All about Porchfest 2023!

Join us on Sunday, Sept 24, from noon until 6 PM, for the 2023 edition of Porchfest, Ithaca’s beloved neighborhood music festival!

Porchfest 2023: Performers | Schedule | Map

(Some small shifts in the schedule are still possible. Please check back closer to next Sunday to make sure your favorite performers having moved times or locations!)

About 150 different performers and groups will take part in Porchfest this year, taking over the porches (and sometimes driveways, lawns or parks) of Fall Creek and Northside for an afternoon celebrating our wonderful, creative community.

What the neighborhood needs to know:

Street Closures:

We’re closing a few streets to traffic during Porchfest, where we’re placing food vendors or expect significant crowds. If you live on one of these blocks, consider parking your car on an open street nearby for the afternoon so you can come and go more easily:

• JAY STREET, from Cayuga to Tioga
• UTICA STREET, from Lincoln to Lewis
• YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• E. MARSHALL STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• N. TIOGA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
• N. AURORA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
• W. MARSHALL STREET, and WILLOW AVE from Marshall to Yates
• AUBURN STREET, from Jay to Dey
• ADAMS STREET, from Dey to Auburn
• W. LEWIS ST
• CASCADILLA AVE (north side only)

Parking:

There will be NO PARKING on W. MARSHALL STREET, nor on AUBURN STREET from Lewis to Dey starting at 8:00 AM on Sunday, Sept. 25. This is so our food vendors can arrive and set up for the event. Vehicles still parked after 8:00 AM on Sunday, Sept 25, may be towed.

If your car is parked on a closed street during Porchfest and you need to get it out, please talk to one of our volunteers at the nearest traffic barricade, and they’ll be glad to carefully escort you out to open streets. They will also help residents get back in to closed streets as needed.

Weather:

Porchfest is rain or shine. In case of severe weather, please make your way indoors or to your vehicle until it passes. We will communicate through Porchfest’s social media if such conditions seem imminent.

Maps:

We are not printing maps/schedule booklets this year; it’s very expensive and creates a ton of paper waste. The performer schedule at http://www.porchfest.org/2023-schedule/ works well on mobile devices, or there’s a PDF schedule booklet on our website that you can print at home.

Hotline:

If you need help or information during Porchfest, you can reach the organizers at (607) 319-2551. You can call or text; texting is often better, as we’re out and about at a music event and the sound can make voice conversation more difficult. You can also always email us at info@porchfest.org

Vendors:

More than 20 artists and artisans will take part in our first-ever Makers Market during Porchfest! You’ll find everything from paintings to clothing, jewelry to baked goods, and more in Auburn Park throughout the afternoon.

We also have some wonderful food vendors lined up for PorchFEAST this year, at both Thompson Park and Auburn Park.

At Thompson Park:

Fittnell Barbeque
Silo Food Truck
Silo Fry Stand

At Auburn Park:

The Antlers
Cayuga Lake Creamery
Luna Food Truck
The Silver Spoon
Yxi’s Arepas & Gordito

Additionally, t-shirts, tote bags, and other merch featuring this year’s lovely Porchfest art by SensEmilia will be available from Muckles at Thompson Park. They screen print right there in the park, so you can pick your shirt color from their stock or bring your own!

Volunteer:

It takes a fleet of volunteers to help make Porchfest happen safely, and we still need a few more for this year. Please see the Volunteer page on our website to sign up to help for part of the day!

New this year – Makers Market!

We are excited to announce our first Porchfest Makers Market, organized by Nicole Basta and Yen Ospina. It will tale place during Porchfest, Sunday, September 24th, from 12pm – 6pm in Auburn Park.

If you’re interested, please fill out the form below. We will be collecting vendor fees to go towards next year’s Porchfest. The deadline to sign up is, September 5th, 11:59pm EST.

Space is limited! If you are not picked for this event, we will have your information and will reach out to you next year. Don’t forget to mark if you’re interested in being part of the event in the future.

Artist Vendor fee : $30

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING

Some things to keep in mind:

– You must have a 10 x 10 tent. (You can find them at AMAZON, TARGET, WALMART, AND CRAIGSLIST between $50-150). Consider borrowing from a neighbor or asking for a tent on a local gift economy! 

– You must bring tent weights. If you are a newbie to this, please let us know below!

– Please bring your own trash can /bag and take your trash with you at the end of the night

 You must provide your own tables.

– All tents are non-electric.

– No alcoholic beverages are permitted. Ithaca has an open container law that is strictly enforced.

– You must stay the full hours of the event (12 PM – 6 PM) 

– Each craft vendors will handle his/her/their own sales. Collecting and reporting of sales tax is each craft vendor’s responsibility.

– If you have been chosen, we will let you know by Saturday, September 9th and more info will be sent closer to the event with updated information. You will be expected to pay your vendor fee upon acceptance. 

– Please pass this along this form to any other maker in Ithaca and surrounding areas of Ithaca! 

Please be sure to check your emails for updates!

Thank you for submitting and wanting to be part of this event!

Con mucho amor, nicole v basta & Yen Ospina!

