Mount Kisco Ready for an Even Better SeptemberFest This Weekend
For shoppers who for years loved to browse through a maze of vendors searching for bargains in downtown Mount Kisco during a mid-September weekend, that hasn’t changed.
This, the sales will return but so will the carnival rides, the music and entertainment and variety of food trucks to satisfy anyone’s taste buds during the Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce’s three-day SeptemberFest.
SeptemberFest returns for a second year, where organizers hope to build off of last year’s well-attended and much talked-about festival and make it even more enticing to the village’s residents and visitors. It is now a can’t-miss attraction for the entire family.
“I thought it was very well-received,” Chamber of Commerce Co-director Loretta Brooks said of last year’s change. “I thought it had a lot of energy and I know a lot of people are nostalgic about having a carnival. In years gone by, there was a carnival in town, in the center of town, when a lot of people here were younger and I think it brought back a lot of warm feelings for people, having somebody attempt that again.”
For Brooks and everyone else looking to pull together what has been billed as “Mount Kisco’s biggest block party,” there has been little time to wax nostalgic. Held in the Shoppers Park parking lot and the area behind Village Hall, there will once again be rides and all the goodies that can be found at an old-fashioned country carnival starting late Friday afternoon, continuing all day and evening on Saturday and until nearly dusk on Sunday.
Activities will include an outdoor dance party with a DJ from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday night sponsored by D’Errico Jewelry, a performance by the Pleasantville-based band Frankenstein’s Baby on Saturday night and various acoustic performers throughout the weekend on the stage that will be set up in the parking lot behind Village Hall.
Brooks said there will be an expanded selection in the Food Truck Roundup, a food court-type concept consisting of trucks. There will also be appearances by local food vendors.
Classic car enthusiasts can look forward to a collection of antique automobiles that will be part of the festivities.
New this year will be a bingo game at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the tent sponsored by Fidelis Care.
Brooks said the inaugural SeptemberFest in 2018 seemed to jump-start excitement in downtown and coincided with the start of a sharp reduction in storefront vacancies.
“We’re hoping that this is more than just the downtown,” Brooks said of the effort. “This is the heartbeat of Mount Kisco. We’re trying to incorporate the increased business into having more action.”
The biggest unknown is what Mother Nature has in store for the village, Brooks said. The activities are largely rain or shine, although the ride operators at the carnival will make the call regarding safe operation of the amusements, she said.
Also part of the weekend is the sixth annual 5K, which will be run on Sunday morning.
“Every year we try and do it a little bit bigger and a little bit better,” Brooks said. “I think it also was important for other organizations in town to be a little bit more visible.”
The carnival will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Brooks said the Sunday hours were shifted because a lot of families came on Sunday afternoon last year, and if the weather cooperates, visitors may want to stay later than 5 p.m.
The sidewalk sales will return to its customary Saturday and Sunday afternoons, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., respectively.
The presenting sponsor of SeptemberFest 2019 is the Saw Mill Club.
For more information, visit www.mountkiscochamber.org.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/