The nonprofit organization Heart of Springs will host its second annual SpringsFest, a community music festival, on Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. on the grounds of the Parsons Blacksmith Shop.
“The turnout and response last year was incredible, because we put it together in probably a month and a half,” said Wendy Hall, the chairperson of Heart of Springs and one of the festival’s organizers. “I think the community was looking forward to something like that.
“It just worked. We did it so off-the-cuff and thought, let’s just see what sticks. And it stuck really well,” said Erin Field, Ms. Hall’s daughter and a co-organizer of the festival. This year, she said, “It’s still the same idea — the music is the main event, but we have more craft fair vendors. So we’ll have about 15 local vendors selling baked goods, fresh breads, beach glass jewelry, marmalade — just wonderful, wonderful things.”
REEB, the Real East Brass Band, an ensemble of local music educators with a sound inspired by New Orleans-style jazz and funk music, will return to perform a free concert, and Hugh King, the town historian and director of the village’s Home Sweet Home museum, will deliver a Springs history lesson during intermission.
New additions this year include a set of sea chanteys performed by David Cataletto, a town trustee and teacher at East Hampton Middle School, and a live demonstration of traditional smithing techniques by Ken Collum, a metalsmith and the East Hampton Village fire marshal. Food trucks will be serving dinners, light snacks and desserts throughout the evening, and beer from Springs Brewery will be available for purchase.
The event is open to all ages and free to attend, though donations are strongly encouraged and can be made through the Heart of Springs website or in person at a booth. All donations, along with the proceeds from a raffle to be held near sundown, will cover the costs of the festival and support Heart of Springs, which works to preserve and maintain the hamlet’s historic structures, including the Springs Community Church, Ashawagh Hall, the Springs Library, and the blacksmith shop.
Ms. Field attributes much of the inaugural event’s success to a “fantastic committee” of organizers, who also include Ms. Hall, Leland Muller, Kristy Schopper, and Dylan Green, “just rallying together” to make it happen, as well as to the community’s enthusiasm last year.
“It was so local. It was such a friendly, relaxed vibe. You just felt community,” she said. “And I think it’s going to be even more this year, because the name’s out there. I think it’s going to be even bigger and better!”
