June Fest features many activities in Holley today

Photo by Tom Rivers: This mural of the Erie Canal and Myron Holley, an early canal commissioner who the village is named after, is on the back of the Community Free Library. It is being painted by retired Holley art teacher Tony Barry. There will be a celebration of the mural today at 9 a.m. to help kick off Holley's June Fest.

HOLLEY – June Fest will be today in the Village of Holley, and organizers say there are many activities throughout the day for people of all ages.

The schedule starts at 9 a.m., with the unveiling of a canal-themed mural on the back of the Community Free Library. Tony Barry isn’t quite done with the project that highlights Holley’s namesake, Myron Holley. He was an early canal commissioner who was influential in the construction of the manmade waterway.

The Holley-Kendall Marching Band will perform at 9:30 a.m. and the go in a processional playing music through the Public Square, down White Street to the canal gazebo.

The festival also will debut a cardboard regatta in the Erie Cana at 9:45 a.m. The participants were by invite-only. Rainey Losee, one of the organizers, wants people to see the regatta and get ideas on how to make it bigger next year.

Holley is trying the regatta after some of the organizers saw it in Watkins Glen. There needs to be teams of at least two people in boats made of cardboard and held together with duct tape. Today they will only race from the south side of the canal to the north side.

“It’s something fun and unique,” Losee said. “I think it will be cool.”

There will be 50 vendors in the canal park and path. There will be bounce houses, pony rides, alpacas, food, beverages, craft vendors and a wine-tasting.

At 12:30 p.m., Mark Ross of Woodstock will put on his family entertainment show to the pavilion. There will be a 7:30 p.m. concert by Beggars will Ride which includes Holley alumni Tom Mark, Rick Brunette and Daniel Mark.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church also is selling chicken barbecue dinners from 11:30 a.m. until sold out, and The Whole Approach will be leading yoga and other fitness activities near the waterfalls. There will be other games during the day by the falls: badminton, cornhole, volleyball, lawn darts, frisbee, horseshoes and a coloring activity.

“The festival is important to the village,” Losee said. “People are happy to have a reason to be out and about.”