Crafts, live music, cultural performances and lots of great food abound at the Sugar Loaf Fall Festival

Sugar Loaf — Every year, hundreds of residents from Orange County and beyond flock to the arts and crafts hamlet of Sugar Loaf for the annual Fall Festival. This year, the 35th Annual Sugar Loaf Fall Festival is slated for Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 6, 7 and 8, and is set to be bigger and better than ever. This free event celebrates art, crafts, food, cultural performances and live music each day. On Saturday, the line-up will include Elissa Jones, Improvisation Comedy Group (with audience participation) Blues Xpress, poet Jim Eve and the John Bendy Group. Sunday will feature Project Mercury, poets Ingrid King and Jim Kenny, Tony Rivera and the Mike Quick Trio. Monday’s schedule includes Gregg Woods, Bill Davis Solo Acoustic, Jeremy Langdale, John Reddan and poets William Seaton, Rhodora Penaranda and Robert Milby. Festival-goers will be able to enjoy dozens of visiting vendors, as well as Sugar Loaf Village’s boutiques and artisans famed for their wide array of unique handmade crafts and creations. Local restaurants will provide great food and tasty treats, and performances will be conducted by area musicians and poets. Customized tours of the village are also available. This year, an addition to the line-up, the “Fastest Kid on the Block” foot race, will take place on Monday, Oct. 8. Race participants register at 8 a.m. in front of the Barnsider Tavern and the race begins at 9 a.m., rain or shine. Participants under age 18 must have a guardian sign their consent form. The races are broken into boys and girls age group divisions: 5-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-14, 15-18 and an open men’s and women’s race. All proceeds from the race will go to the not-for-profit Sugar Loaf Community Vision Committee, which is hosting the event, for projects to improve Sugar Loaf’s beauty, safety and accessibility. The entry fee is $10 and all contestants will receive a ribbon. Winners in each division will receive a “Fastest Kid on the Block” loving cup/mug, handmade by Sugar Loaf potter, Ray Boswell. To pre-register and for information about the foot race, call 845-469-9382 or e-mail zungoli@optonline.net. For more information about the festival, visit the Web site at www.sugarloafnychamber.com or call 845-469-9181.