Five Reasons to Visit Ferry Festa 2013

For the 11th annual year, Main and Cedar Streets in Dobbs Ferry will shut down, starting Saturday afternoon, as the village gets ready to celebrate Ferry Festa.

As usual, there will be dozens of local food, art and more vendors along the two busy streets to explore; as well as four stages of live music with eight bands.

Paddy Steinschneider, who has co-chaired the event for the past eight years, describes, "The Ferry Festa is Tactical Urbanism: a short term event intended to have a long term effect on the character of place and community."

The official hours for Ferry Festa 2013 are 1 to 8 p.m.

Here are Patch's top five reasons to check out Ferry Festa 2013:

1. "This is a special type of event, since it is not sponsored by the Village, a Chamber, or any other recognized organization. It is put together by volunteers..." notes Steinschneider  (Although he goes on to add, "...some of the most important volunteers are Village employees, like the Village Administrator Marcus Serrano, Village Clerk Liz Dreaper, Meghan McGloughlin in the Village office, and Gary Gardner, Superintendent of Public Works. Matt Arone, who is Superintendent of the Recreation Department is once again my Co-Chair.")

2. It's extremely kid-friendly. "There will be four inflatables for kids, which in the spirit of the day are each operated by one of Dobbs Ferry's sports clubs to raise funds for their teams," according to Steinschneider. Also look for ZooBots, "which promise to be great fun for the kids," according to the event's website.

3. Free parking and shuttle service. Dobbs Ferry Mayor Hartley Connett shared in a community memo that free parking will be offered at the Waterfront train station lot. Free shuttle service between the downtown and park will make the trip a breeze.

4. It's a great chance to connect with local organizations and non-profits. "Organizations like Concerned Families of Westchester and Friends of the Aqueduct have the chance to outreach and build support," noted Steinschneider.

5. A new area will highlight the variety of great artwork produced by Rivertowns' residents: the Artist's Walk. The event website says the walk "will provide the opportunity for artists and craftspeople to show and sell their work."


Bonus: check out photos from last year's celebration here.

What are your top reasons for visiting Ferry Festa each year? Tell us below.

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