ALTAMONT — Indian Ladder Farms is a trademark location for summers spent in the Capital District. Its annual Summer Festival, made possible this year by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, will combine a variety of anniversaries that are worthy of the joyous celebration scheduled for Sunday, July. 17.
This year’s Summer Festival not only commemorates the Farm’s 100th anniversary, but also marks the grand opening of its new cidery and brewery. It also serves as a precursor to the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy’s (MHLC’s) 25th anniversary in 2017.
MHLC is a nonprofit conservation organization that has worked throughout upstate New York to preserve some of its most beautiful natural landscapes, while providing locals with activities to help everyone appreciate and enjoy these locations as much as possible. The relationship between the MHLC and Indian Ladder Farms was established back in 2003, when the organization helped the farm with the formation of an agricultural conservation easement, one which protects it from real estate development and preserves its century-old history.
MHLC Executive Director Mark King is especially excited for this year’s conjunction of events.
“This has become a very popular annual tradition for the Conservancy, and we are thrilled to be able to expand the event this year in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Indian Ladder Farms and the grand opening of the Indian Ladder Farmstead Cidery & Brewery.”
As part of the Summer Festival, the MHLC is also holding its second Hike-A-Thon, beginning at 1 p.m. on celebration day, which will traverse six nature trails in the area.
There will be no shortage of fun, family-friendly events during Sunday’s celebration, many of which feature or are supported by local groups and businesses including the Albany Drum Circle, Bethlehem Traditional Irish Dance Company, Phillips Hardware, Adirondack Mountain Club, Friends of Five Rivers, Landis Arboretum, Open Space Institute, and the Pine Hollow Arboretum. The festival will also feature numerous local food vendors.
The celebration is also slated to host some local musicians, one of whom we are especially excited to see. Rob Jonas, The Spotlight’s sports editor, is not only looking forward to taking the stage during Sunday’s event, but also excited about enjoying the celebration and its new location.
“I think what’s going to be interesting about this celebration, as opposed to the previous summer solstice celebrations that have been held at the Rail Trail, is having a centralized location for everything. Having it at Indian Ladder Farms will allow people to see everything that this festival has to offer.”
You can learn more about the MHLC and everything it has to offer by visiting its website at MohawkHudson.org, or attending the 2016 Summer Festival at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont. Festivities begin at noon.
