This past Sunday, Sept. 19, Binghamton-based First Ward Charities partnered with three musical acts and local vendors to make the second installment of Harvest Fest. The festival began in 2019 with the purpose of raising funds for local charities in the Binghamton area and bringing more live music into the community. This year’s installment brought performances from the primarily folk, bluegrass and Americana style bands Bug Tussle, Driftwood and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. The event lasted from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., making the most of the day’s sunny and warm weather.
Harvest Fest, which was primarily organized by First Ward Charities President Andy Kipp, ran efficiently due to its thoughtful planning. Kipp said the planning for this event had been a long time coming.
“Most of it was all set for the [cancelled] 2020 event, so it was essentially like two years [of planning],” Kipp said.
Those two years paid off, as the event had garnered enough community attention to make it a worthwhile fundraiser.
Harvest Fest was located in Otsiningo Park, with ample room to find seating in front of the stage and along the perimeter of the festival area. Many families, couples and dog owners set up camping chairs and picnic blankets to enjoy the day. While the heat of the sun brought temperatures up to the low 70s, the presence of pumpkins, hay bales and corn stalks as decor around the stage and seating area gave the feel of peak autumn.
The opening act of the afternoon was Bug Tussle, an Owego- and Vestal-based band whose sound is banjo- and guitar-heavy, featuring crooning vocals to complement acoustic melodies. As attendees slowly started to arrive into the grassy and green area of the park sectioned off for the event, they could be seen nodding their heads to the music, which lasted for about an hour.
The smell of burgers and funnel cakes — classic festival delicacies — wafted through the air thanks to the many local businesses who participated in the event as food vendors. One popular stop for hungry event-goers was the station set up by Jackson’s General Store, which is located about 20 minutes away in Windsor, NY. Amanda Jackson, the owner of the shop, said this event was a great opportunity to get more engaged in the community and spread the word about the store. She explained how being located a bit further away from Binghamton means the people of Binghamton and Johnson City might not even know of them. One item people did seem to take note of was the store’s buffalo burgers, which Jackson said were especially popular.
In addition to the variety of food options offered, alcoholic beverages were also sold in a separate section with plenty of seating and a direct view of the concert, located just behind the general seating area in front of the stage. Alcoholic drinks were able to be sold at this fundraiser in part due to the manner in which tickets for Harvest Fest were sold. A general admission ticket cost $15, but VIP tickets went for $45, offering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
While the food and drinks produced by local businesses were popular among the crowd, it was clear that the main draw of the event was the live music — in particular, the second act, Driftwood. A community favorite, Driftwood was the primary reason that many of the attendees decided to come to the fundraiser in the first place. Once they took the stage with their folksy, upbeat tune and meaningful lyrics, the audience was captivated, many of whom were dancing around the stage and even singing along. They kept the concert entertaining by mixing in some more lighthearted tracks, such as “The Corn Teen Blues,” in which they invited audience participation, along with their more standard bluegrass tracks.
One of their fans in attendance, Jane Althoff, drove an hour and a half all the way from Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania in order to see them perform. This was her 12th time seeing Driftwood live in concert.
“I saw it on [Driftwood’s] website,” she said. “We had such a great time two years ago, so we decided to come back.”
For Althoff, who had attended the first Harvest Fest in 2019 which also featured Driftwood as a musical performer, this year’s event was a great opportunity to see a band she loves perform live and enjoy a day outside.
While some attendees of the festival, like Althoff, had learned of the fundraiser from attending in the past, many in the crowd were enjoying their first Harvest Fest. Chelsea Ingalls, 37, of Binghamton and Samantha McCloe, 43, of Johnson City both took in the sounds and sights of this community event for the first time from their camping chairs. They had heard about the event through flyers posted around Binghamton at Porchfest, another annual music event which took place on Binghamton’s West Side in August, and a Facebook post noting Driftwood’s performance, a band the two of them are fans of.
Ingalls and McCloe both said they were enjoying the great weather and the performances. Ingalls said she would definitely attend the event in the future.
“One hundred percent, of course,” Ingalls said. “We’re gonna tell our friends about it.”
While Driftwood aided in bringing many of their devoted fans to the festival, the last band of the day, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, played a great set to close the event out. Their performance was filled with fast-paced, fiddle-heavy songs. Their energetic and upbeat instrumentals with complementary vocals helped keep the mood of the festival cheery as it came to an end.
Throughout the six-hour duration of the concert series, there was a palpable feeling of positivity and joy in the air. It was clear that more than just the music and food itself, what attendees seemed to enjoy the most was the presence of one another.
Alpheh Wilson, 50, of Binghamton expressed what made the event great.
“Just seeing people together, having a good time, neighbors enjoying neighbors,” Alpheh said.
After more than a year of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it has had on everything from live events to personal interactions, many attendees were just happy to enjoy some semblance of normalcy again. This was in large part the purpose of Harvest Fest — to foster greater community engagement and a spirit of giving back. The feedback from the event also signaled to Alex Shoff, one of the owners of Strange Brew Cafe, whose business was in attendance as a vendor for the event, the great potential Binghamton and its residents have to hold such events in the future.
“Don’t underestimate Binghamton,” Shoff said. “There is a lot of potential. People just have to take chances.”
Harvest Fest 2021 lived up to its potential as a charity fundraiser that aims to give back to the community while also providing a much needed outlet for live music. Harvest Fest will be happening again in 2022, so stay tuned.