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FINDLEY LAKE -- Visitors to the 25th annual Findley Lake Harvest Festival on Friday to Sunday will find something old, something new and even something blue.
While the event will have many traditional aspects, such as vendors, wine tasting and bounce houses, there are many additions to previous years, said Larry Gross, co-owner of Our Own Candle Company. "It's going to be more of a party than a Harvest Fest," he said.
One of the biggest changes, Gross said, is that the event is free, including the entire kids' area. "Unless you purchase from vendors or buy food, everything is free," he said.
However, Gross said, he feels the best aspect of this year's festival will be the music, which will be continuous over the weekend. This year there will be 12 bands, playing on two stages.
"The music will be starting at 5 p.m. Friday and playing solid until Sunday at 10 p.m.," he said.
Gross said there will be the usual stage in the main Our Own Candle Company parking lot and a new stage in the parking lot by Twin Docks. Bands will come from all around, he said, from Erie and Sharon, Pa., Jamestown, Sherman and Rochester.
The musical lineup will include the professional band, Blue Sky, which is an Allman Brothers tribute band that also plays the music of Eric Clapton, the Doobie Brothers and several others.
Along with the vendors and crafters, there will be a beer tent and an antique show, as well as the popular kids' carnival, Gross said. Also, more wineries will be featured.
For the sake of safety and enjoyment, many of the vendors will be located on Pleasant Street, which will be shut down for the event.
"We're going to shut down Pleasant Street and run vendors up and down the street," Gross said. "That way, we can have more vendors and they will have more room."
The kids' area, which will include inflatable bounce houses, games and various activities, will be in the OOCC parking lot on the southeast corner of Main and Shadyside Streets.
The fireman's barbecue will return, but this year it will be a full barbecue, which will include brisket and pulled pork, Gross said.
Parking, which has frequently been a problem for visitors to Findley Lake, will be available at the maintenance building on Mann Road. Gross noted that the parking lot is only two blocks away from the festival. Parking, like the rest of the event, is free, he added.