Porchfest 2023 Art / Performer Deadline Extended

We’re excited to unveil this year’s Porchfest artwork, created by SensEmilia (Emily Hoyt)! We’ll have live t-shrt printing in Thompson Park again this year, as well as some other merch available — tote bags? keychains? what would you want to own from Porchfest?

We’re also extending the performer signup deadline by a few days to this Wednesday, August 23. If you haven’t signed up to play yet, please do so ASAP here.

It’s time! Register to play at Porchfest 2023

Porchfest 2023 is taking place on Sunday, September 24 from noon to 6pm. Performer signups are open now through August 23. If you’re interested in performing, please make sure you have this information ready:
• The address where you’ll be performing. This may seem obvious, but make sure you have the homeowner’s permission first!
• No more than three performers at any single address. Give your neighbors a chance to shine too!
• The email addresses for all band members. We’ll use these to prevent scheduling bands that share members in the same time slot.
• What time slots you’re available for. Note that the 12-1pm time slot will be 100% acoustic, so if you’re using any amplification, don’t sign up for noon.
• Understand that Porchfest has many performances going on at once, and you’ll need to keep volume low so you’re not conflicting with nearby performances. If you absolutely need a ton of decibels to convey your transcendent rock-and-roll glory to the masses, we get it, but this may not be the festival for you.
• Note that no performances will be allowed on Cayuga, Lincoln, Tompkins or Hancock streets. We need to keep these streets open and free of crowds in case emergency vehicles need to get through. If you live on one of these streets, please find a friend’s porch to play on elsewhere in the neighborhood.

We urgently need volunteers. It takes a lot of people to make Porchfest happen safely. Most volunteers will be stationed at barricades near street closures, to redirect traffic and escort residents’ vehicles in and out as needed. Others will be stationed at our information tents, or circulate on bikes to help keep with crowds in the street and excessive performer volume. You can sign up for the first or second half of Porchfest, or the full event. If you can offer some of your day to help us make Porchfest go, please sign up here.

Interested in being a food vendor at Porchfest? We’ve got plenty of hungry music lovers to feed, and two locations for vendors to set up, so get in touch today. Apply here; the deadline is August 15.

We’re closing a few streets to traffic during Porchfest, where we’re placing food vendors or expect significant crowds. If you live on one of these blocks, consider parking your car on an open street nearby for the afternoon so you can come and go more easily:
• JAY STREET, from Cayuga to Tioga
• UTICA STREET, from Lincoln to Lewis
• YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• E. MARSHALL STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• N. TIOGA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
• N. AURORA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
• W. MARSHALL STREET, and LAKE AVE from Marshall to Yates
• AUBURN STREET, from Jay to Dey
• ADAMS STREET, from Dey to Auburn
• W. LEWIS ST

Questions? Comments? Existential dilemmas? You can reach Porchfest organizers Lesley Greene and Andy Adelewitz at info@porchfest.org

Porchfest 2023

Porchfest 2023 will be held on Sunday, September 24 from noon to 6 PM. Signups will begin in the next few weeks. Sign up for our mailing list to make sure you know when signups open!

Everything you need to know about Porchfest 2022

Join us this Sunday, Sept 25, from noon until 6 PM, for the long-awaited revival of Porchfest, Ithaca’s beloved neighborhood music festival!

Porchfest 2022: Performers | Schedule | Map | Street Closures

About 150 different performers and groups will take part in Porchfest this year, taking over the porches (and sometimes driveways, lawns or parks) of Fall Creek and Northside for an afternoon celebrating our wonderful, creative community.

What the neighborhood needs to know:

Street Closures:

We’re closing a few streets to traffic during Porchfest, where we’re placing food vendors or expect significant crowds. If you live on one of these blocks, consider parking your car on an open street nearby for the afternoon so you can come and go more easily:

  • JAY STREET, from Cayuga to Tioga
  • UTICA STREET, from Lincoln to Lewis
  • YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
  • YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
  • E. MARSHALL STREET, from Utica to Aurora
  • N. TIOGA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
  • N. AURORA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
  • W. MARSHALL STREET, and LAKE AVE from Marshall to Yates
  • AUBURN STREET, from Jay to Dey
  • ADAMS STREET, from Dey to Auburn
  • W. LEWIS ST
  • CASCADILLA AVE (north side only)

Additionally, N. TIOGA STREET will be closed from Farm to Court during the 5-6 pm hour only, while Fall Creek Brass Band perform on the bridge.

Parking:

There will be NO PARKING on W. MARSHALL STREET, nor on AUBURN STREET from Lewis to Dey starting at 8:00 AM on Sunday, Sept. 25. This is so our food vendors can arrive and set up for the event. Vehicles still parked after 8:00 AM on Sunday, Sept 25, may be towed.

If your car is parked on a closed street during Porchfest and you need to get it out, please talk to one of our volunteers at the nearest traffic barricade, and they’ll be glad to carefully escort you out to open streets. They will also help residents get back in to closed streets as needed.

Weather:

Porchfest is rain or shine. In case of severe weather, please make your way indoors or to your vehicle until it passes. We will communicate through Porchfest’s social media if such conditions seem imminent.

