After finishing brunch in Cornwall-on-Hudson, the visitors from Woodbury weren’t ready to go home. So they followed the signs to the riverfront, spent an hour at ArtFest, and left with an assortment of notepads and cards.
The June 8 event grew at the last minute. Several artists joined the show after the program was printed. When the three middle school musicians finished their gig, three friends of a committee member took out their instruments and improvised in a corner of the tent. Their contribution was unexpected.
The organizers didn’t plan on having food at their sequel to RiverFest, but Jaimie Fink and Edward Fay came down from the River Bank Bistro with a cooler filled with snacks. The new restaurant owners offered free samples to anyone who stopped at their tent.
As promised, Paul Gould painted a riverscape on location. But his progress was limited, because people kept interrupting him. Village Trustee Ken Schmidt couldn’t resist teasing the noted artist. “Is that all you’ve accomplished in three hours?” Mr. Schmidt asked facetiously.
The show started at noon on the south field of Donahue Memorial Park. Most of the exhibitors (there were more than 20) set up under the tent that had been used for RiverFest. At three o’clock, Mr. Schmidt announced the winners of the categories that Clayton Buchanan had judged.
There was also a People’s Choice Award that was determined by ballots submitted by the public. At 3 p.m., Mayor Brendan Coyne asked the guests to be patient. He said there were so many votes it was taking a long time to get a count.
Artists paid for their space at the show, and shared a portion of their sales revenue with the organizers. Mr. Schmidt worked the crowd, selling raffle tickets. The money raised on June 8 will fund next year’s exhibition.
