Larry Fiorella is pictured during a past Festivals Fredonia. The chairman said he expects the event to be back next June.

Festivals Fredonia is looking to get “back in action” come next year.

“We plan on doing all of them,” said chairman Larry Fiorella. “They don’t start until June so hopefully most things will have changed by then. We’re really hoping that we don’t have to have any restrictions whatsoever this year. We’re hoping that we’re back in action and the events will take place as they’re supposed to take place.”

The first event is the Italian Heritage Festival and the group is looking for a good turnout for that.

“We had 10 restaurants at our last one, it was great,” Fiorella said.

The only issue that the group has right now is the village’s restrictions for food trucks.

“We have to get rid of that law completely, otherwise we will host events in other areas and not in Fredonia,” Fiorella said. “For the Farm Festival we have already contacted the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds. Same thing with Red, White and Blues, we want to have as much food as we can and doing it at the fairgrounds is going to be the best possible way to do it if those restrictions aren’t lifted. That’s a lot of revenue for us. I have to look out from a business standpoint, I have to look out for the best interests of Festivals Fredonia. The restaurants don’t care about those food trucks, because they get enough business coming in with the festivals.”

The organization is also looking at possibly using the Water Street parking lot.

“It would hamper our events to have the main event in the park,” Fiorella said. “We’re actually talking with the village about maybe using the Water Street municipal parking lot as a possible place for the venue, because it’s a larger venue, we could put more food trucks and beer trucks on either side.”

This year is a big year for one festival in particular and that’s Red, White and Blues as it’s its 25th anniversary.

“I’m actually talking to the management teams for the Black Keys,” Fiorella shared. “They’re a great lakes band, right out of Toledo Ohio. I think those guys would actually do it for a reasonable cost because of their roots and how long they’ve been in the business.”

Currently Fiorella is working on getting the bed tax grant to help fund these events, but the group has also sent out a donation letter that reads “we realize that last year’s pandemic disruption, shutdowns and imposed restrictions seriously damaged some of our local businesses, especially our smallest of businesses. We understand that this will likely make it difficult for you to open your wallets to support our non-profit organization; however, it is you, our residents and our community, that funds our efforts and supports our causes in order to bring you the highest quality events our region has to offer. No donation or sponsorship is too small or too big — every little bit counts and we appreciate you and your support.”

They go on to point out past festival seasons.

“Although we were able to attempt to offer virtual events in 2020, our 2019 events surpassed our attendance goals at each of our festivals. The festivals showcase our history, architecture, local talents, local fruits, vegetables, wineries and community spirit, and promote the area as a viable tourist destination. Many visitors to the festivals tell us that they enjoy all that the events have to offer that they make plans a year in advance to return and attend the next year’s festivities.”