By Kate Bartlett
Festivals Fredonia Inc, a nonprofit organization, hosts five core annual events in Fredonia, NY, aimed at boosting tourism, supporting local businesses, and enhancing community life. These events—including the Festival Italia, Red, White & Blues, and others—attract nearly 20,000 visitors annually, celebrating local heritage, art, and culture.
Larry Fiorella has been involved with the organization for over 12 years, serving as president for 10. Despite announcing plans to step down at the end of 2025, he is still currently co-president with Isabella Pucci-Schaefer. Larry has been a key figure in promoting community, culture and tourism in the area. He became involved in 2014 seeking more community engagement. “I was at a point in my life where I had time to devote to the community,” explains Larry. “I’m also a huge Blues fan, so I was excited to get involved with the annual Red, White and Blues Festival.”
Originally from Jamestown, Larry now lives in Fredonia. He is passionate about promoting Fredonia, attracting visitors to the area, and creating opportunities for community engagement. “It’s been a wonderful, enriching and rewarding process,” explains Larry. “It’s been great to see so many generous people with their time and money who want to support our community.”
Fredonia Festivals Inc. formed in 2009 with the intention of organizing resources in order to best support the community festivals and establish a nonprofit. When Larry got involved over 12 years ago, the board consisted of only four members. It has grown steadily over the years, and currently has 15 members. “We’ve evolved through the years and have grown to help best meet the needs of the community,” explains Larry.
The original four festivals included Fredonia History Days (formally known as Victorian Dazzle), Harvest Moon Cemetery Tours, Red White and Blues and Miracle on Main Street. Over the years, the organization has incorporated additional festivals in order to attract visitors to the area and provide a wider variety of events. “We’re proud to have an eclectic mix of festivals here in Fredonia,” remarks Larry. “We’ve been able to organize our resources to help these festivals grow and ultimately offer more to our community. It’s remarkable to have such a unique diversity of annual festivals offered in a small town of under 10,000 people.”
Festivals Fredonia currently puts on five annual festivals throughout the calendar year including: Fredonia Easter Festival • Festival Italia, Red • White and Blues • Harvest Moon Cemetery Tours and Miracle on Main Street. Many of the festivals aim to provide a family-fun event to commemorate holiday seasons while supporting local businesses in the community (Easter, Miracle on Main, Harvest Moon). Others celebrate the diversity and cultures in the Fredonia Area (Italia and Red, White & Blues). All commemorate the unique charm of Fredonia and gather the community together in celebration.
The organization recently added a new festival this year, The Ice Wine Festival, with hopes of continuing in future years on the third weekend in January.
Perhaps the most renowned festival, Red, White and Blues, is celebrated the weekend after Labor Day, bringing the community together with music. This two-day music event begins on Friday, with an all-day ‘progressive music crawl’ at local establishments on Saturday. “It’s an incredible opportunity to enjoy a wide-variety of local musicians,” explains Larry. Guests make their way through Fredonia changing location about every hour with different live music at around 12 different venues. “We’re proud to have helped this event grow over the years. We now offer a VIP experience including the opportunity to meet musicians and relax in a more private atmosphere with food and drink.”
Larry is grateful for the community support for Fredonia Festivals throughout the years. “This community, all the volunteers and our sponsors have been imperative at helping our festivals grow; we couldn’t do it without everyone’s support. We invite everyone near and far to come out and experience one of our fun and interactive festivals and experience what Fredonia has to offer.”
For more information visit FestivalsFredoniaNY.org and follow on social media. Anyone looking to get involved can email festivalsfredoniany@gmail.com or call (716) 785-7123.