we knew the area although it was hard for me to get my bearings but we were pretty far from where we wanted to be.

Our musical fates were cast to the wind, so to speak.  I was in no shape to walk back to the houses hosting the acts I wanted to hear.   So we ended up listening to bits of several acts we hadn't chosen.

What had fate chosen for us?  If I told you The Parlor City flute Ensemble, a flute ensemble playing music from the 1890's-1930's, would you believe me? (We stayed for about 15 minutes and left only because I needed to move around).  

 

This may (or may not) be a group called Happy to Be Here.  They did seem happy...

After about an hour and a half of listening to several bands, I knew I had to go home.  We returned about 5:30 in theafternoon, which may be the topic of another post, because it deserves more than a paragraph.

Some houses had Ukrainian flags and at least one had a fundraiser for Ukraine

In the meantime, here's a couple of other pictures.  (I didn't take any videos, which I do some years.  I just wasn't up to it.)

I Could Wish I Had a Porch Like This One

Now, fast forward to today.  We were planning to visit the New York State Fair (some 80 miles/129 km away in the Syracuse, New York area away), to see Herman's Hermits.  But we decided not to go (alas). There are thunderstorms predicted in the afternoon starting at 1pm (the concert is at 1pm) and there is the possibility of severe weather.  Once the storms start, it's supposed to rain the rest of the day.  Spouse may have risked it if we lived in the Syracuse area, but we don't.

But, it's all good.

We've learned from experience that you may not get what you want, but sometimes what you get is just as good, in an unexpected way.

And who knows what I'll end up doing today, instead?

Porchfest Preview

It's time for fun and to celebrate and it happens later today. It's time for Porchfest 2022, taking place at theAbel Bennett Tract (a historic tract on the West Side of Binghamton, New York).

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 sets.  There are vendors.  Some closed streets. This year, there will be a shuttle.  It's a massive undertaking and my 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.

(Ithaca's Porchfest was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, but it's back on September 25 this year.)

Our first Porchfest in Binghamton was in 2015, with 50 bands on 20 porches, and wasn't even officially sanctioned by the City of Binghamton.  Today, there will be 165 bands on 59 porches or other venues, all between (officially) noon and 7pm. It's family friendly, alcohol free (although there are restaurants serving alcohol) and best of all, FREE.  Although, contributions and purchase of T-Shirts and other merchandise is more than welcomed.

An article explaining it all.

I understand that at least 130 communities, some outside the United States, will have a Porchfest this year.

As for Binghamton, here's a sneak preview of what could be described as a large block party.  I'm not prevewing the music, which will range from hip hop to steel drum to flutes, but, rather, a couple of houses that were already decorated Saturday.

Here are some of my past Porchfest posts:

Porchfest 2021 

What Makes a Community a Community? 

Your Grandmother Would be Ashamed 

 

Won't you Be My Neighbor? (2019) 

 

Porchfest 2017 

I will have more in a few days.  In the meantime, please enjoy this preview.

Another view of the above house.

Decorations in a neighborhood yard.

Finally, a throwback to the Porchfest of 2019.  Looks inviting, doesn't it?

It's supposed to be hot and humid today, but I don't think that will stop the enjoyment.

Finally: If you are in the mood for music, join me tomorrow for Music Moves Me.  Hope to see you there!

Celebration on the Porches #WordlessWednesday

Yesterday, I blogged about an event called Porchfest, which is held annually (except last year) in many cities, including Binghamton, New York.

Basically, residents of a city neighborhood open their porches to musicians.  If you don't have a porch, no problem - you can use a tent.  You can wander from house to house or, if you like a group, stop and listen.  The musicians play half hour sets.  Neighbors chat, people see other people they know, and the vibe is family friendly.

Binghamton, New York's Porchfest took place Sunday.

The event generally runs from noon to 7pm on the last Sunday in August.  Ours wasn't the first Porchfest (that honor belongs to Ithaca, New York) but now it is held internationally.

These pictures were taken Sunday in Binghamton, New York, at their annual"ish" Porchfest.

This gives you an idea of the vibe - here, a band is just starting to set up. 

Some bands have become so popular that they perform in more commercial venues - here, on the side of a Binghamton pub.  This pub hosted several bands over the day, including (pictured) a band called Wreckless Marci.

The spirit of neighborliness lives on despite the pandemic.

One more porch before I go.  I stayed about 2 1/2 hours and had a great time.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her Wordless Wednesday.

Celebrating with Binghamton Porchfest 2021

Porchfest 2021, Abel Bennett Tract (a historic tract on the West Side of Binghamton, New York).

