Porchfest to include Juneteenth performance

This Saturday, June 19, the fourth annual Trumansburg Porchfest will kick off at noon and run until 5 p.m. Throughout the day, 40 bands will play on residential porches within the village as well as at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts.

The festival, which was canceled last year, celebrates the many talented musicians in the area as well as the Main Street businesses. This year, the organization team consisted of Nana Potenza, Amelia Sauter and Michele Mitrani.

“Our community loves music,” Mitrani said. “And we have all these great porches in T-burg and so much talent. It seemed like a perfect fit.”

Throughout the day, there will be six to 10 bands playing at different locations at any given time. Festival-goers can find a schedule and interactive map at tburgporchfest.com, and a limited number of printed schedules will be available at Main Street businesses.

Porches hosting bands are adorned with hand-painted wooden signs, made by Alan and Marilyn Vogel with help from the community. Mitrani said the festival isn’t any different this year, except for the fact that it’s the first big community event the town has had since the pandemic began.

“Music and bringing the community together are important,” Mitrani said. “But, of course, this year, on the heels of COVID, it’s even more important. It will be strange doing it after two years. It seems much more poignant after what the world and our community has been through.”

Because the festival is outdoors and the CDC has relaxed mask mandates, there are no specific rules about COVID-19 at Porchfest, according to Mitrani.

This year, the festival falls on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States, specifically those in Texas in 1865. While Porchfest is not affiliated with the celebration, there is at least one act working the holiday into their set.

Singing Notes & Slinging Jokes, an Ithaca-based duo made up of husband and wife team Kenneth McLaurin and SingTrece, will be performing a mix of songs, stories and comedy to celebrate the day. McLaurin believes there is an appetite for a Black American narrative, especially after the social movements that happened over the last year and a half.

“One of the cool things about Juneteenth is it’s the day that the U.S. tried to meet its creed, the idea of everybody being born equal and having freedom and opportunity,” McLaurin said. “Until Juneteenth, that creed was not available to everybody in the country, so we want to highlight that.”

He said they will be performing traditional African American spirituals, some originals and some old favorites. McLaurin said he hopes the audience learns something from the performance and that everyone has fun listening to the show.

He also pointed out that in the future, some changes in the way that artists are booked could help promote more diversity in the musical acts. Right now, the event, which runs on a very small budget, comes together by artists connecting with friends who happen to have porches in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s a great way to build community and a great opportunity to be more strategic about bringing more diverse people into Trumansburg and giving them the opportunity to play on a porch because you have to know somebody there who has a porch to participate, which is sort of limiting,” McLaurin said.

Mitrani agreed that the process should be opened up more and is glad to get the conversation going for next year.

“If people are just hosting people they know, it does make it harder for others to get involved,” Mitrani said. “It’s something we will talk about. With social justice, part of that is figuring out how — in every aspect of your life — you can do more. It takes work to be mindful of it in every aspect of what you’re doing.”

A limited number of Porchfest T-shirts is for sale now at Sundrees on Main Street. Store owner Diane Richards said she was happy to carry the merchandise this year for a festival she loves.

“We’re strong supporters of music — my husband is a musician — and big supporters of anything in the community that brings people out,” Richards said. “It gets people walking around our pretty town, stopping into the store and shopping, going next door and having a beer. People from Ithaca come out, so we get a broader audience of customers.”

Richards said this year has been challenging as a small business owner due to the social distancing rules and mask protocols, but she’s been busy overall. She had record-high sales last Christmas and credits the bump to the community’s love of supporting local businesses.

Parking is not permitted on streets of the village, except Main Street, so attendees are encouraged to park in the municipal parking lot on Elm Street or in the farmers market lot. Participating porches are located between Lake Street and Route 227 and between Halsey Road and East Seneca Road.

Porchfest 2021 is sponsored by Ontario & Trumansburg Telephone Companies, The Gemm Shop and Staples. Learn more and see the full map and schedule at tburgporchfest.com.