OSWEGO – While tens of thousands of people make the trek to the City of Oswego every year for Harborfest, the city has placed a significant emphasis on hosting events this summer as a way to entertain community members while helping out local businesses.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city hosted only a handful of celebrations, mainly a concert series at Veteran’s Stage, a Fourth of July parade and of course Harborfest. Since then, Mayor Billy Barlow has managed to bring more eyes to Oswego and its local businesses through block parties, two new concert series and last weekend’s Family Fun Days.
“We’re hosting more events than we ever have. Since taking office, we’ve tried some different concepts and different events around the community,” Barlow said. “I have realized just how important some of these events are and the value of these, not only for our residents, to give hem something to do, but also for outsiders who may want to travel in from other areas in Oswego County.”
Barlow added that the first block party from 2021 went “really well,” so his team wanted to hold a few more and other events as well. Some of the newer events include three additional concerts beyond the Thursday shows at Veterans’ Stage.
The Oswego Sunset Concert Series will continue through the last Wednesday in August and Water Street Square will host Friday concerts with both starting at 7 p.m. For the second straight year Wright’s Landing Marina will host Rock the Docks on Saturday, August 13, featuring Dave Hawthorne, and Friday, August 26, featuring The Billionaires, both from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Family Fun Day was an idea new this year after Barlow saw how younger kids were seemingly left out during previous Harborfests and block parties. On those days, there were not many activities dedicated to children, which was the inspiration for creating the new event.
“The block parties are more [geared] towards older kids, teenagers, adults who want to have some drinks downtown and listen to some live music,” Barlow said. “I thought an event focused on smaller children like 10 and under would be worthwhile and a good opportunity for kids, especially following Harborfest. Without the children’s park, we saw another opportunity where kids were kind of left out …We started looking at some attractions that we thought would be good for younger kids and put together that two-day event.”
While the city has grown its summer events, it is a tall task for several city departments. According to Barlow, after he brainstorms an idea, he turns to both the economic development office and the department of public works.
“I bring in the economic development office, [Deputy Director Economic Development] Amy Murphy, [Economic and Development Program Director] Mandy Peet who kind of expand the ideas and build off the initial concept. Together we pick the attractions like the motorcycle show,” Barlow said “Then, Amy, Maddie and Chantelle [Manwaring] at the [DPW] put together granular logistics that I just don’t have time to sit down and do.”
The two departments then work to set up and tear down the events and stages used, hard work that Barlow sees as more than worth it.
“These events are a lot of work to put on,” Barlow said. “I really appreciate the work they do to try to make the visions I have come to life … It’s a lot of work but the end result is worth it. You see kids and families and businesses doing well and having fun.”
Other than the sheer enjoyment people have while attending the events, local businesses see an increase in traffic during nearby block parties, as more and more people pass by and enter restaurants like Southern Fare and Bistro 197.
“Restaurant owners come to me and say they were slammed Friday night during tbe block party, they were slammed the Sunday night of the Fourth of July parade and that is what it’s all about,” Barlow said. “If they’re happy, I’m happy. And we’ll keep having these events.”
While Barlow does not receive quantifiable data from these specific events and how much businesses are selling, he hears good things from owners.
With Oswego nearing the end of its summer season, there are still plenty of outdoor activities for community members to experience. Labor Day Weekend will host the Budweiser Classic Weekend at the Oswego Speedway, as well as the final block party of the summer, and as the leaves begin to fall, the fall activities will soon follow.
“I always look forward to the Creepy Crawl on Halloween weekend. We have great music lined up for it this year. I always look forward to the Christmas Tree Lighting on Thanksgiving weekend; it’s always a fun event,” Barlow said. “I’m curious to see how the third block party goes, which is the Friday night of Labor Day weekend. We have the Jess Novak Band here, a very well-known act through Central New York.”
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