Maps:

We are not printing maps/schedule booklets this year; it’s very expensive and creates a ton of paper waste. Please use our mobile schedule at porchfest.org/m on your phone, or there’s a PDF schedule booklet on our website that you can print at home.

Hotline:

If you need help or information during Porchfest, you can reach the organizers at (607) 269-5106. You can call or text; texting is often better, as we’re out and about at a music event and the sound can make voice conversation more difficult. You can also always email us at info@porchfest.org

Vendors:

We have some wonderful food vendors lined up for PorchFEAST this year, at both Thompson Park and Auburn Park.

At Thompson Park:
Fittnell Barbeque
Silo Food Truck & Silo French Fries
Cayuga Lake Creamery

At Auburn Park:
Adelina’s Pizza
Yxi’s Arepas & Gordito
Luna Inspired Street Food

Additionally, t-shirts, tote bags, and other merch will be available from Muckles at Thompson Park. They screen print right there in the park, so you can pick your shirt color from their stock or bring your own!

Porchfest 2022 Is On!

Porchfest 2022 will happen on Sunday, September 25 from 12 PM to 6 PM in Ithaca’s Fall Creek and Northside neighborhoods!

It’s an incredible relief and joy to type those words to you. It’s been three years since the last Porchfest in Ithaca, and we’ve all been through some stuff. It feels like we need a nice, big, outdoor community celebration more than ever before. So let’s go!

Performer signups are open now through August 28. Sign up here. If you’re interested in performing, please make sure you have this information ready:
• The address where you’ll be performing. This may seem obvious, but make sure you have the homeowner’s permission first!
• No more than three performers at any single address. Give your neighbors a chance to shine too!
• The email addresses for all band members. We’ll use these to prevent scheduling bands that share members in the same time slot.
• What time slots you’re available for. Note that the 12-1pm time slot will be 100% acoustic, so if you’re using any amplification, don’t sign up for noon.
• Understand that Porchfest has many performances going on at once, and you’ll need to keep volume low so you’re not conflicting with nearby performances. If you absolutely need a ton of decibels to convey your transcendent rock-and-roll glory to the masses, we get it, but this may not be the festival for you.
• Note that no performances will be allowed on Cayuga, Lincoln, Tompkins or Hancock streets. We need to keep these streets open and free of crowds in case emergency vehicles need to get through. If you live on one of these streets, please find a friend’s porch to play on elsewhere in the neighborhood.

We urgently need volunteers. It takes a lot of people to make Porchfest happen safely. Most volunteers will be stationed at barricades near street closures, to redirect traffic and escort residents’ vehicles in and out as needed. Others will be stationed at our information tents, or circulate on bikes to help keep with crowds in the street and excessive performer volume. You can sign up for the first or second half of Porchfest, or the full event. If you can offer some of your day to help us make Porchfest go, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/2PNJTmYL5rAXpwi69

Interested in being a food vendor at Porchfest? We’ve got plenty of hungry music lovers to feed, and two locations for vendors to set up, so get in touch today. Apply here; the deadline is August 20: https://forms.gle/1uyJPj9fk22x7D5a8

We’re closing a few streets to traffic during Porchfest, where we’re placing food vendors or expect significant crowds. If you live on one of these blocks, consider parking your car on an open street nearby for the afternoon so you can come and go more easily:
• JAY STREET, from Cayuga to Tioga
• UTICA STREET, from Lincoln to Lewis
• YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• YATES STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• E. MARSHALL STREET, from Utica to Aurora
• N. TIOGA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
• N. AURORA STREET, from Tompkins to Farm
• W. MARSHALL STREET, and LAKE AVE from Marshall to Yates
• AUBURN STREET, from Jay to Dey
• ADAMS STREET, from Dey to Auburn
• W. LEWIS ST

Questions? Comments? Existential dilemmas? You can reach Porchfest organizers Lesley Greene and Andy Adelewitz at info@porchfest.org

This year’s art is by Patty Sipman:

News About Porchfest 2021

We’re sad to say that we’re not going to move forward with planning Porchfest for this year.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on City of Ithaca staffing, and city and state regulations about public gatherings continue to change. The result has been extensive delays to the permitting process and a host of new requirements that have left us feeling unable to organize Porchfest in the time we have left.

If we had three months or more to get through the new hurdles, it might be possible. But in 40 days, with approval still not certain and all other facets of organizing the festival still to be completed, it’s insurmountable.

We’ll miss Porchfest this year as much as you will, believe us. We’ll be taking some time to meet with the city and figure out whether we can come back next year — and what that’ll look like if we do. It’ll certainly require some extra hands, so if you’re interested in joining the Porchfest organizing team, please drop us a line!

In the meantime, please find other ways to embrace and support Ithaca’s wonderful music and performance community. Go to a show — there are plenty of outdoor concerts happening this summer (and indoor, if you feel safe attending). Buy a local band’s album, via CD or download. Spread the word about local music you love. Or just pick a pleasant afternoon and play some music on your porch, for whomever happens by — that’s how Porchfest started!

Lesley & Andy