There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned community celebration that brings neighbors, friends, newcomers, and relations of all descriptions together to have some fun around a theme. And nowhere does it better than Saugerties, whose citizens seem to host a disproportionate amount of festivals for a town of under 20,000 residents.
This is a town that loves to play and dance and sing and eat, and we’re all invited to join in on any number of things. This isn’t an exhaustive list; there are ongoing goodies like the HITS horse show jumping series, the Waterfront Wednesdays puppet parties with Arm-of-the-Sea Theatre, and sunset concerts at Tina Charvas Waterfront Park on the first Friday of every month, not to mention Saugerties Stallions summer collegiate baseball league. Here’s a sampler of some major Saugerties festival highlights through this fall.
Sawyer Motors Car Show
The 20th annual Sawyer Motors Car Show, AKA “The Best Little Car Show in the Northeast,” fills the center of the village with gleaming vintage metal and music (there are seven bands this year, one on every corner.) Thousands of people come out to view hundreds of cars, lots of businesses do something special to celebrate, and 50 trophies are awarded.
July 7 @ 1-6pm
Free
Woodstock 94 30th Anniversary Celebration
In 1994, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Woodstock, Winston Farm in Saugerties hosted over 350,000 people for “two more days of peace and music”—a muddy, eventful festival, iconic it its own right. The Woodstock 94 30th Anniversary Celebration will bring food trucks, live music, and vendors together in a benefit for the Small World Playground. (This year’s 6th Annual Street Art display, Groovin’ Around Saugerties, is devoted to hippie buses as a further commemoration of that memorable weekend.)
Cantine Memorial Complex
August 3 @ 2-9pm
Free
Saugerties Artists Studio Tour
The 22nd annual Saugerties Artists Studio Tour will be an opportunity to get an up-close glimpse of the lives and works of the ferocious talents inhabiting this inspired and inspiring place—last year, there were over three dozen artists working in more than a dozen different types of media and ind innumerable styles. Grab your free map and dive in to this self-guided tour.
August 10-11, @ 10am-6pm
Free
Caribbean Festival
The 5th Annual Caribbean Carnival, sponsored by Seasoned Gives, will be infused by the vibrant hues, infectious rhythms, and rich flavors of the islands, starting with a joyous parade and continuing through an afternoon of electrifying live performance, delectable cuisine, arts, crafts and games for the whole family.
Cantine Memorial Complex
August 17 @ 11am-5pm
Free
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
The 35th annual Hudson Valley Garlic Festival brings thousands to town for “a fun celebration of the harvest of what garlic aficionados lovingly refer to as the Stinking Rose.” You’ll find many dozens of garlic farmers, garlic vendors, a nearly endless variety of garlic-related artisanal products from pickles to spreads, hot foods to eat, chefs giving garlic-related demos and lectures, live music, and children’s activities.
Cantine Memorial Complex
September 28, 10am-6pm; September 29, 10am-5 pm
$10 advance, $15 at gate, kids under 12 free
Saugerties Mum Festival
The 59th annual Saugerties Mum Festival is a blast of color and community, a festival for the senses, with hundreds of mums at the peak of their color, an art show of local artists and photographers, music, wildlife shows, arts and crafts activities, horse-drawn wagon rides, delicious food, and more, including the annual crowning of the Mum Queen.
Seamon Park
October 6, 12-5pm
Free
