Whaleboat Races, A Turnpike Block Party, Harbor Cruises, All Star Comedy Show, And More To Be Featured At 2017 Sag Harbor HarborFest

On Friday, September 8, “the largest block party extending out over the water” – A.K.A. HarborFest – is back to present village-wide happenings that commemorate Sag Harbor’s maritime history. This year’s festival will kick-off with an All Star Comedy Show hosted by Joseph Vecesy, featuring Blair Socci and Dave Temple, at Bay Street Theater.

“HarborFest is always an exciting event, but we have a lot more vendors than we’ve had in the past, and a greater mix of food vendors, and we have some retail vendors, and just different things than we’ve had in the past,” Lisa Field, Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce President, told us. “We’ve brought in some new activities for this year.”

And, of course, the HarborFest fan favorites will return. “Everybody just looks forward to the Whaleboat races,” Field shared.

While the Comedy Show is the only HarborFest event on Friday, both Saturday and Sunday will offer jam-packed schedules, featuring everything from A Taste of Sag Harbor, Children’s Tug-of-war, live music from Samawams Creek, John Corr, the Vine Brothers, and Jim Turner, Lobster Roll Eating Contest, Arts and Crafts Fair, cruises, Whaleboat Races, and much, much more. An Arts and Crafts Fair, showcasing artists, craftsmen, jewelers, and local photographers will be held at Marine Park on Bay Street and you can find deals throughout the Village during the Whale of a Sale Sidewalk Fair. Andy’s Run, presented by the Sag Harbor Lions Club, will return on Saturday. Additionally, The Old Jailhouse Museum will be giving tours, the Eastville Historic Society will host a Native American Workshop, and the Whaling Museum has a film screening.

“It’s going to be in the tradition that it’s always been, but just every year we seem to add more to it. We’re going to have some walking tours, which we’ve had in the past,” Field explained. “There’s going to be walking tours of the Village and we have the maps from the Sag Harbor Partnership where they’ll be a lot of self-guided tours that you can take, which kind of really brings back the whole historic part of it. We really wanted people to appreciate the Village and the history behind it.”

HarborFest offers something for everyone. (Photo: Lisa Tamburini)

The Chamber also partnered with the Partnership for a new closing night party. The Sunday night soiree, a Turnpike Block Party at Estia’s Little Kitchen, will support the Partnership’s Sag Harbor Cinema restoration efforts. For more information, visit www.sagharborpartnership.org.

“There’s going to be a great concert Saturday night at the end of Long Wharf and that’s put on by the Sag Harbor Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary,” Field added. “The party’s going to go into the night – it’s going to be a great event.”

Sag Harbor HarborFest will be held Friday, September 8 through Sunday, September 10.

For more information, or the full HarborFest schedule, visit sagharborchamber.com.