Colorscape sees success in it's 27th year

A selection of plates offered by one of the 103 artists who set up shop at Colorscape over the weekend. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — The Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival returned for it's 27th year in a row over the weekend, drawing crowds of residents and out-of-towners alike.

"A lot of people turned out. Saturday I would say it felt as full as it's ever felt," said Colorscape Executive Director Celeste Friend. "It felt like the same Colorscape we all love in terms of numbers of people there, the enthusiasm, all the, you know, happiness."

While Colorscape did return in 2020, it was entirely virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to Friend. She said visitors were happy to be back at the festival, describing them as being "on cloud nine."

"The 26th year we missed it only because of COVID, and we did in fact hold a virtual festival so we like to say we didn't miss it. But next year will be our 28th year in a row, absolutely. We're counting down, 363 days to go," said Friend.

This year's festival saw 103 total artists who set up shop in West and East Park in Norwich. Friend said 25 of them were new to Colorscape, while 78 were returning.

"We like that kind of balance. We like to bring in a lot of new people, but we also like to have the people who people, you know, there are people who every year buy their pottery from Ede Walker. They'd be disappointed if she weren't there. So we like to have that good mix," Friend explained.

Drawing in such a massive amount of artists, food vendors, and musicians takes time, according to Friend. She said planning for Colorscape begins a year in advance.

"I will take this week off, and then next week I will start planning for next year. And our board meets year round, and we have all sorts of decisions to make, and lining up the musical acts which are very popular, that will begin in January," she said. "I say, well, the festival lasts for two days, so it takes 363 days to plan it."

Colorscape also brings in a large economic boom for the area, Friend said. Visitors from out of town and out of state sometimes come for the entire weekend, staying in Norwich hotels and patronizing Norwich restaurants.

"People come from hours and hours away to spend the weekend in Norwich. So we regularly talk to people in New Jersey and every year [they] come and spend two nights in a hotel, and eat at our restaurants and all that," said Friend.

"But it also has a real community building effect. So people are there seeing people, and especially in this year because of COVID, people are seeing people they haven't seen in a long time," she added. "People are there and we're doing it together. So it's a community event, it builds up the community. It grows the sense of community that Norwich and Chenango County have."

Next year's Colorscape will be here before we know it, and Friend said she is already looking forward to building and improving on the event, and is excited to see the return of festivalgoers.

"I want people to know that we're 362 days away from the next Colorscape, and we, you know, we can't wait to see them in the parks," said Friend. "And every year we work to improve things and we think about, you know, what we did well and what we need to keep doing. But we also try to think about where we can improve. So, we think we get better every year."

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