What is a porchfest?  It's a neighborhood celebration of music and the arts.  People open up their porches to musicians, who play half hour sets. (Some acts draw big crowds, well, big for a city of 47,000 people, and these were held on closed off streets this year).   You wander until you find a band you like, or check the schedule and visit the bands of your choice.  Neighbors talk to neighbors. People run into people they haven't seen in a while.  It's all good.

The concept of Porchfest began in Ithaca, New York in 2007, and has now spread internationally.  Our 2020 Porchfest was cancelled due to you-know-what but in 2021 it returned to Binghamton on Sunday.  Sadly, Ithaca has cancelled its 2021 Porchfest.  Ours came to pass mainly because of grants and a Kickstarter.

Here are some of my past Porchfest posts:

What Makes a Community a Community? 

Your Grandmother Would be Ashamed 

Won't you Be My Neighbor? (2019) 

Porchfest 2017 

The wonderful things?

It's outdoors.

It's free (although fundraisers are run to finance this - after all, the organizers needed security, porta-potties and more).

It's family friendly.  It's first rule is "Be Good to Each Other".

It has rules, although I will whisper that a couple of them were...um, not being strictly enforced.

This year, there were some 160 performances on 58 residential front porches. Some of the names you just have to love: Uke Nukem, 5 Man Trio, Moose and Squirrel, Such is Life, Tallahassee Birdbath.

I spent my first hour listening to a wonderful local cover party band, Wreckless Marci. 

Here is a one minute clip (I ended the video right before someone walked in front of me) of them performing a cover of David Bowie's Heroes.

Interested in David Bowie's original?  Here it is (the song begins about 1:44).

A nice way to spend part of an afternoon.

We were fortunate - Ithaca, New York, which originated the concept in 2007 (it's now international), won't have a porchfest this year. 

Today is the last day of August.  Where did the time go?

Musical August Memories

With the bad things happening - COVID-19, wildfires, derachos, hurricanes - it is so tempting to slip back into the past.  The past where nothing ever went wrong, and we can bask in the rosy glow of good memory.  Bad stuff happened, but not in these memories.

These are good memories, memories of music, memories of a time that seems carefree now.

August is full of cancelled events this year.  The latest one would have been today - Porchfest. 

I'm going into that past, a past where a neighborhood could invite musicians to play on their porches, and people would father together, social distancing an unknown concept, and enjoy each other's company. 

 We could be neighbors without fear. 

 

It was all free.  You could wander from porch to porch, and crowd in all you wanted.

Now...

We are left with memories, and we walk alone.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Porchfest, which started about an hour from me in Ithaca, New York, is now an annual event in over 130 cities and towns in the United States and elsewhere.

Binghamton, New York held its fifth Porchfest on Sunday.

I've come into this area each year to enjoy the music - spouse and I exercise walk here so it was a natural thing to do.  It seemed this year, people really wanted to extend a welcome to others.  Not that previous years were unfriendly but there was a different vibe this year.

Hey, it's OK - bring your chairs and sit on our lawn! (I didn't see who lived here, so no story).

Then, there was this sign.

I was there early enough to see this family setting up because we wanted to hear the musicians next door to them.  This is what I saw:

First came several chairs with signs inviting people to sit on them.  Not everyone brings folding chairs - you sometimes have to park some distance away.

Then came a table.  After the table was unfolded came two trays of food:  spicy potato samosas with veggies, a large cooler of cold water, bags of Chip Ahoy cookies for the "kiddos",  and a sign announcing they were "free".

One middle aged woman headed to a chair and sat.  Soon, two little girls from the house approached her with a dandelion, and offered the flower to her.  The woman smiled, took the flower, and talked to the girls for a few minutes.

What a contrast to the hate others have shown in the past months in various communities.  Perhaps this is because our community has experienced its own mass shooting (in 2009). Or one of several floods (such as the one in September of 2011).  Or maybe it's because more of us than we may think are trying to turn away hate.

Porchfest is all about bringing communities together, and thousands of people turned out to enjoy a day of music.

There are other ways to fight hate, like this religious congregation in Virginia has done.

Big or small, each step counts.

Perhaps, that is the true power of being a neighbor.  Offering some hospitality to visitors - your lawn, a drink of water, a place to sit for a few minutes.

Porchfest Playlist #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and it's time for #MusicMovesMe.  

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only on this music train, please!)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  

John from the Sound of One Hand Typing is our guest conductor for today and he has declared a "free week".

Yesterday was Binghamton, New York's Porchfest, an annual celebration of music where people in a neighborhood on the West Side of Binghamton open their yards and porches to bands.

 It turns into a big neighborhood block party, with some streets closed off and other people selling refreshments, or welcoming people to their yards. (More on that tomorrow and Wednesday).

There is no admission, but fundraisers are held to raise money for the event's costs.

