With Permission
Thirty years Arlo Guthrie sang “Alice’s Restaurant” on the Branford Town Green, and a new tradition was born: a summer-starting celebration of arts and culture and community.
That tradition continues this weekend with the 30th annual Branford Festival. Arlo won’t be there — but hundreds of people as well as a line-up of performers and presenters will fill the center of town for three days.
Diane Hubley McDade remembered that weekend 30 year ago when she literally bumped into Guthrie, while Chris Kling got his autograph on the back of a candy wrapper. Ask the members of the Growing Up in Branford Facebook group about their early memories of the Branford Festival, and Arlo Guthrie of talking-blues fame comes to mind again and again.
That’s the thing about the Branford Festival. It is an event where memories are made. And this weekend’s festival will be no different for those who take their families and friends to the town Green. It’s an event they wouldn’t miss.
There are tight parking and road restrictions in the center of town. The Branford Police Department suggests you click here to find out where you can and can’t drive and park.
The Branford Festival made its debut in 1984 when then-First Selectman Judy Gott worked with other residents to revamp the town center. She wondered how she could encourage more people to make use of the new space.
Thirty years later, the festival is still going strong. It takes place this weekend, from June 13 to 15, a celebration of food, fun, entertainment, commerce and more. Much more.
“It [the festival] has grown in size and become the type of event that everyone wants to go to,” Dennis Nardella, the current festival chairman, said. “Thirty years ago, there were still 10,000 people listening to music on the Green. In that way [the festival] has stayed the same, but all the structure has changed; now, there are so many things going on.”
To commemorate the milestone, this year’s festival leadership has done a number of things differently from other years.
Kicking Up The Entertainment
“We kicked up the entertainment,” Nardella said, explaining that they decided to bring in some bigger, more expensive bands. Traditionally, the most popular Festival event is the Saturday night entertainment, according to Nardella. This year, Big Shot, a Billy Joel Tribute Band will headline the weekend. The bandleader, Michael DelGuidice, is currently on tour with Billy Joel, playing guitar and vocals.
On Friday night, Draw the Line, an Aerosmith tribute band will perform and on Sunday, Ticket to Ride, a Beatles tribute band will play.
Other scheduled music groups include the Branford High School Choir; The Satisfaction, a Rock and Roll band who plays hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s; Furious George, a band that plays music from the 60s to the current day; BC, a New Haven-based band that plays new rock; Phoenix Rises, a band of Branford natives that performs rock; and the Sin Sisters Band, which plays a large variety of music genres. For specific times, visit the Branford Festival website.
Here’s the New Logo
In addition, the Festival Committee decided to redesign the logo, asking Bob Crelin to take on the task. According to the festival website, Crelin “settled on a noble impression of the town hall building, with its stately Iconic columns and neoclassical architecture.” In addition to being a major fixture on the Green, the town hall serves as the location of the entertainment, so Crelin thought the current logo design would be fitting.
At one of the first festivals Nardella worked on, he can remember standing in the town hall and looking out from an upper window above the stage. “After booking the entertainment and seeing all those people and how I played a part in it…that is one of my favorite memories [from the festival].”
In addition to these alterations, the festival will continue with its traditional events.
Friday
The kids’ activities will start on Friday at 6 p.m. This will include rides and activities such as face painting. For specific times, visit this website. In addition, the food vendors will set up on Friday. The hours and participating businesses can be found at food vendors.
Saturday
On Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce will host the Craft and Business Expo. Nardella estimates 180 vendors from across the state and nearby states will participate. Come say hello to the Branford Eagle’s staff at our tent at J‑1, across the street from Ashley’s.
The Festival Committee will also announce the Father of the Year Essay Contest winner on Saturday as well.
Sunday
Mary Johnson Photo
The annual Branford Road Race will kick off Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. The event has evolved over the years from a 7.5‑mile race in 1979 to a 5‑mile race today with the additions of a 1‑mile run and a 2‑mile health walk.
Later that day, at 2:30 p.m., the Branford Festival Committee will host the 4th annual Branford’s Got Talent, featuring the 12 finalists selected by the committee. The winner of the contest will be given a $200 gift card and a commemorative trophy.
