There are a lot of festivals around Buffalo. They have become the lifeblood of the city, and the region. One festival that is near and dear to my heart is the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts (EAFA), of which I am a founder. While I haven’t been a part of the festival in a long time, EAFA has remained much the same over the years – all of the underlying wholesome principals are still intact.
Over the summer, I met Katherine Pessecow who is the Director, of WNY Trash Mob! That is just one of the many hats that she wears. Upon speaking with Katherine recently, I learned that she has been the Volunteer Coordinator for EAFA for years. The more that we talked, the more I learned about Katherine’s passion for the 22-year-old festival – a festival that is truly unique when it comes to its approach to the community, families, the environment, and culture.
“Even though I have organized dozens of volunteer efforts and now run my own arts and education non-profit, the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts is near and dear to me because it exemplifies our city’s unique sense of community, creativity, and caring,” Katherine explained. “Entering the festival not only marked my introduction to volunteering, but introduced me to the Director, Joe DiPasquale, his wife Tanya Zabinski, and a board of Buffalo’s volunteers who have become my lifelong friends and mentors. Each year I am honored to serve alongside our board and volunteer team – a dedicated team of 300+ volunteers! We’re always on the lookout for additional volunteers (learn more), especially now that we’ve emerged from the pandemic.”
How did you get started volunteering for the festival?
I started volunteering with the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts when my mother, much to my surprise, signed us up to help in Kidsfest. Never having face painted before, I didn’t know what to expect. Right away, I fell in love not only with the task, but the sense of community that came from volunteering.
And this was your foray into the world of volunteering?
Looking back, I had no idea how deeply the festival would change my life over the next fifteen years.
I loved working with families as a face painter, but catching the organizers’ dedication to preserving the festival’s mission and experiencing the meaningful impact the festival had on visitors made turning down Tent Lead and, later, Kidsfest Volunteer Coordinator impossible.
How did you manage all of that?
11 years ago, I accepted the Chair of Volunteer Coordination position on one condition, I could leave the HQ Tent and face paint for least an hour each year. Even though I moved out of town twice during my time as Volunteer Coordinator, I worked from afar because I believed in our team and our mission. My Co-Chair, Kate Lee Keenan, the HQ tent crew, and I, take preserving that same caring culture that drew us in very seriously.
In your mind, what makes EAFA so special?
The festival is special to Buffalo because it truly embodies our city’s unique sense of community, diversity, and creativity. For example, of course everyone knows that Artist’s Row features a variety of artists, but what they don’t know is the work that our Director Joe DiPasquale puts into sorting through hundreds of applications to carefully select craftspeople who not only make unique, quality pieces, but would also benefit from the large scale festival exposure – that they may not have opportunity elsewhere.
And the volunteers make it run smoothly, right?
The beauty of our free and 100% volunteer-run festival lies in our attention to detail and determination to uphold our mission: to foster growth in and awareness of Western New York’s artistic and cultural treasures, and improve the fabric of our unique urban environment.
It is not just an art festival, it really is a festival of the arts.
Katherine Pessecow
It is not just an art festival, it really is a festival of the arts. We also strive to accomplish our mission in an environmentally sustainable manner. We genuinely care about the community and want to make the festival space for people to come together and unite over art, music, food, and dance. It is not just an art festival, it really is a festival of the arts.
There’s a lot more than art at the festival? What do people look forward to?
Similar to the way artists and food vendors are selected, our musicians and performers are also carefully chosen to reflect our region’s diverse and acelectic styles. Our dance tents are second to none, and we take pride that all of performers, down to our street buskers, are compensated.
What about other festival elements?
Cultural and environmental row is an extremely affordable way for nonprofit and environmental organizations to showcase their work, and I couldn’t be more impressed with the attention to detail that our Beverage Chair, Jeff Carballada, puts into crafting our menu and working with Community Beer Works to create our own Festivale. Site Crew, led by Joe Moslow, spends months carefully planning all of our behind the scenes systems, and if you ever want a good story you can always ask them for one at our discretely placed Garbage Central.
Organizing this festival is no small feat.
Even though we are organized by committees, what’s amazing to me is that this is a festival that is not build on titles or ego- many of our lifers, like Mark Kubiniec, Kevin Lee, and Karin Lowenthall go by self-selected names such as, “Garbagemeister” and “Trash Queen,” – they are quick to redistribute any credit awarded for their hard work to the rest of the team. Everyone is willing to pitch in wherever help is needed, and at end of Sunday night you will always find Joe and the rest of the leadership team picking garbage off the street before a special celebratory dinner for the “bitter enders.”
What about Kidfest?
Last but not least, at the heart of the festival is Kidsfest. Started by Tanya Zabinski and organized by her talented team of “co-chairs,” each year a theme is carefully selected and used to make a variety of exploratory and wildly creative crafts. Families members of all ages can explore their creativity and create lifetime memories, and it is awesome to see visitors that once attended as children return years later with their own families. The Saturday after-party welcomes all neighbors, volunteers, and friends, and the Sunday parade is an event in itself.
What’s the call to action?
Honestly, I would like people to know that this festival is special because it takes a collective effort of over 300 volunteers to create, and if it’s going to continue we will need more people to join our team.
After 2 years off due to the pandemic, we are returning to a world forever changed.
Katherine Pessecow
After 2 years off due to the pandemic, we are returning to a world forever changed. People often have new schedules, have relocated, or are no longer in a position to return. We are in need of new volunteers, and with the web replacing our former methods of print and radio, we rely on social media more and more each year.
I hope that anyone looking for a unique, community oriented event considers volunteering with us. With the festival almost a week away, there are still plenty of open positions that can fit community members of all ages and abilities. No matter how much I write, I really do not think I can ever capture the sense of fun, joy, and community experienced by our volunteers.
Volunteer – Many hands make light work. We welcome all ages and abilities!
August 27th and 28th, 2022 – Buffalo, NY
Shop – 170 World-class artists
See – Four stages with music, dance and puppetry
Participate – KidsFest has hands-on activities for all ages, in four big tents
Eat – Food from around the world with many healthful options
Learn – Cultural and Environmental Row will have non-profit groups highlighting their important work.
Taste – Award winning local beers and ciders