Festival
Even the bands volunteer for the festival, with their only compensation being food and drink, a shuttle to their stage and professional sound.
But they never end of up with a shortage of bands seeking to play.
“250 bands signed up for 100 spots,” Bill Liggan said.
In turn, they get exposure to crowds that swell to upwards of 40,000 people when the weather cooperates and is free of summer thunderstorms and 90 degree plus days, he added.
While some bands have been at the festival since its inception in 1978, no band gets a free ticket to return, and bands new and old alike must go through the music committee, which chooses each year’s bands.
Kniceley, who co-chairs the festival with Wykoff, and has been part of it since the beginning, said the vibe has changed greatly over the years from an alcoholfueled party atmosphere spilling out from local bars on to the street to a familyfriendly festival.
“The event originally was not exactly a family environment,” Kniceley said.
Kniceley said the festival’s return in 2004 was driven mainly by musicians who wanted to get out and play again.
“We missed it,” Kniceley said.
Wykoff said they’ve worked hard to make the current incarnation family friendly.
“We’ve really worked to make the festival an attractive, friendly, safe and fun environment,” Wykoff said.
The current incarnation has run every year since 2004, with the exception of 2016 when a big water main reconstruction project blocked off Main Street.
Wykoff said when the festival returned last year it was very crowded.
Bre Liggan admitted taking a year off in 2016 made it a bit harder to get vendors last year.
“It was not to detriment,” Bre Liggan said. “This year they’re coming in strong and steady.”
Kniceley added that many of the vendors plan the summer before.
“When vendors plan that far out they’re kind of upset when it gets close to an event and they find out it’s not going to happen,” Kniceley said.
Bre Liggan estimated there will be at least two dozen vendors, many of them local, with some coming from further Upstate and also Connecticut and New Jersey.
Bill Liggan previewed the food offerings which span the globe including Mexican, Jamaican and Japanese food. Others offer American fair favorites like hamburgers hot dogs and corn dogs, Bill Liggan said.
“There’s a lot of food. Come hungry,” Bill Liggan said.
Visitors can also opt to eat at restaurants that line Main Street like the Rosendale Cafe, which specializes in vegetarian and vegan entrees and also plays host to the dance music-centric Cafe Stage or the Red Brick Tavern.
Bill Liggan said the restaurants thrive during the festival.
“Two days of the festival can be equal to a winter month,” Bill Liggan said.
Bre Liggan said this year’s beer taps will feature only beer brewed in Ulster County.
Kingston-based Keegan Ales will offer five-different varieties of beer, Bre Liggan said.
The brewery, a fixture at the festival for many years, will offer one variety at a time and when that runs out they’ll switch to the next one, she added.
The other featured brewery is Accord-based Arrowood.
While the vast majority of the festival takes place outdoors, when visitors feel a need to go inside to cool off they can check out the new Drum Circle 1-3:30 p.m. at the Red Wing Blackbird Theater owned by a famous puppeteer, Wykoff said.
At 3 p.m. Saturday they can check out a sneak preview of the puppetry company’s “Truth,” a play about civil rights leader and abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
Or they can duck into the Rosendale Theater to see films made by the Woodstock Day School at 3 p.m. on Saturday and New Genesis Productions at 4 p.m. Saturday and the High Meadow School Film Club at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Wykoff said, most importantly, the festival promotes Rosendale itself and a sense of community.
“This is a festival built by the community, for the community, celebrating the community,” Wykoff said.
Main Street is closed to traffic both days. Free UCAT shuttle busses are available from free parking lots at the Bloomington Fire House at 14 Taylor St. in Bloomington, the Old Tillson School at 56 Grist Mill Road, Brookside School at 11 Tanhouse Brook Road, the Binnewater Kiln’s/Rail Trail lot on Binnewater Road and the Rondout Municipal Center at 1915 Lucas Ave. in Cottekill.
The buses start running at noon Saturday and Sunday and end at 9:45 p.m. Saturday and 6:45 p.m. Sunday. Bike racks will be available at both ends of Main Street.