By Darlene Mae Nowell O’Connor
The dog days of summer have moved through the hills and the sweet smell of early autumn is in the air. Even as cooler breezes begin to blow and each day the sun sets a little sooner, opportunities to engage with our city’s uniquely eclectic culture are still hot. Events featuring our local award winning and widely acclaimed musicians, artists and performers are ongoing downtown and throughout the Pearl City. Autumn is a magical time all along the Alleghany region and in Jamestown, “Tree City”, is preparing for natures majestic display of endless color and continued encounters with the creative character that is flourishing here.
The great attendance of our summer soirees and fantastic festivals is evidence that by supporting the local Arts and Entertainment community we will reclaim downtown as a popular destination for visitors and residents to enjoy. Come and participate as a prosperous future full of potential is on the horizon. Jamestown has been buzzing with interactive artistic activities and incredible live performances since May, and while I have been blessed to attend and participate in many events, I certainly could not keep up with them all, but here are a few highlights of an Art filled August.
Lucy Fest brought lots of laughs and lively crowds of from all over. I spoke to many people who genuinely expressed how smitten they were by the hospitality of our city. It was fun to interact and share Lucy stories, as told to me by my parents having grown up in Celoron, and it was a great feeling of pride to see the city sidewalks full of smiling faces and our businesses bustling.
The colossal “Cruise In” car show brought crowds of folks and families to the center of town while music by the ever popular “In Crowd” gave us all a reason to put on our boogie shoes. I was very happy to see our mayor, “Coach” Eddie Sundquist out and about and enjoying the afternoon revelries. Even he reads The Villager to stay current with the “Happy News”. Speaking of news that makes us all happy, I ran into Amber Mason and her lovely family, thus I was able to thank her for bringing the one-of-a-kind Taco Hut Tradition back to life with her Taco Hut Food Truck. Some things are definitely worth waiting for. Way to go Amber.
Our August Third Thursday Event had the whole city buzzing with excitement. Our Lakewood friend, fellow SWCS graduate and my 7th grade championship dance partner, Lenny Sales with Laura Ferarro performed as, “Lenny and the Landshark”. They gave us a stellar performance as waves of Art walkers Drawn Together by Leslie Calimeri of Chautauquan Art Gallery, flowed into Winter Garden Plaza. Gavin Paterniti, Jim Sturdevant and Dave Ahlmquist rocked the city block and gave an electrifying performance as Mega Sound, operated by our finest music mixologist, Josh Almquist, flawlessly filled the corridor with their Kickin’ Beats. These guys are hometown music heroes and local legends. I want to Thank Joel, Brendan and Jose of the Wine Cellar for their continued hospitality and professional service always delivered with a smile!
Of course, the fine folks from Chautauqua Institution felt right at home as the National Comedy Center welcomed Louis Black to memorialize the legendary political satirist and Buffalo native Mark Russell, and the Reg Lenna Theatre hosted the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, performing the music of Billy Joel, starring Michael Cavanaugh. If all that wasn’t enough, Art Cloth and Craft held a meet the maker demonstration right out on the sidewalk. With a quick trip around the corner and down Pine Street, folks indulged in tasty treats of handcrafted ice cream at the Sprinkle Cone and kids became canvas for the incredible artwork of Patti Boleratz. She gleefully painted faces and appendages with Rembrandt skill, spreading smiles for miles.
With all the back-to-school busyness and pumpkin spice season preparations, don’t forget to keep your eyes on The Villagerfor all the fun that is planned for in Pearl City. The Jamestown, N.Y. Labor Day Festival in Bergman Park is coming up on September 3rd, and is hosted by Collaborative Children’s Solutions. On August 31st, The Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce is holding a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to unveil their new Visitor Center and our Third Thursday Summer Concert is September 21st at Winter Garden Plaza next to the Wine Cellar on Main Street. We are excited to be bringing the amazing trio of rock, TEMPUS to the stage and they open the evening festivities at 5pm. Our featured act of the night is the Incomparable and always Incredible Music of Jamestown’s legendary FEVERHAWK!
We look forward to seeing all of our friends for the End of Summer and Fabulous Fall Events!