This past weekend, Walktoberfest returned to the Highland side of the Walkway Over the Hudson. The event, which is a joint venture between the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Association and the Walkway Over the Hudson, brings together numerous vendors who sell a wide variety of crafts, food, wines, maple syrup, deserts and entertainment, which only scratches the surface of what is offered. 

 

Pamela Edmonds has been bringing her Highland based company, Starlight Studio, to Walktoberfest for a number of years. One of her Super Heroes was on hand along with two well-dressed Princesses from “Frozen,” Anna and Elsa. Besides community events, Edmonds provides her models for birthday and dinner parties and other private events in the tri-state area. She says she is booked throughout the year and has from 10 to 15 cast members in her troupe, “at any given point year-round.”   

 

Edmonds has a background in the Performing Arts and in Early Childhood Education and, “I wanted to create opportunities for both performers and kids where there could be a performing arts element working with a young audience. Starlight came about because I wanted to be able to do both of them.”

 

Eric Norberg, who is the VP of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Association, said, “Everybody pitches in and pulls their weight and does what they can and it’s no easy journey and this has been a natural and  fantastic partnership with the Walkway and the Rail Trail.” 

 

Rail Trail President Peter Bellizzi said the first Walktoberfest took place in the fall of 2020 but its smaller predecessor was called Hudson Fest.

 

“It’s a good turnout, I appreciate the vendors who come from all over and it’s good for the community,” he said. 

 

Roger Weisman works for Plug PV [the #1 solar company in New York State] said, “I love it; I think it’s a great venue and I am amazed that people come from Pennsylvania and from Massachusetts, from all over the place. There is a rising interest in solar because nobody likes their utility company.” 

 

Director of Events and Corporate Relations for the Walkway Over the Hudson Jami Anson said there were 190 vendors at this year’s event.

 

“We started this during covid for people to be able to have a healthy place to go outside and it’s grown to be a huge community event. This event has helped to fund the tram program, which is ADA compliant, and takes people across the park.

 

“I must say it is one of my most joyful events of the year and even with the rain on Saturday the vendors were laughing and hugging each other; it’s like a big, happy family,” she said. 

 

Ron and Sue Orts and Ron and Wendy Dibble are members of Rolling Thunder NY Chapter 3 and have been at Walktoberfest for the past three years. Their chapter helps local Veterans find the services they are entitled to and have spearheaded home construction projects for a Veteran in need. When asked, they escort a Veteran who has passed, or one killed in action, to their final resting place, offering them a respectful final salute.

 

Orts dispelled the notion that Rolling Thunder is an outlaw motorcycle club.

 

“Our bond is doing the right thing for the people who put the uniform on for our country and served, no matter what the branch is or anything else,” he said. “Once the public knows more about us, they’re very pleased to know there are organizations that are doing what we’re doing.” 

 

Ron Dibble echoed Orts’ comments, saying, “whatever we can do for the Veterans,” such as procuring wheelchairs and building ADA compliant ramps for a Veterans home. 

 

Earth Chavez and her husband Juan Chavez-Hernandez own the Chavez Garden Center on Route 299 in Highland. They officially opened in April 2023, and this is her first time at the Walktoberfest.

 

“It’s good and there are a lot of people even after the rain,” she said.  

 

Scott Gibson’s ‘Wingnut’ business is located in the Hamlet of Highland. He has a background in Industrial Design. 

 

“Wingnut is a brand that I started in 2005 with hydration packs for bike packing and adventure racing,” he said. “The company is called New Sun Productions and I’ve done off-grid renewable energy systems for events for about 8 years, worked for SUNY New Paltz with a Beta shed for training, and also makes bags for cell phones and small packs to hold personal items.” 

 

Gibson said he loves Walktoberfest, “even in the rain on Saturday.”  

 

Marlborough resident Dennis McCourt owns the Hudson Valley Driftwood Artisans with his twin brother Kevin. They collect driftwood from the Hudson River and some streams in the Catskill Mountains and they are topped with stars from England. 

 

“It keeps me out of trouble,” he laughed. “This is the first year we’ve done this show.” 

 

Jennifer Scala owns a haberdashery called Scalapalla Hats, based in Pine Bush. 

 

“They are one-of-a-kind hats and people make special orders and I deal a lot with the equestrian community and also make custom barn hats of straw,” she said. “I am learning to make the hats but now I do all of the embellishments myself. The popular ones now are the wide brim fedoras.”

 

Debbie and John Corey own Corey’s Sugar Shack n Highland, selling a wide variety of maple syrup products for the last 15 years, tapping trees in Highland and Esopus, and have been at Walktoberfest for the past four years. 

 

John said, “it started out as a hobby and just kept right on growing. This year we’re looking to add on 800 to 1,000 taps and we’re taking on another sugar bush that has a small quantity of black walnuts and will be boiling it down for syrup.” He said the public associates maple syrup coming from sugar maples and black maples, which give the premium 3% sugar. 

John said Walktoberfest, “is a fantastic event and we’ve been here since they started and each year it just seems to be getting better.”