Large crowd turns out for inaugural Cohoes event
COHOES, N.Y. » Good food, good music and beautiful weather — the perfect ingredients for a fun day in the park.
The recipe seemed to work as hundreds of people turned out Saturday for the inaugural Cohoes Fall Festival at Col. Robert R. Craner Veterans Park on North Mohawk Street.
The event is an outgrowth of the summer Rock the Block music series at Canal Square.
“We wanted to kind of spread the wealth and do something at this park, too,” said Kathleen LaBombard, Mayor Shawn Morse’s secretary, who helped organize the festival. “We haven’t done much here before.”
Kids played miniature golf, romped around in a giant pumpkin-shaped bounce house, and sat for creative face-paintings. Adults kicked back and relaxed beneath the warm afternoon sun while the popular bands EVO2 and E.B. Jeb played a variety of tunes.
Mother Nature contributed to the event’s success by providing clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 70s.
“It’s not every year you get to play outside this late in the year,” said Kevin Carey, EVO2’s keyboard player. “It’s nice when people can bring their whole families to an event like this.”
“It’s just a nice gig, a fun time,” said Brad Monkell, the band’s bass player.
EVO2, a party cover band, plays a mix of rock, funk, country and pop “all rolled into one,” he said.
Food vendors such as Mick’s Pizza, LJ’s Food Cart and Babe’s Cafe put smiles on people’s faces, too.
“Everything in my restaurant is made from scratch,” Babe’s Cafe owner Phil Phillips said.
He served up numerous portions of Manhattan clam chowder and Buffalo mac-and-cheese.
Craner park is just a few minutes’ walk from the famous Cohoes Falls. The site was named for late Vietnam veteran and pilot Col. Robert R. Craner, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after being shot down in December 1967. Fellow prisoners, including U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Az., cited his courage and moral leadership for helping them survive the ordeal.
Craner came home to a hero’s welcome in 1973.
On Saturday, the park was a place of peace, camaraderie and friendship.
“It’s such a beautiful day,” one festival-goer said. “It’s just nice to be out with the community, seeing everybody together.”
Die-hard Yankee fans George and Sandra Criscione brought their grandson, Joshua Criscione Jr., to the park for fun activities, while waiting for Saturday night’s American League Championship Series Game 7 against the Houston Astros to begin.
The winner advances to play the Dodgers in the World Series, which begins Tuesday.
George came to the park dressed in a Yankee uni- form jersey.
“I hope they win,” he said.
Cohoes High School International Club students did a community service project by helping with games for tiny tots. They also sold candy and water to raise money for a club trip to Boston next spring.
“We’ll be going to the Boston Science Museum, aquarium and walk the Freedom Trail,” said club adviser Amy Frost, a high school French teacher. “Last year the kids went to New York [City]. They saw an exhibition of Egyptian and Greek art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and went to the Bronx Zoo in the afternoon. Trips like this are a great experience for them.”