GlassFest is almost back in Corning

CORNING, N.Y. (WETM) — Corning’s Gaffer District is ready to celebrate the history of glassmaking in the area with its annual GlassFest event.

GlassFest will take over Market Street and Centennial Park from Friday, May 24, through Sunday, May 26. This festival is family-friendly and open to the public for free. Visitors can expect to find dozens of local vendors, live glassmaking demonstrations, live music, local food, kids’ activities, and more.

Friday will start out with yoga in Centennial Park from 9 a.m. until 10:50 a.m. GlassFest will officially start at noon with a glass ribbon cutting in Centerway Square. A National Poppy Day demonstration will follow the ribbon cutting. From noon until 8 p.m., festivalgoers will be able to watch live glassblowing from the Corning Museum of Glass in Centerway Square.

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Market Street will close by 1 p.m. on Friday to welcome vendors, diners, and musicians at 4 p.m. On-street dining, vending, and shopping will be available until 9 p.m., and live music will be on each block of Market Street until 6 p.m. Additionally, public art tours will start at 4 p.m. at the Centennial Sculpture, which is located at the intersection of Wall Street and Market Street. Art lovers can also attend a free reception at 171 Cedar Arts Center for a new exhibition from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Starting at 5:45 p.m., Centennial Park will be filled with live music. Payton Clark will take the stage first, Freedom Rockets will perform at 6:30 p.m., Nicholas Stark will go on at 7:15 p.m., and the headliner, Everclear, will perform from 8:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Saturday’s festivities will start even earlier than Friday’s. Runners can take part in the Wineglass 8K at Corning High School at 8 a.m. The Wineglass Kids Run will start at 9:30 a.m. at the same location. Those interested in either race can register at this link and have until the night before the race to do so. There are fees associated with participation in the runs, but all other activities at GlassFest are free.

Those who would like to start Saturday with some less intense exercise can do yoga in the park between 9 a.m. and 10:50 a.m. On-street dining and vending will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the festival’s second day. Live glassblowing will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Centerway Square, and live music will be played on Marich Music Stage, located at 62 E. Market St., starting at 10 a.m. People who missed 171 Cedar Art Center’s reception the night before can visit the center between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. There will be more public art tours on Saturday as well. Those interested in a tour should meet at the Centennial Sculpture at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., or 5 p.m.

There will be plenty of activities geared towards children and families on Saturday. Kids can play at the Kids Zone at Krouge Park or get their faces painted on Market Street between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. There will also be magic shows at the Val Reep Fountain at 11 a.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m.

The Allegany River Seneca Dancers will be on block 5 of Market Street for hours on Saturday. The group will give a dance performance from11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., host a make-and-take bead necklace and rattle-making session from noon until 12:45 p.m., host traditional interactive Seneca games from 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., and hold a Native American music workshop from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The group will partake in storytelling from 3 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. and end the afternoon with another dance performance from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

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GlassFest’s festivities will continue into the evening with more free concerts in Centennial Park and a fireworks show. The Clark Jackson Band will play at 6:15 p.m., Kountry Khaos will start performing at 7:15 p.m., and Graham Barham will perform from 8:15 p.m. until 9:45 p.m. Fireworks over the Chemung River will immediately follow Graham Barham’s performance.

There will still be plenty to do on the festival’s final day. Like the previous two days, Sunday will start with yoga in the park from 9 a.m. until 10:50 p.m. On-street vending will start and end a bit earlier on Sunday; Market Street will host vendors from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Musicians will be performing for the afternoon in front of Marich Music starting at 11 a.m., and glassblowing demos will be going on in Centerway Square from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Visitors can go on guided public art tours at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. and catch a magic show at either 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. Sunday’s concerts in the park will take place earlier in the day than they did on the first two days of the festival. Major Big Time will take the stage at 12:45 p.m., and there will be a Memorial Day Salute from 2:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. The day will end with a PA Line performance from 3:15 p.m. until 4:45 p.m.

More information about GlassFest can be found on the Gaffer District’s website or on GlassFest’s Facebook event page.

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