For organizers, there is something special about the annual Windmill City Festival in Batavia, set to begin on Friday.
“There is something magical about seeing thousands of people coming to the riverwalk to celebrate our community,” said Batavia Park District Executive Director Allison Niemela. “Windmill City Fest showcases the best of Batavia, with local traditions, food, music and fun recreational activities that make the city feel like it’s home.”
The Batavia Park District, in conjunction with the city of Batavia and the Batavia Depot Museum, will again offer the annual Windmill City Festival, set to begin at 5 p.m. Friday and running through Sunday at the Batavia Riverwalk.
This year’s version returns with the usual staples from carnival rides, a beer garden, food tent, the popular golf challenge and a wide array of music, organizers said.
A press release from the Batavia Park District noted a few new offerings at the fest will include bingo presented by the Batavia Overseas VFW Post in the beer garden, a daylong fine arts fest at the Callahan Community Center, an art class for kids, a presentation by FrogLady and fitness class demonstrations.
Niemela said many fest-goers “look forward to the music.”
Scheduled performers this year include Kashmir, a Led Zeppelin tribute band, at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by Sixteen Candles, a 1980s band, at 9 p.m. Performers on Saturday include This End Up Band at 3 p.m., Libido Funk Circus at 6 p.m. and 7th Heaven at 9 p.m.
The music on Sunday kicks off with Beyond the Blonde, a tribute band showcasing the songs of Pink, Gwen Stefani and Lady Gaga, at 1 p.m., and wraps up with Simple Remedy, a country, soul, rock and blues band, at 4 p.m., according to organizers.
Niemela said the pet competition is also a big draw at the festival.
“People come each year to check out the unique pets,” Niemela said. “Some people bring the same pet, but we had one gentleman bring his dog up until the very last year of the dog’s life and he said that it was on the dog’s bucket list to bring him to the pet competition.”
The fest helps bring the community together, Niemela said.
“People really look forward to the camaraderie. People also come because it’s like a class reunion,” Niemela said. “Every time they come, they see not just former classmates but former neighbors, they see the person who moved away when they were 5 years old. The festival has a knack for bringing people together who haven’t seen each other in a long time.”
One of this year’s unique offerings will be the Peace Ramp – a community mural that is “a legacy project.”
“There are 52 aluminum panels that are paint-by-number, and we’ll have some panels available at the festival for people to paint,” Niemela said. “Each panel represents a piece of the larger picture of the mural and when all the panels are done they will be installed at the brand-new Batavia Peace Ramp, a bicycle ramp which is a $3.2 million project that the city is gifting to the park district. It’s the first time that pedestrians can go from the river-level trail up to the street level.”
For more information on the fest, go to www.bataviaparks.org/windmill-city-fest.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
