Guests admire vendor tents during the early afternoon Friday at the Fredonia Farm Festival.
“As the Grand Marshals of the 55th annual Fredonia Farm Festival, we now declare this festival open,” Tim Grant, of Stand Fast Farm, said to a cheer.
The festival is a familiar tradition in the village of Fredonia to celebrate agriculture and local vendors. “It is cool. I grew up in Fredonia … it is an honor,” Grant said of his family being the Grand Marshals of the event. “I think it is important to keep the history for our area. I’m glad to be continuing some of that tradition.”
Fredonia Mayor Doug Essek said, “This is a tradition that our village of Fredonia has had for 55 years, and it’s something everybody looks forward to. This is our largest event that we have in our village. It just brings so many different vendors of foods, and different crafts and arts, that is something great to provide for our residents.”
Frustratingly, another all too familiar tradition with the festival in recent years held up again this year, as the opening of the event was dampened by rain throughout the late morning and early afternoon.
Guests admire vendor tents during the early afternoon Friday at the Fredonia Farm Festival.
“We have rain on the first day, which is always a given,” Essek joked.
Grant, who grew up in Fredonia, now operates Stand Fast Farm in the Dunkirk and Fredonia communities since 2007. Grant’s farm produces grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chickens. “Raising meats from animals in a more natural way,” Grant said.
Speaking to the struggles farmers face, including competition for land, Grant recognizes the significance of an event to highlight local agriculture.
“It’s a good thing that we continue to recognize the agricultural history of what our community is,” Grant said. “It’s good that we have an event like this to highlight farming and food production in our community. Being able to provide food for your neighbors as a local food shed is a really robust way of keeping people fed.”
After initially selling product in Buffalo, Grant credits the Fredonia Farm Festival for increasing his local customer base.
“We did the Fredonia Farm Festival for a long time, and we’ve had a lot of support. We still have a lot of customers around town. It’s been very supportive,” Grant said.
The festival runs all weekend long in Barker Commons in the heart of downtown Fredonia. From local produce, to arts and crafts, to food vendors filling the street, the event takes over downtown Fredonia for three days each fall. Concerts will be held at the Gazebo throughout the festival, with other various events throughout the festival. A full list of events can be found online at festivalsfredoniany.org/fredonia-farm-festival/
“I look forward to a great Saturday and Sunday,” Essek said. “I hope everybody does well and enjoys themselves here.”