Summertime in the Finger Lakes Region offers a plethora of family-friendly and often free events and activities for the whole family to enjoy. If you are looking for some fun that the whole family can enjoy, you are in luck because the Finger Lakes Festival season is only beginning.
Here are 8 upcoming summer festivals to check out this summer in the Finger Lakes:
Downtown Canandaigua Art & Music Festival: July 18-20
The 37th annual Art and Music Festival will return to Main Street in Canandiagua’s Historic Downtown on July 18 through July 20.
This free and family-friendly event will highlight over 150 juried artists and will include live musical performances on the Maxion Stage in the Commons Park on all three days of the event. Art will be showcased along Main Street in many different mediums, including ceramics, pottery, jewelry, woodworking, fiber, glass, photography, and gourmet foods, according to Canandaigua’s Business Improvement District (BID).
The festival will run from noon to 7 p.m. on July 18, then will go from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 19 and 20.
Artist and food vendor applications for the festival are still open. To apply, visit https://www.downtowncanandaigua.com/art-and-music-festival/application-information.
Canandaigua Lakefront Art Show: July 26-27
The 52nd Annual Canandaigua Lakefront Art Show, presented by Taste of Rochester, will return to Canandaigua Lake on July 26 and 27. The free, family-friendly event highlighting local artists and vendors will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days at Kershaw Park in Ontario County.
Free parking will be available at the festival in municipal and designated private lots near the park. For a map of available parking lots near Kershaw Park, visit http://www.lakefrontartshow.com/parking-info.html.
Vendors are said to include artists, festival food and beverages, local businesses and local nonprofit organizations. To inquire about becoming a vendor at the Lakefront Art Show, call (585)967-2009. To see a full list of vendors and organizations that will be in attendance, visit http://www.lakefrontartshow.com/.
Ontario County Fair: July 22-26
The 182nd Annual Ontario County Fair will return to the Ontario County Fairgrounds in Canandaigua on July 22 through July 26.
According to the Ontario County Fair Society, the fair’s motto is “Cultivating the Next Generation,” and will include free events like 4-H youth activitie, youth livestock shows, vendors, live music, food vendors and Midway rides by Playland Amusements. To register online for the fair’s animal, exhibit and event competitions, visit https://ontariocountyfair.fairentry.com/Fair/SignIn/22015.
Festival grounds will be located at 2820 County Road 10 in Canandaigua, Ontario County. For a full lineup of events for the 2025 Ontario County Fair, visit https://ontariocountyfair.org/.
Sauerkraut Weekend: July 31-Aug. 3
The Sauerkraut Festival in Phelps is a four-day, village-wide festival which includes vendors, American Legion events, the Phelps Sauerkraut Weekend 5k and 20k, carnival rides, carnival boots and a parade. The parade will start around 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, on Village streets south of Main Street and east of William Street in Phelps.
The Phelps Sauerkraut Weekend 20k and 5k will happen on Aug. 2 at the Phelps Community Center on 8 Banta Street in Phelps, Ontario County. Registration for the races ends at 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 1. For more information or to sign up for the races, visit https://phelpsny.com/sauerkraut-weekend/5k-and-20-k-sauerkraut-race.
Sauerkraut Weekend in Phelps will run from July 31 through Aug. 3.
Indigenous Music and Art Festival (Ganondagan): July 26-27
Ganondagan’s Indigenous Music & Arts Festival, highlighting and showcasing the Haudenosaunee and Indigenous cultures, will take place on July 26 and July 27 at the Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, Ontario County. This annual event will include dances, music, storytelling, traditional craft demonstrations, an Indigenous Arts Market, children’s activities, raffles, guided trail walks, gallery tours, Indigenous food, and more, according to Ganondagan State Historic Site.
This free event will be held at 7000 County Road 41 (Boughton Hill Road) in Victor, Ontario County. Free parking will be available at Fireman’s Field off of Maple Avenue, in the lot closest to the Seneca Art & Culture Center and limited parking spaces will be available at the festival grounds in the field near the intersection of Maple Avenue and Boughton Hill Road.
To see the full performance lineup, visit https://www.ganondagan.org/indigenous-music-arts-festival.
Naples Pride: July 26
Naples will hold its Pride Celebration on July 26 at the Naples Memorial Town Hall Lawn, 135 North Main Street in Naples, Ontario County. This free event will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will include tables and vendors, musical and poetry performances, a community solidarity march along Main Street to Bristol Valley Theater at 4 p.m., a solidarity circle and a potluck event.
To see the full schedule for the Phelps 2025 Pride Celebration, visit https://naplesnypride.com/naples-ny-pride-schedule/.
Geneva Glorious Garlic Festival: Aug. 2-3
Geneva’s Glorious Garlic Festival at the Geneva Lakefront will take place on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 and will include over 50 retail, food and beverage vendors. Admission is $5 for entry, and free to children 12-years-old and younger. VIP tickets are available for purchase on Eventbrite.com.
Live musical performances and food demonstrations on the Food Stage will also take place throughout the two-day event. The festival grounds will be located at 35 Lake Front Drive in Geneva, Ontario County. Free parking will be available at two City of Geneva lots and the festival’s grass lot.
For questions about the festival or to become a vendor, email Info@GloriousGarlicFestival.com.
Hopewell Pageant of Steam
New York Steam Engine Association’s 65th annual Pageant of Steam will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 6 through Aug. 9, at 3349 Gehan Road in Canandaigua, Ontario County. The event will include a daily parade, live performances, field demonstrations, a craft and flea market and more.
General admission into the event is $10 per person and free for children 12-years-old and younger. Camping spaces will also be available throughout the event. For a full itinerary of the four-day event, visit https://nysteamengineassociation.com/pageant-of-steam/.
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who covers breaking and trending news for the Finger Lakes Region. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: What to do this summer in the Finger Lakes: 8 festivals you can’t miss
Reporting by Madison Scott, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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