Chatham’s Summerfest

On Saturday, July 8th, Chatham welcomes back Summerfest, a fun summer festival for all ages on the village’s charming Main Street. Presented by Metzwood Insurance, this year’s festival runs from 11:00-4:00 and boasts live music, an incredible list of vendors, and lots of activities.

Summerfest’s two main stages are located at either end of the festival- one at Chatham Brewery at 59 Main Street (hosting Rich Hallenbeck’s new band, The Landing Party from 1:00-3:00) and the other at Yanni’s Restaurant at 29 Hudson Avenue (hosting Joe Adee and The Lugnuts from 1:00-4:00). In addition, The Garage at Chatham, an arts series here in the village will bring a first-class strings performance to the festival. A pie-eating contest (one for adults and one for the under-16 set), sponsored by Chatham’s own Pieconic, promises to be lots of messy fun, and the village invites all anyone and everyone (of all levels and ages) to show off their baking skills and compete for the blue ribbon in The Great Chatham Bake-Off.

There will lots of entertainment for the kids- miniature horses from the High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding Center, a strolling magician, tie-dying at Off the Rails, children’s games from the 1800’s and a scavenger hunt, courtesy of the Columbia County Historical Society, a prize wheel with the Chatham Area Girl Scouts, and stage action class and theater games from Zoe Wohlfeld of The Rooted Voyagers. The historic Crandell Theater will have two free events for all ages- the movie Annie will be shown at 1:00 and the Columbia County Youth Theater will put on a free performance of Could You Hug a Cactus, a musical for all ages, at the Crandell at 11:00. And Summerfest wouldn’t be complete without a fire engine for the young kids to check out.

Come hungry, because the local restaurants Bimi’s Cheese Shop, Chatham Brewery, Napoli Pizza and Cucina (who will be serving pizza on their patio), Chatham Grill (who will have a margarita tent outside), and Fiesta Café, will be open during the festival. Or stay and have drinks or dinner in the village afterwards, at Blue Plate, People’s Pub, or the newly opened Bimi’s Canteen & Bar. And it wouldn’t be a festival without “fair food”, so we’ll have plenty of food trucks, including mini doughnuts from Adirondack Kettle Corn, the Chuckwagon, Pixie Floss Cotton Candy, and The Hungry Traveler.

A full list of activities and vendors can be found at www.chathamsummerfest.com, as well as a map and all the details.

Please note: Attendees wishing to join in the pie-eating contest or The Great Chatham Bake Off, please sign up in advance via the website. And Summerfest still has space for new vendors. Please see the website for times, parking info, and more detail.