East Otto NY:
Festivals have been a part of the Griffis Sculpture Park since the very first weekend the park’s East Otto site opened in 1968. For over three decades there were several concerts, festivals and other fundraisers that took place at the park going into the late 1990s. Then there was about a 10-year period when there were no festivals and music events at the 450-acre park.
In 2013, a group of volunteers got the current version of the Griffis Sculpture Park Summer Festival up and running. Since then, the festival has hosted performances by 10,000 Maniacs, Jim Donovan of Rusted Root (see article on cover), Driftwood and dozens of other bands and artists.
This year marks the 12th year of the festival, which will be held on Sunday, August 17 from 12-6pm. It’s the park’s largest fundraiser of the year and attracts up to a thousand attendees.
“Many of our volunteers call it the ‘best day of the summer’ due to the beautiful summer weather, great music, nature, art and vibe of the afternoon,” said Nila Griffis, executive director of the park. “The event provides another way for guests to enjoy the park, and at the same time raise important funds to help us maintain the park.”
The day is filled with music, arts vendors, food, beer and wine vendors and much more. Ticket buyers take a shuttle bus from the parking lot at the Mill Valley Road site up to the concert area. Guests are allowed to bring their own lawn chairs and small cooler. $25 tickets can be purchased at the concert or on Eventbrite. Children 12 and under are free.
“The fun thing about organizing the music for this event is making sure many different styles of creativity and musicianship are represente,” said said Doug Sitler, one of the event coordinators. “At our upcoming festival, we have rock, singer-songwriter, Japanese drumming, reggae and bluegrass. It would be less exciting if we just offered five rock bands, one after another. It’s important for the audience to be exposed or reintroduced to new performers and creativity.”
Sitler continued, “A part of the Ashford Hollow Foundation’s (which owns and operates the park) mission statement is about supporting local artists. Our performers tend to be all original music and performance acts from throughout Western New York. The headlining act is usually a band that has a regional appeal. We’re very excited to have Smilo and the Ghost out of Erie, Pennsylvania as our headliner this year. They are a great bluegrass band that is definitely on the rise in the music world.”
The 2025 version of Griffis Sculpture Park Summer Festival is shaping up to be another success. Maybe you should consider attending and discover why it’s labeled as the “best day of the summer” by those who have previously experienced this glorious day.
Griffis Sculpture Park is located at 6902 Mill Valley Rd, East Otto, NY 14729. For more information visit: griffissculpturepark.org or call (716) 667-2808.