This admission-free festival will have around 80 vendors, food, live entertainment and touches that only happen at events like this. The festival will be centered around 100 North St. in Clifton.
Though a small community, the festival will still happen as ongoing projects to two of the village’s vintage buildings go on, according to Sue Chasnov, one of the event organizers.
“This year has been a bit of a challenge as we are having to work around limitations in place due to the renovations to the old Clifton Union School and the Opera House, funded by the ‘One Time Strategic Community Investments’ from the state of Ohio,” she said.
Back-to-back music performances will include several returnees and new additions, including Rose City Riot, the Flashback Band and the Fries Band. There will also be various dance demonstrations and a strolling barbershop quartet.
Chasnov estimated about 90% of the vendors are artisans, and visitors will find unique echoes of the past like a glass blower, who returns this year, along with a man who will demonstrate 18th Century woodworking and furniture reproduction.
The festival will open with the annual Friday cruise-in with a lineup of vehicles and a different set on Saturday when another group will display a collection of tractors.
Since the festival is family-friendly, there will be games, crafts and prizes for the youngsters in the kids’ area.
Food vendors will have a wide variety from American fair foods and flat breads to New Orleans-style cuisine to foreign choices from Hungary to the Philippines, and a beer tent will have adult beverages. Chasnov said one of the most popular returning dishes is the Xenia Old Timers Club’s beans and cornbread.
In addition to the arts features, she hopes this is a way people can discover how a small village can pull together to produce a festival that has so many things each year.
“We are grateful to everyone who is contributing their time and to the many corporate sponsors helping fund our event,” Chasnov said.
For more information, go to villageofclifton.com/festival-information.
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