A Lovely Time Indeed

The second annual A Lovely Time Festival was an amazing experience.  While the rain hit Syracuse the weather was perfect in Turin. Campers, musicians, artists, vendors, skaters, hoopers and fans united on Snow Ridge Mountain for a peaceful but active weekend. The lineup was just as incredible as last year. Sound and light engineers were on point working non stop all weekend. The Black River, Atkins Riot and All Poets and Heroes made return appearances. Band members remarked on the improvements and enjoyed hanging out at the festival. “A Lovely Time 2019 was a blast, huge step up from last year! Can’t wait for the next one, ” Anthony Saturno of Atkins Riot posted.

The half pipe was replaced with a concrete skate bowl in the woods. The whole event was centrally located around the Shady Grove stage bringing everyone together. Vendors created a community feel with workshops, interactive demos and crafts.  The rocky creek running through provided a place to cool off or another place to sit and chill.  The addition of a late night lounge area with views of the skaters was very cool. The organizers, Charlie Giancola (DJ CakeEater), Nick Feeley and Drew Shoup, created the loveliest of vibes.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“When you surround yourself with creativity, you find your own ten-fold,” Andrea Canale, Late Earth drummer. Canale led daily drum circles at Croc Rock and performed with Late Earth and Brian Wagner Trio. Activities were scheduled throughout the fest including yoga, fire dancers, hooping, glass blowing, body painting, ceramics, skating and tea. Comedian and DJ sets broke up the live music. On the second night I opted to hang by the community campfire watching the rave through the woods complete with neon hula hoops and the light show in the trees. There were enough options to keep everyone moving and plenty of places to just take it all in. “Best, most relaxing camping festival I’ve ever been to hands down,” Evan Bujold of Late Earth.

“A lovely time was the perfect way to describe it,” Dan Mariani of Elmira said.

photos and video by Azure Eyes Photography

Misse Thomas