Maddy Walsh & The Blind Spots perform at Taste of Chenango this weekend. (Submitted photo)

By Sophia Root,

Commerce Chenango

It’s no secret that Chenango County has a rich culture of innovation, agriculture, and art. Each summer, festivals around the county demonstrate these, such as the Taste of Chenango Music & Food Festival, held this past Saturday.

Over 4,000 attendees from inside and outside the county came to the fairgrounds to enjoy a day full of music, food, shopping and activities. Building off the success of last year’s event, the festival was a celebration of everything local.

The festival setup provided an opportunity for Chenango County vendors to mobilize their business, introducing them to a different audience than their typical storefront. Another way vendors engaged with customers this year was through $1 samples of products.

New to the festival this year was the impressive Touch-a-Truck lineup, donated for the day by many local businesses and departments, including: Blueox, P.A.K. Construction, Rentals To Go, Burrell’s Excavating, Norwich City Police Department, Norwich City Fire Department, and dcmo boces.

The kids in attendance enjoyed exploring the trucks and large vehicles, and the kids’ section with lawn games and a bounce house provided by Live Event NY. Gilbertsville Goat Yoga brought some young goats for a petting zoo, and there were also face painting and caricature stations manned by local artists.

Entertainment lasted throughout the day, with a mainstage for rock performances and an acoustic stage for more laid-back ones. The mainstage hosted Junkyard Heights, The Nate Gross Band, and Maddy Walsh & The Blind Spots, while the Acoustic stage saw Khalil Jade and Mark Nanni. The variety of artists brought an ever-changing ambiance that kept the festival goers engaged and excited for what was next.

Commerce Chenango is pleased with how the festival went this year and is looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to sponsors Kerry, Unison, and sfcu for sponsoring the festival; keeping admission free and vendor fees affordable.