Please note: due to the thread of heavy rain tomorrow, this event has been postponed to October 8! For additional information, click here.
Wataba Lake Fest ~ A Community Mini-Festival
The Second Annual Wataba Lake Fest will be held on Saturday, October 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 25 Clearview Drive, Ridgefield, CT, on picturesque Rainbow Lake (formerly known as Wataba Lake).
The “community mini-festival” will feature live music, vendors, games for children, and other family-friendly activities. Local Ridgefield sponsors include Tiger's Den, which will sell food and beverages on the day of the event; Blue Bus Music, which will donate the use of the PA system; and Ridgefield Supply, which provided materials for the stage. SaveATree, an environmentally sensible solution to tree and lawn services; Reynolds & Rowella, a regional accounting firm known for a team approach to financial problem solving; Lonnie Shapiro Real Estate, with extensive experience and expertise in the Ridgefield, Redding, and New Fairfield real estate market; Ness Industries, a full service garbage company that provides the best residential refuse and recycling service in Ridgefield and Wilton, Connecticut; are sponsors of the event as well.
Live music will run at the 2016 festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Wataba Fest stage. The headliner is Peter Calo, hailed by the Boston Globe as “a master musician,” who has played guitar for such artists as Carly Simon and Hall & Oates. Other scheduled acts include:
- Singer/songwriters and Rainbow Lake residents Chris Belden and Kevin McCarthy, each performing a set of original Americana music
- The Hat City Band, featuring Rainbow Lake resident Ed Pryzby, performing R & B, classic rock, and funk from the past fifty years
- David & Francine Wheeler, founding members of the group Swanky Hotel, playing literate, catchy original pop tunes as well as tasty covers and a few children’s songs
- Cal Kehoe, one of the brightest new “Jam” artists among contemporary guitarists and songwriters
- Tangible, led by singer/songwriter Nicole Jean, playing a unique brand of indie pop
- and Abby & the Roadsters, local BandJam winners in the middle-class division, performing classic rock
Intended as a family-friendly event, the festival will also feature activities for children, including face painting, crafts and other fun activities. There will also be arts and crafts for sale, as well as baked good, and several items will be raffled off. Also for sale will be tickets for various raffle prizes and CDs by the musical artists featured onstage.
The Wataba Lake Fest was the brainchild of longtime Rainbow Lake resident Roger Grannis, who was inspired by a house concert held at Kevin McCarthy’s home.“The energy at Kevin’s house concert was so amazing, I immediately thought,
We’ve got to do a mini Woodstock and share this with even more people. The
Rainbow Lake community is a special place. Everyone is excited about the festival. There’s a real buzz going." [Roger will host the event on a parcel of land he owns just above Rainbow Lake.]
The festival will be held outdoors, rain or shine, at 25 Clearview Drive (between Cross Hill Road and Clearview Terrace). There will be a free shuttle from Ridgebury Elementary School(parking) to the event from 11am to 6pm. A ten-dollar donation is suggested, with all profits going toward the Rainbow Lake Improvement fund.
Purchase tickest & learn more here.