Southamptonfest Set for First Weekend in October in Southampton Village

Southamptonfest, the annual fall festival hosted in Southampton Village, will return for its 12th year on October 4 and 5, with a rain date of October 6.

There will be plenty to see and do for lovers of art, fashion, food, music, and a long list of activities and sights for children as well.

The festival is sponsored by the Peter Marino Art Foundation, Northwell Health, the Southampton Association and the Lake Agawam Conservancy.

The weekend will begin with a kickoff party at the Southampton Cultural Center, sponsored by the Southampton Rotary Club. The evening will feature live music, light food and complimentary beer and wine from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., followed by a cash bar until 9:30 p.m. Tickets can be prepurchased for $35, or at the door the evening of for $45.

Saturday’s lineup features live music, with Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks, Charles Certain and Next Level performing in Agawam Park. There will also be a chowder contest, with entries from local restaurants, and several food trucks on hand offering a wide range of culinary options.

The Boys and Girls Club of Shinnecock Nation will also perform a special dance. The Rogers Memorial Library will bring the library to the community and distribute free books for adults and teens, as well as answer questions about library services and collections. They will also offer outdoor games. Heart of the Hamptons will provide a children’s scavenger hunt throughout the village, and hayrides will be offered in Agawam Park.

The Southampton Animal Shelter will be on hand with its pet mobile, with dogs and cats looking for a forever home.

The Presbyterian Church will conduct tours of the historic house of worship, and Hampton Flea and Vintage will host a market fair.

Residents and visitors will have a chance to get to know the important volunteers who serve on the village’s fire and ambulance corps. The Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance Association will display its new ambulances with interactive opportunities for kids, and the Southampton Village Fire Department will have its hook and ladder truck available to the public and will offer rides in the bucket for kids (and adults).

On Windmill Lane, Shippy’s will be celebrating in true Oktoberfest fashion in its Biergarten and farther down on Hill Street, the Southampton Inn will provide pumpkins for carving, s’mores for toasting and fire pits for warming up in the late afternoon.

The North Sea Maritime Center will host an interactive exhibit of live oysters for those interested in learning a bit of marine science. An Art + Design Walk presented by the Peter Marino Art Foundation will take participants inside local galleries and design houses, where they can have their cards marked at each stop and enter to win a Peter Marino Art Foundation Catalogue book signed by Peter Marino. Additionally, the Peter Marino Art Foundation will be open from noon to 5:00 p.m. for self-guided tours. General admission will be $10 at the door, and students ages 10 to 18 are admitted free.

The Southampton History Museum’s Pelletreau Silver Shop, which is part of the Art + Design Walk, will also open its doors to guests for a jewelry making workshop and stories of silversmithing in old Southampton.

At Agawam Park, Mayor Bill Manger will give a brief talk on the importance of the village’s World War I Memorial. The monument was built in 1923, and the village is working on a long-term solution to restore it to its original condition. Proceeds from Southamptonfest will go toward this restoration.

The Southampton History Museum will hold exhibits highlighting Southampton’s role in the war, with programming including historical reenactments, interactive activities and more.

The Southampton African American Museum, located on North Sea Road in the village, will offer self-guided tours of its exhibit entitled “Pyrrhus Concer: An Adventurous Life.” Pyrrhus Concer is one of the most famous and historically significant figures in the history of Southampton Village. He was born in 1814 to an enslaved mother, and was sold into indentured servitude by the Cooper family at the age of 5, but rose out of those conditions to have a remarkable life, traveling to Japan while working on a whaling ship, eventually operating a ferry service on Lake Agawam, and becoming an important philanthropist and pillar of the Southampton community.

Also part of the festivities this year, the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers join the list of vendors in the park.