These are some of the songs (not by the bands there, alas) played yesterday.

Joan Jett's cover of the Kink's Celluloid Heroes.  Not sure why, but I prefer a woman singing this. At Porch Fest, I was crying in public listening to this song.

Champagne Supernova by Oasis.

Radiohead's Creep.

Now let's speed things up a bit with Holiday - Green Day

Move Along - All American Rejects. This was a new one for me and I didn't have a chance to listen to the entire video so I hope it's suitable for this group.

One last song, also from Green Day - Basket Case.

Thank you, John, for the great job you did as guest conductor.  We will have a new guest conductor in September - who will it be?

Find out next Monday, same time, same place!

Musical Butterfly

I have seen so many butterflies this summer, where I live near Binghamton, New York.

Or maybe I'm just looking out for them, because they make me feel free.

My wildflower expert identifies this as a fritillary, perhaps a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). I've only just started to learn about butterflies, and they seem so complicated.

As I listened to music at Sunday's Porchfest, I spotted this butterfly, and followed it through a garden of zinnias. 

I needed those minutes of freedom, to let go to music (where you become part of the music) and then be enchanted by one of nature's little miracles.  I needed those few hours without care, where my spouse and I could wander from street to street.  We ended up listening to one band for over an hour and a half, at the end.  Someone mentioned that the mayor of Binghamton was in the crowd.  I didn't see him but I would believe it.  In small cities, mayors do things like that.

The entire point of Porchfest, where musicians play on neighborhood porches, is to let yourself go, in a family friendly way, and have fun..

Children sell lemonade. People say "hi" to their neighbors. Some streets are closed and vendors gather in the middle of the street.  People ride bicycles everywhere.  It's like a giant block party.

I wish it came more than once a year.

Soon, the dreaded winter will be here.  Today, we have a heat advisory. 

But Sunday, we had butterflies.

Your Grandmother Would Be Ashamed

It's time again for Porchfest in Binghamton, New York.

The very first Porchfest took place in Ithaca, New York (about an hour to the northwest of us) in 2007.  I don't think anyone dreamed of how the concept has caught on, but it is now nationwide and in Canada.

From noon to seven o clock today, the "Abel Bennett" historical neighborhood on the West Side of Binghamton, New York (a small city of about 47,000 population) is enjoying "Porchfest", where residents open their porches to bands, who play for free in a celebration of friendship, music, and neighborhood pride.  Although most streets remain open, it's a block party type atmosphere, and family friendly.

Some highlights of Porchfest 2018:

A video for you of "Roadhouse Blues", covered by The Watts.  (Sorry for the blurriness).

What a beautiful garden!

Krooked Knuckles

Alpha Brass Band (the sign at the extreme lower right, which I accidentally cut off, says "Hate has No Home Here".

Of course, there are some who would spoil it for others, and, this year, these signs were everywhere. But I do have to say, if I had a dollar for every can of beer I saw in someone's hands today, I wouldn't need to go to work tomorrow.

But heartache was waiting for me when I returned home for a breather, and found out about the mass shooting at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.  I'll mention only that Binghamton, sadly, knows about that kind of event, too. Ours happened, in fact, where I went yesterday for the Garlic Festival.

I know both my grandmothers would be ashamed of what our country has become.  And I should be, too, for not speaking out enough.  No one should have to go to a gaming tournament and wonder if they will leave alive.

And once again, we ask:  "why?"

Binghamton Porchfest 2017

How can a neighborhood band together (pun intended) and have fun on a beautiful Sunday afternoon?

By having a Porchfest.

The very first Porchfest took place in Ithaca, New York (about an hour to the northwest of us) in 2007.  I don't think anyone dreamed of how the concept has caught on, but it is now nationwide.  In fact, there are several in Canada, including Montreal and Ottawa.

From noon to seven o clock today, the "Abel Bennett" historical neighborhood on the West Side of Binghamton, New York (a small city of about 47,000 population) is enjoying "Porchfest", where residents open their porches to bands, who play for free in a celebration of friendship, music, and neighborhood pride.  Although most streets remain open, it's a block party type atmosphere, and family friendly.

Many people hold parties in their back yards.  One host (the first concert we went to) provided water for visitors, and even some lawn chairs.  

Here are some highlights. 

A group called Next of Kin entertained here.

Crowds gather near a house as they hear a band play.

This yard was so shady.

Here are a couple of videos I took.  The first one, of Next of Kin, features my finger (sorry).

And here, a band called Pool, a winner of various Battle of the Bands.

This is Binghamton's third Porchfest.  As for Ithaca, their 11th will take place on September 24.  One day, I may just show up for theirs, too.

Has your town or village started to participate in this tradition?  If so, please share!