This year’s festival will feature over 60 artists and will be celebrating local, regional and international talent across several venues, including Jamestown Brewing Company, Winter Garden Plaza, Shawbucks, Jamestown Wine Cellar, Labyrinth Press Company,  the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, and 3rd on 3rd Gallery. 

This year’s festivities include multi-genre musical performances by internationally touring bands, including the high energy reggae/funk rock of  Tropidelic, fresh off 311’s Caribbean Cruise. Other acts include After Funk, LeSpecial, Funktional Flow, Witty Tarbox, Company Townes, Space Junk, Qwister, Cold Lazarus, Wanyama, Vibe Supply, The LEC, Bill Ward, Cindy & the Loves, Amanda Lynn’s Shenanigans, Smilo & the Ghost, Phantasm, Feverhawk, Trip the Deuce and the special reunion show of Jamestown’s The Audience – plus many more.

Whirlybird 2019’s comedy program will be headlined by Steven Rogers. Known for his clever, clean and hilarious comedy, Steven recently appeared on The Late Show with Steven Colbert and regularly opens for Brian Regan. Local comedy team Karate Sleepover will feature a regional comedy showcase and open for Steven along with Buffalo’s up and comer Jesse Winterhalter.

Whirlybird 2019 features a FREE, all age and family friendly Street Festival taking place on 3rd street between Main Street and City Hall as well as Winter Garden Plaza, Saturday July 20 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Whirlybird Street Fest will feature four outdoor stages, 25 musical acts, the Jamestown Public Market Farmer’s Market, love painting, carving and crafting, arts and craft vendors, a beer garden, local food, kids activities, a hooping workshop and more.

According to organizer Miki Girts, Whirlybird’s mission is to strengthen the thriving creative culture of Jamestown, New York through organization and inspiration.

“Whirly brings out the best in our city in collaboration with a community of incredible people, local organizations, venues and businesses for a good cause and a great time,” Girts said.

Along with spearheading a summer music program at YMCA Camp Onyahsa, Whirlybird is also partnering with local arts events including Third Thursday at Winter Garden Plaza, Karate Sleepover Open Mic, Wine Cellar Open Mic and Pulse Poetry Slam, and Jamestown Public Market.

Whirlybird 2018 succeeded in raising and donating over one thousand dollars to local non-profit youth organizations. Whirlybird 2019 is aiming to double that donation to raise funds for the Jamestown Skate Park Project & YMCA Camp Onyahsa music and scholarship programs.

For more information, including the complete schedule of events, visit www.whirlybirdmusicfestival.com.

Cold Lazarus

JAMESTOWN – The Third Thursday Concert Series returns to downtown Jamestown at the Winter Garden Plaza on Thursday night, May 16.

Now in its eighth year, Third Thursday is series of free downtown concerts, held on the third Thursday of each month from May through September. It is organized by the Active Artists Alliance with support from the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation.

Tonight’s musicians will feature the bands Cold Lazarus and Trip the Deuce.

Third Thursday is a free, all ages event and all members of our community are encouraged to attend.

Third Thursday is a free, all ages community arts event and concert series, presented by the Active Artists Alliance and Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, taking place on the third Thursday of each month from May through September in Winter Garden Plaza (located on North Main St., right next to the Wine Cellar).

To help support the 2015 Third Thursday Concert Series, the Active Artists Alliance’s Bill Thomas says they are also conducting an online fundraising campaign at Kickstarter to help pay for the cost of the event to help it grow and get even better.

“Basically we’re just asking people who’ve enjoyed our events in the past to – if it’s within their means – chip in $5 or $10 or whatever they can afford,” Thomas told WRFA during a recent interview. “There’s reward levels where, rather than it being a ‘donation’ – you get something or what you give. So we’ve got some artist-designed T-shirts, postcards, prints, and things like that.”

Tonight’s Third Thursday event will run from about 6-9 p.m., with live original music by The Audience and Trip The Deuce.

A few local AAAlliance members will also be bringing their easels and paints out to the plaza and working on their paintings and other creations. Organizers say that any interested local artists and/or crafty folks should feel free to bring their materials down to the plaza, to work and network with others.