Southamptonfest Is On for This Weekend, Having Been Postponed by Weather Last Week

After a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic — and another short setback, courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Ian — SouthamptonFest is finally set to celebrate its long-awaited 10th anniversary this weekend in Southampton Village.

The annual fall festival was set to kick off on October 1 but had to be postponed because of inclement weather related to the storm system. Festival organizers went to work reorganizing the schedule, so there will still be plenty to see and do for visitors this Saturday and Sunday.

Many of the same acts and attractions that were scheduled for the original date will be there this weekend when the festival kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, including the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers and Jester Jim. There will be plenty of food trucks in the area, where festivalgoers can grab a bite to eat, and fans of live music will also have plenty of acts to choose from as well. The performance list includes Next Level reggae band, and Penny Lane, a Beatles cover band.

The new “art and design walk,” which will highlight seven different galleries and design houses and two art centers in the village, including the Peter Marino Foundation and Southampton Arts Center, is on for Saturday. Attendees who participate in the art and design walk will be given a punch card with the names of all the different spots, which they can have hole-punched each time they enter a different gallery or design center. At the end of the tour, attendees can enter their finished punch cards in a raffle, where the grand prize is a private group tour at the Peter Marino Art Foundation for up to 20 people, and a year-long membership to the Southampton Arts Center.

Other raffle prizes include an Argentinian throw blanket from Homenature, and a piece of artwork from Rumrunner Home valued at nearly $1,000.

The Southampton African American Museum will be hosting an exhibit, “Grooming A Generation: A History of Black Barbershops & Beauty Parlors,” which includes an augmented reality tour celebrating the long and storied history of barber shops and beauty salons in the African American community.

The Southampton History Museum will be welcoming guests during SouthamptonFest as well, and is decked out for Halloween. “Ghosts, Goblins and Ghouls” is on display at the historic Rogers Mansion, which dates back to the 1600s. Ten historic outbuildings will be open and occupied with different Halloween themes, like “Creatures in the Carpenter Shop,” “Devils in the Decoy Shed,” and more.

For visitors who want even more on Sunday, the Southampton Chamber of Commerce will offer its farmers and artisans market in Agawam Park beginning at 9 a.m., and the Southampton Artists Association will host “Artists in the Park.”

The weather for the weekend looks quintessentially fall: sunny on both days, with highs in the high 50s/low 60s.