Chatham Area Business and Arts Blog

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.

Music

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.

Contests

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.

Entertainment for Kids

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 1:00pm 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 11:00am. 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.

Please note: Attendees wishing to join in the pie-eating contest or The Great Chatham Bake Off, please sign up in advance.

Chatham’s annual SummerFest event will take place on Saturday, July 8, 2023. Main Street will be closed to vehicle traffic, making it a true small-town festival. Highlights included food, sales and entertainment.

Vendor Fee is $100 for a 12×12 space.

Deadline for Applications is June 1st/First Come First Serve if there are any spots left after June 1st the vendor fee will be $125.  We will have limited spots, all will be on Main Street.

Electricity

We are unable to offer any electricity at this event.

General Guidelines

1. The event will be held on July 8, 2023 from 11:00am-4:00pm. All booth space is located outdoors and vendors should be prepared to bring tents/canopies with weights in case of inclement weather. Set up time will be 8:30am-10:30 with all vehicles off the street by 10:30am. You will be contacted prior to the event with your vendor and parking locations.
2. There is a no rain date and no refunds given in case of bad weather.
3. Vendors are responsible for their own tents, tables, chairs, generators and for cleaning up their booth area.
4. Excess inventory must be kept out of view and booth area kept neat, clean and orderly.
5. This is a first come/first serve event and the spaces are limited, the Summerfest Committee reserves the right to refuse any vendor space at the event, as well as prohibit the sale of any item/items for any reason whatsoever.
6. All vendors must remain open till the end of the event at 4:00pm. All vehicles must be off the street by 5:00pm.

Food Service

Food vendors will be required to provide thier own trash receptacles, maintain their cleanliness and remove the waste from the vent. You are required to have the necessary licensing required by the State of New York and Columbia County.

If you should have any questions regarding licensing you may contact: Department of Agriculture and Markets (518)457-8835 and/or Coulumbia County Department of Health (518)828-3358.