Oswego, NY (January 17, 2017)- For many of the thousands of visitors to Oswego’s beautiful waterfront, the annual occurrence of Harborfest in July is the highlight of the summer, if not the year. As the free-admission live music festival enters its 30th anniversary, it calls upon local businesses, individuals and families to consider donating what they can to help continue the tradition.
Oswego Harbor Festivals, Inc., the organizer of the event, is a registered not-for-profit organization. Every year, its budget starts over from scratch and fundraising efforts begin anew to raise the money needed to put on one of the largest scale free music festivals in New York State. It’s no easy task for the small part time staff and volunteer board members.
Gretchen Hanley, Membership Coordinator, stated, “Becoming a member isn’t just about dollar signs. It’s a collaborative effort between Harborfest and people in the community to continue to offer a valuable experience and local tradition. Memberships help and allow community members become a part of the festival and helps with the success of Harborfest.”
“Oswego Harborfest would love to encourage individual, family and business memberships in 2018. Without their support of our festival, it could not happen. These donations help to engage excellent performers for their enjoyment along with the upwards of 100,000 attendees that look forward to our free entertainment. We can’t thank them enough for their continued reinforcement that Oswego Harborfest is a great festival, now going on its 31st year,” stated Carol Dillabough, Sponsorship Coordinator.
Membership forms can be found on the official website (www.oswegoharborfest.com), and the festival offers the option of donating online from anywhere, also available on the site.
Harborfest is one of the few admission-free music festivals in the country. It was founded with the mission of creating nationally recognized festivals and events that attract and engage a broad and diverse audience, celebrate and build community, and advance economic development in Oswego, New York. It would not be possible to continue the event without the massive continued support received from the City of Oswego, businesses, organizations, government entities, and individuals and family members.