The Town of Oswego hosted the tenth annual Porchfest on Sept. 21, celebrating a sense of community among citizens.

Porchfest is celebrated every third Sunday of September and showcases various local artists who sing covers and original songs for all to hear.

Steven Phillips, a founding member of Porchfest, believes that it brings a wonderful sense of community to Oswego.
“The sense of community that you experience walking around is just the best part of the event,” Phillips said. “And it forces neighbors to engage with other neighbors and obviously community members to come and walk through the neighborhoods and enjoy the neighborhood.”

Ten years ago, Gerri Millar approached the Oswego Renaissance Association with the idea of Porchfest, and Phillips and his husband offered the seed money to get it started. Millar had got the idea after attending the Ithaca Porchfest and thought it would be a great idea if someone started one in Oswego, according to Phillips. That was 11 years ago and after losing a year to COVID-19, Porchfest is still going strong and is only growing.

“The first year we had 17 artists and we had about 11 porches,” Phillips said. “This year we have over 75 artists and we have over 55 porches.”

The sense of community that has been built throughout the neighborhood that Porchfest is in is something that Phillips emphasized continuously.
“It’s really an old-fashioned neighborhood where neighbors know neighbors and interact with neighbors, and there’s a real sense of community, and Porchfest is kind of like the icing on the cake,” Phillips said.

With 75 acts participating in Porchfest, it was hard to pick a favorite, but Phillips was able to choose a few “must-see” acts that were going to be on his porch in the evening. Gary Carpentier, who was on “The Voice,” was singing and was later joined by two other singers to perform a three-man harmony show.

Porchfest was located in Oswego’s historic westside neighborhoods of Franklin Square and Montcalm Park. Food and beverages were offered from various food trucks and there was an opportunity to buy merchandise to commemorate the milestone of 10 years.

Porchfest was voted best community event by the Oswego community in the past year, bringing the sense of belonging and community that Phillips had emphasized.