BY ADAM ATKINSON

North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Fire trucks in full tilt in the annual Run for the River, classic cars in Ives Park, ice cream social, live music, the Tour de Potsdam, Laser Tag being the Clarkson Inn, barbecues, and fireworks will be just a few of the classic Potsdam Summer Festival events kicking off from July 8 through 10.

With the pandemic shuttering events over the last year and a half, the annual SummerFest which draws thousands of North Country residents and visitors to the downtown was canceled in 2020. However, the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce which organizes the festival has put together a full schedule of events this year.

“I’m personally looking forward to seeing our community together and smiling again after a very long year and a half apart. I think that will be the most rewarding part about planning this entire event,” said Kurstin Stowell, chamber executive director.

“The weeks leading up to Summer Festival are always our most hectic at the chamber,” Stowell said. “This is our largest event and typically brings in thousands of people.”

“It takes months of planning, and this year has been no exception. We began planning in February with no idea as to whether we could host the event or not. As time passes, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It makes the planning feel easier,” Stowell said.

Stowell said the chamber has been “incredibly fortunate” to have a strong planning committee this year. New business representatives have stepped forward and put in the work to help make the event successful, she said. The director said planners haven’t encountered any unusual challenges thanks to the support.

Coming off the pandemic yearlong shutdown, there will be some changes in how events are handled. “Community interest has included many questions and concerns regarding COVID-19 as you may expect, however our event will adhere to all guidelines and we continue to emphasize that while planning,” the executive director said.

Stowell said the chamber hosted a successful golf tournament last August which followed safety guidelines, and was confident the organization would be able to host the summerfest safely as well as other events this fall.  

“The biggest difference that you’ll see in (summerfest) events this year will be within the children’s activities because of COVID-19 restrictions,” Stowell said. “We want to make sure that we keep everybody as safe as possible and our children’s events, unfortunately, are some of the ones that involve the most contact and do not allow much social distancing.”

Due to safety concerns, the Elk’s Lodge bounce houses will not be set up this year and the Touch-a-Truck event and the “Outer Market Mania at the Big Lots Plaza will not be offered this year.

Outer Market Mania will be replaced this year by the Fall Island Fiesta on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fall Island, said Stowell. The Fiesta will feature live children’s music, story time with Potsdam Public Library, special visitors, activities by North Country Children’s Museum, and other events.  

“The Summer Festival theme this year is ‘The Music that Raised Us.’ I was raised with acoustic guitars in grandma's kitchen at every family dinner and holiday. So I am looking forward to hearing ‘The Todd Family’ come together on our stage and recreate the magic that they brought to social media during the pandemic,” Stowell said. “Along with that, King George Strait echoed through our house during my childhood. Nothing puts me in a good mood like a 90's country song. I can't wait to hear Nick Rycroft cover some of the songs that raised me at the Craft Beer, Wine & Cider Tent. We're all different, and we're celebrating that this year through the one thing that can bring us together like nothing else. Music.”

“I can't wait to see this festival bring Potsdam back together, it's been a long time coming,” she said.

Stowell said that while the chamber has plenty of volunteers already willing to lend a helping hand for the festival, there’s never too many. To volunteer, contact the chamber at info@potsdamchamber.com or call 315-274-9000.

Info: www.potsdamchamber.com, or see the Summer Fest event page on Facebook at https://bit.ly/30V0HAp .

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