OSWEGO – The warm smell of fair food wafted through the air at the Lake Street Parking lot in Oswego this past weekend, Carnival Eats Harborfest food vendors cooking up a storm for area visitors.
The event was a mini-celebration of sorts; a way to soften the effects of a cancelled Harborfest weekend, while giving vendors a way to fill the economic void stemming from COVID-19 shutdowns.
“This event came about because the owner of the midway company that we were going to use for Harborfest 2020, approached us and wanted to do a food event Harborfest weekend,” Harborfest Executive Director Peter Myles said. “We were agreeable to it. So, it really turned into a fund-raiser for Harborfest. We’re going to get a certain percentage of the proceeds from the event.”
Big Kahuna Food Truck Owner Jeffery Brick was one of the vendors at the event, his business selling hot gyro’s, sausage and fries to enthusiastic customers.
“It’s been steady; we’ve had a nice weekend,” Brick said. “We’re very pleased with the community support.”
Ashley Lynn Winery, a featured staple at both Harborfest and the New York State Fair, sat a few spots down from Big Kahuna’s, selling their signature wine slushies to regulars and new visitors alike. Because of open container laws, the winery was not able to send visitors off with their traditional plastic mugs.
“We’ve been doing the wine slush pouches that are heat sealed, so that way it’s not an open container when you leave with them,” Manager Michele McFarland said. “I think people do really miss their wine slushies from all the fairs.”
Main Event Amusements President Kevin Jankiewicz, creator of the weekend event, saw an opportunity to give both vendors and the community a way to help each other out during this challenging time.
“Haborfest was cancelled and we’re here to bring a little taste of fairs and festivals to places that have cancelled,” Jankiewizc said. “It’s gone excellent, it’s gone wonderful. We’ve got a few [events] planned. We’re going to back into the Buffalo area [and] we’re going back into the Utica area.”
In spite of this weekend event, those who depend largely on seasonal work feel the stress of summertime event cancellations the most, the blow rippling across the state and the U.S.
“The State Fair was their rotation, much like Harborfest was their rotation,” Myles said. “People came in from out of town to stay with family members they probably haven’t seen for a while. College students return. The impact when you cancel large events, whether it’s the State Fair or Harborfest, is not just in the city in which it’s held, but the surrounding areas as well.”
Ashley Lynn Winery managed to fair a little better than previously expected in light of The State Fair and Harborfest cancellations. The business is home to two locations; their farm located in Mexico, New York, with a store location in Waterloo, New York.
“Those are our two biggest events of the year, but, there’s a lot that goes into them as well, and there’s a lot of money spent to do those things. So, if you’re not doing them, you’re not spending the money to do it, and it gives us the chance to really step back and focus on our own locations. At our locations, anything we make is 100 percent profit for us,” McFarland said. “When this whole thing first started, we were all really scared, you know? We were like, are we going to be able to pay our bills all year long? And it’s taken us by surprise how well we’ve actually been doing out of both of our home locations.”
Big Kahuna owner Brick has not made out quite as well as the winery, a majority of his summer work based off the State Fair’s opening. However, Brick remains positive in light of the season’s cancellations.
“It’s devastating that it’s not happening for anybody that’s involved in the Fair with businesses,” Brick said. “It’s terrible for the state itself. It’s a wonderful fair and it’s too bad it can’t happen this year, but it will come back better and bigger next year.”
Myles is open to the possibility of having another mini-event before summer is over, with plans to start Harborfest 2021 preparations beginning this fall.
“I’m hoping it goes well. And if it does go well, it may be something we try to do again this summer, because we don’t have anything else planned at this time. We’ll just see how this goes and how well it’s received and maybe we’ll give it another try,” Myles said.
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It should have been open to local vendors first and then look to the outside. Harborfest is not run by the city Oswego ,obviously they dont care about their own first.Shame on Harborfestivals,Inc.!