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KATONAH, N.Y. Area residents are invited to come party at JuneFest in downtown Katonah on Sunday, June 3.
Presented by the Katonah Chamber of Commerce, the free arts festival will feature performances by bands and local dance groups, work from a variety of local artists, goods from local shops and delicious food all afternoon.
The event is co-hosted by local nonprofit Katonah Live, a grassroots organization with a mission to bring the arts to Katonah.
The "Spring into Katonah" event held May 24 at Lasdon Park was a sophisticated affair geared more toward adults. JuneFest is "a great family event," said Edris Scherer, co-president of the Katonah chamber.
This Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., families can set out lawnchairs and picnic blankets on Lot 2 behind Katonah Paint & Hardware and Katonah Art and Frame. Will Van Sise and the Strugglers will be the first to hit the Katonah Live stage with their high energy mix of rock, roots and country music.
For the day's second act, the PitchBlak Brass Band, a 10-piece group of New York City-based musicians, will perform its mix of hiphop, rap and jazz.
Beside the stage, the Katonah Art Center will set up a display of artwork from the center's upcoming show along with a childrens arts and crafts table.
Chamber members decided that early June would be a great time for retailers and arts-related chamber members such as Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, which will set up the stage, to pull together to put on a showcase, Scherer said.
The hamlet of Katonah has a diverse selection of retailers so one can find most anything downtown," Scherer said. She also cited the area's large appetite for music and the arts.
Katonah Live representative Kelly Wheeler echoed Scherers point that the arts play a large part in the community, which, she said, "is also home to many wonderfully talented people of all ages."
Katonah Live started as a way to raise arts awareness in the schools, with a small concert held in the gazebo in the center of town, Wheeler said. But with the help and enthusiasm of like-minded people, its mission grew into a more all-encompassing one.
Scherer said the JuneFest event is a rain date for last year's Fall Festival, which was moved indoors to the Katonah Village Library because of bad weather. The Knox Sisters, local high school band Hot in the Pocket, The Folkadelics and The Drew Bordeaux Group performed at the earlier concert.
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