Other events on Sunday include the fourth annual Gary Dinello Classic Car Cruise and the 11th annual Baking Contest, among others.
History of the Festival
Before the inaugural festival, many Branford residents attended a series of independent annual events, including Ray’s Road Race, the Branford Rotary Club’s Pancake Breakfast and Book Sale, the Chamber of Commerce’s fair, and the Historical Society’s Shortcake Festival. Gott and Roger Shaffer, the first Festival Chairman, worked to combine these events into one festival. Nancy Asher Goldstein recalls Shaffer passing a hat through the crowd to raise money for the entertainment.
Since its inception, the festival has undergone a number of changes.
In the past, there was traditionally a classical music night on Sunday, whereas now the festival ends with Branford’s Got Talent earlier on the same day.
In addition, over the years, the festival has moved to bring in more local entertainment, as opposed to more famous groups such as Arlo Guthrie, the Kingston Trio, and the Association, which had larger price tags and played in earlier years.
With Permission
Original Festival Board in 1989
“We have tried to embrace this community,” Bill O’Brien, the 1990 festival chairman, said. He explained that lots of people even plan their summer vacations around the festival. Here’s O’Brien pictured top left with the original board.
According to O’Brien, the festival has faced some financial problems over the years. After the 1989 festival, the committee was running a $15,000 deficit. “They had the best of intentions, but they had spent a lot of money that they didn’t have, and they didn’t have a vision,” O’Brien said. O’Brien, a well-known banker in Branford and New Haven, is now retired but still active in community life.
Under O’Brien’s leadership, the festival committee decided to create a separate festival corporation to organize the festival’s finances. For the first year, John Moss served as the chair of the corporation, followed by O’Brien from 1991 to 1993.
“We were very fortunate because of prudent decisions, in terms of how to raise money, that we had a net profit of $31,000 the next year,” O’Brien said.
To maintain this surplus, over the years, festival leaders have made a number of changes with the budget in mind.
For instance, instead of renting a stage separately ever year, the festival committee and corporation, along with the Board of Education and the recreation department, invested in a stage that could additionally be used for other town events such as the high school graduation next week and the annual summer jazz festival.
In the past, the festival leaders “didn’t see the necessity of that [sponsors]. That is a mistake, you can’t operate these things without corporate support,” O’Brien said. However, during O’Brien’s tenure, he, among others, encouraged the committee to move the stage to in front of town hall from the East or toward Guilford. “I had a vision of using the columns and hanging banners to recognize the people who had given money to the festival.” Since then, O’Brien’s original vision has been preserved.
According to Nardella, “every year there is a lot of pride for the festival.”
“[My favorite memories are] seeing the large crowds of people who come to hear music and to eat food and to enjoy themselves,” O’Brien added.
Many remember the strawberry shortcake served by the Branford Historical Society, the Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast, displays of artwork by school kids, and performing at the festival. Some saw it as the culmination of celebrating high school graduation.
To this day, festival-goers past have never forgotten Arlo Guthrie’s appearance.
“Loved seeing Arlo Guthrie,” said Barbara Devlin. “This first festival would set the stage for many, many more festivals to come!”
“I remember how exciting it was to see Arlo Guthrie in person on our very own Town Green,” said Janet Giordano. “It felt like something special had just been born. We were also pregnant with our first child and the family has been at every festival since. Best weekend of the year.”
Giordano wasn’t the only one whose unborn child was part of the festival.
“Seeing Arlo Guthrie and having a baby in my belly, dancing to his music,” said Nancy Asher Goldstein. And Harvey Goldstein echoed, “He was there in utero.”
Lori Festa remembers her job back in 1984. “I was at the first Fest and volunteered to pick up litter during an after the big show. What a great festival. The people of Branford needed an event to gather everyone together and celebrate our great town.”
Many attend to this day. “Now I just like running into old friends and bringing my kids for a weekend of family fun,” said Peg Jones Esposito.
Sally E. Bahner contributed reporting for this story.
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