Harborfest expected to draw 75,000

(Anchor: Raquel Stephens)
Today’s the first day of Oswego’s annual harbor fest taking us lakeside where the festival takes place is NCC’S Alex Peebles.

(Reporter: Alex Peebles)
Thank you Raquel, I’m here a Breitbeck Park in Oswego where the thirty second annual Harborfest is set to kick off at five p.m. this evening. Harborfest will be hosting over thirty acts across four different venues but this is not just a four-day music festival for a long time festival goer Greg DeRose so we come here to.

(Greg DeRose)
So we come here to join in the festivities for family and friends we all gather from different parts of different states and we meet here.

(Peebles)
DeRose hasn’t missed a festival in twenty five years.

(DeRose)
well we’ve been coming here since 93′ so I’d say 1993.

(Peebles)
The headliner of this festival is smash mouth and they’re set to take the stage tomorrow night at nine forty five. Signing off from Oswego New York Alex Peebles NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) –The 32^nd annual Harborfest is set to kick off on Thursday evening, with Smash Mouth headlining the four-day music festival on Friday night. The Oswego based festival is ready to host over 30 acts across four different venues.

After a week and a half of setting up, the final preparations were being made Thursday morning. Many of the crew members were forced to work around festival goers who were already staking their claims. Greg DeRose, Long time Harborfest attendee, arrives early every year to beat the chaos of the large crowds.

“Well it gets really packed, really really packed,” DeRose said. “So we have to kind of get here, and we set up in one spot so everybody knows where we are going to be and we all gather there when the music starts.”

DeRose and his wife drive over four hours every year to meet their loved ones and take in the music while create lasting memories. The DeRose clan have not missed a Harborfest in 25 years.

“Well we’ve been coming here since 93’,” DeRose said “We come here to join in the festivities with family and friends, we all gather from different states and we meet here.”

Music may have played a role in generating such a huge buzz, but to many, like DeRose, Harborfest is more than just a four-day music festival. The festival is spread through the entire Oswego Harbor with a fireworks show set for Saturday evening. This festival is expected to draw crowds upwards of 75,000 strong this year.

Tweets by OswegoHfest