Bad weather forced the June 26 river music fest to reschedule to July 10. Everything else stays the same. Same musicians, same location, same fun.
It is a chance for family and friends to enjoy each other, the beautiful river scenery and good music, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., along the banks of the Chemung River on Elmira’s Southside.
Friends of the Chemung River Watershed sponsors the event that includes the music of delta blues sensation, Gerard Burke, of Elmira, folk music and original tunes by Danny Maloney of Elmira and some foot-stompin’ claw-hammer banjo by a surprise guest.
The family-oriented event is open to the public. Bring a lawn chair or blanket a picnic dinner and cool beverages. Kids are encouraged to attend, as long as an adult accompanies them. Bring along a musical instrument for a sing-along jam. No food or beverages will be sold or provided at the event. Portable bathrooms will be available.
The River Music Fest will be held on privately owned property on flatlands between the flood levee and the river, not upstream (west) of Dunn Field.
Please enter the area by the Department of Environmental Conservation access road off Catherine Street, near the DEC pump station across from Brand Park. Volunteers will direct you to free parking near the festival site.
If this first River Music Fest is a success, we will sponsor additional monthly music fests. However, the future of the festivals depends on you. Please be respectful of neighbors, don’t drive on private property or the levee. Don’t park on the streets and if you bring it in with you, take it out when you leave. We want to keep the river as clean and beautiful as possible.
Expect an evening of good music, humor, fun and the realization that the Chemung River is a great place for good folks to gather for family fun.
For more information, contact River Friends at (607) – 846-2242 or e-mail at riverfriends@stny.rr.com.
Tags: Events,
Friends —
WOW! WHAT A…15th ANNUAL WATERFRONT FESTIVAL
JUNE 20, 2009
Ahhhh, the smell of wet cardboard was all around. Yes, it was pouring rain the day of the boat regatta and I figured the turnout would be low, so I wouldn’t go either. Then my friends started calling. They said it was only sprinkling in Watkins and I should come, So I called my friend Liz, who lives in Horseheads. She thinks she is a weather map reader and said she would look on the Weather Channel. oh yeah, she says, within 3 hours the rain will be gone. That would be right about the time the boat race starts, so off I went. It was my friend Dave’s birthday, so I had him ride along, me being the designated driver so he could have as much Captain and coke as he wanted. I don’t know why, but to my friends, Paula, Deanna, Lori…the black clouds and rain coming down over Watkins didn’t look as bad as the black clouds and rain coming down in Elmira. And then, they’re texting and calling asking what was taking so long. Oh, I don’t know, something about having to park 2 flipping miles away from the waterfront! Liz, I found out, was a terrible weather map reader.
I noticed that rain, thunder, lightening, hail, sleet even snow probably wasn’t going to stop these people from attending the boat regatta. I couldn’t believe the turnout…in the rain! There was probably 1500 people there, everyone having fun…as you can see from the pics! And as far as the rain….see all the wet people. None of us cared! Bad hair day….nah!
The dock was loaded with people and the rocks were completely lined. The Village Marina was crowded with people eating, drinking and listening to live music featuring Brett Beardsley. Check out our friend Bob showering under the gutter of rain! One of the local churches was selling hot dogs, and as you can see from the pic, we were all up for it. My friends from left, Paula, Liz, me, Jesse, Lori and Deanna were starving! It’s a good thing he showed up because we wouldn’t have left the fun to get food. Then there’s the group knocking water off their tent umbrella yelling that it was leaking like a cheap Coleman tent. Jesse was having a hard time keeping dry because his little umbrella turned inside out. What did he do? He duct taped it…what else would you do at a cardboard boat race!!
The first team I encountered with their pretty purple, pink and green boat was to raise money for the American Cancer Society. They also had a tent set up selling raffle tickets for big prizes and mardi gras beads that ended up around the necks of all my friends. The Elmira City School District also had a boat. The team put in a lot of hard work and had a great time with their school bus themed boat. They gladly posed for their pic! Everyone was wondering why there was a girl, relentlessly paddling toward the finish line in just a little purple box. Well, it was actually a boat that broke in half, leaving her teammate in yet another little purple box. They rowed and rowed and rowed, the crowd roared with cheers when they finally made it to the finish line!
And you gotta love the pic of Jon Drake, owner of Jon Drake Heating, sporting a lovely pink and jeweled umbrella. See, everyone just wanted to be there watching the race (some would go to any length to keep dry). The Watkins Glen Fire Rescue spent the entire afternoon, hard at work pulling contestants from the water, as well as soggy hunks of cardboard. The dumpsters, as you can see, were completely full. Yet….is that contestants trying to put their humongous boat on top?!
By the time the last boat launched, from team Jerlando’s Pizza, the rain was the heaviest it had been all day. Did that stop them? Look at the pic….they had so much duct tape that there couldn’t have been a store within 50 miles that had any on their shelves!
What a day…my friends, Paula, who is in the pic refusing to come down of the bench for fear of “losing my spot”, Deanna, Liz, Jesse, Bob, Dave, Lori, Sue, Juri, Jana, and myself…..were part of a day where everyone was having a great time. And more great times for this summer are in store! Oh and Jesse….you forgot your umbrella, but don’t worry we brought it back for you!
Tags: Events,
Friends —
Yesterday I was standing in the side yard of my new West Elmira home listening to my 11-year-old son wail about his bicycle being stolen…again. Funny thing is, we lived in the “ghetto” south-side for almost 18 years and only had a bike stolen once. Moved to the “better” side of town and have had 3 bikes stolen in 6 months, once being taken down off bike hooks in the garage! Anyway, my long time friend, Jason Kirk was riding by on his recumbent bike and spotted me in the yard. We chatted for awhile about old times, his days of playing bass in the band “Glasshead” and exhauting tours. As he reminisced about playing in different states, he remembered being lost in Georgia. He walked into an establishment with his long hair hanging, a 6′3″, skinny, white boy with New York license plates. He approached a man working there and simply asked for directions. The man said, “boy, you better get your damn yankee ass outta here”. Jason kindly informed the man that his grandparents were from France and if he really wanted to be technical, he had some Native American in him and could ask him to leave his country! The man rudely told him to take his yankee ass next door, maybe they would tell him something. All I could think was that maybe the people next door were worse and would have a shotgun waiting for him. But, Jason, creative and witty as he is, thought of a different approach. He pulled his long hair up inside his hat, which he put on backwards. He walked in the place and using the most exaggerated drawl he could, he asked a man for directions, saying he was with a country band to gain his friendship. The man willingly began to give Jason directions, commenting back on Jason’s drawn out explanation of how he ended up there. Until….he spotted the bus with New York license plates! As anyone who knows Jason would know, he quickly had it covered. He blamed it on his “real” bus breaking down in New York and having to drive this wretched vehicle back south. The man fell for the story and finally gave up the directions. Jason let his hair down and headed home….where he plans on staying!
Tags: Friends —
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Hey Paula and Deanna….my best buds! Saturday was a great time at the Village Marina, Tiki and the others..haha Remember, the chips that come with your food at the Marina are for decoration only!
Question: Why do they call it Mount Gay Rum?!
Tags: Friends —
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