The Crossings of Colonie will soon be full of fall cheer at the annual Colonie Harvest Fest, which will feature a full day of entertainment, crafts and food.
The free festival is gearing up for its seventh year at The Crossings, located at 580 Albany Shaker Road, on Sunday, Sept. 15, from noon to 5 p.m. The family-friendly event is jam packed with goodies including pony rides, live music, farmers market vendors and more.
Town Supervisor Paula Mahan said the town expects to draw about 5,000 people throughout the day, which is similar to past years.
“There’s just people coming and going all day,” Mahan said. “It’s usually very well attended.”
The festival will take place all over the 130-acre park, rain or shine. Entertainment will filter in and out throughout the day and will include wagon rides, face painting with Bon Bon the Clown, balloon sculptures by Q. T. Pie the Clown and caricatures by Mary Thompson. A magic show by Melvin the Magnificent will take place at 2:30 p.m. and a puppet show by The Puppet People will run from 1 to 4 p.m.
Live music will waft through the park from the gazebo with Nick Coluccio from noon to 1 p.m., Big Radio from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. and Pipe Kings from 3:15 to 5 p.m.
“I feel like the community really looks forward to the event,” said Laura Archambault, of Colonie Youth Services. “Each year gets bigger and bigger. And it’s fun for the families to come out. It’s nice for a family to go and enjoy a day of activities together.”
Attendees don’t need to worry about food, since there will be plenty of it to choose from, including fried dough, kettle corn, pizza, ice cream, Italian ice, hot dogs, hamburgers and cotton candy. Food vendors include DC’s Pizza & Catering in Colonie, Sarchioto’s Concessions in Duanesburg and Mister Soft Ice Cream Co. in Rensselaer.
Craft vendors will also set up tables throughout the park, selling items including honey from B’s Honey Company in Watervliet, jewelry and scarves from Craftin’ Cuzzins in Ballston Spa, packaged dips and sauces from Tastefully Simple in Latham and kitchen tools from The Pampered Chef in Loudonville.
Several government sponsored programs will also take place during the afternoon, including a DARE program by the Colonie Police Department and CPR training from Colonie EMS. The Albany Pine Bush Preserve and the Shaker Heritage Society will both offer different children’s interactive activities.
This year’s festival is primarily locally sponsored by County Waste and Recycling, Sunmark Federal Credit Union, ShopRite and Waste Connections.
