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Eclectic fashion, tunes, bubbles and a sprawling venue welcomed thousands of attendees to the Finger Lakes’ 33rd annual Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds from July 17-20.
Since 1991, the festival has been a hub for music and community. This year, over 80 artists performed during the four-day event, showcasing local talent alongside acclaimed performers like Lukas Nelson, Dobet Gnahoré and Driftwood.
A thrum of distant music, throngs of colorful booths and bold banners greeted attendees as they hopped off of buses and bikes or emerged from campsites on the venue.
Local vendors set up tents across the fairgrounds that mingled with attendees’ campsites. Each vendor’s tent was immersive, designed with unique colors, tapestries and goods — many vendors played music and chatted with customers as the day progressed.
Between tents, children, families and other music-enjoyers lounged in the grass, played games on the lawn and soaked up the sun. People juggled, hula hooped, pogo-sticked, kicked soccer balls and blew giant bubbles across the fairgrounds.
Local band Maddy Walsh & the Blind Spots performed at the Grandstand stage to a crowd filled with bubbles and boogying fans. Donning a silver cape, pink sunglasses and white go-go boots, lead singer Walsh took center stage to belt the band’s signature music genre, Moxy Rock.
Fans sported bubbleguns, flags and stylish shades in the crowd while jamming out to the band’s tunes.
Bands like the Empire Kings, Steel Wheels, Scuba Jerry and the Bubba George Stringband put on performances that made the crowd spin, smile and twirl.
At the center of the venue, the big, striped Dance Tent housed a packed crowd that couldn’t stop moving. All day long, artists took their places under the tent to perform for dancing attendees.
While music coursed through the festival, attendees gabbed, grinned and grooved in their own ways. Some cracked open cold ones on the lawn and utilized the festival’s branded mugs, while others spun their friends and partners around the audience.
Spreading joy and spirit throughout the festival, the Happiness Parade meandered through the venue on Sunday. With walkers of all ages, they displayed puppets, stilt acts, costumes and smiles while they marched alongside the Fall Creek Brass Band.
Some inspired attendees chose to make their own music at the fairgrounds. Various impromptu jam sessions popped up around the venue, showcasing the spirit of the festival and the concertgoers’ creativity.
At the perimeter of the venue, attendees were encouraged to contribute to collaborative posters. One asked attendees to “share [their] favorite Grassroots memory.” Ranging from heartfelt to humorous, the banner included many responses, some in little-kid handwriting and even drawings.
Equipped with markers and shrinking blank space, attendees threw their memories onto the page.
The banner read responses such as, “Being here with the one I love,” “Happy friends, happy together, happy music, happy love,” “Unforgettable laughs with my best friends” and simply, “EVERYTHING!!!!”
Varsha Bhargava is a news editor from The Cornell Daily Sun working as a reporter for the Ithaca Times through The Sun’s summer fellowship program.
Nathan Ellison is a staff photographer from The Cornell Daily Sun working as a photographer for the Ithaca Times through The Sun’s summer fellowship program.
This article was originally published in the Ithaca Times.
Nathan Ellison
Nathan Ellison is a staff photographer and a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at nellison@cornellsun.com.
Varsha Bhargava
Varsha Bhargava is a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at vbhargava@cornellsun.com.
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