Caroga Arts Collective

Thanks so much for all of your donations! Your support is making this all possible. We're so excited about this Saturday and are getting pumped to see everyone down at Shermans. We've got the bands lined up, food vendors, merchandise and CDs ready for everyone who donated. Please come to the merchandise table and grab your merchandise packs when you get to the fest so you can rock the great SAUNDERFEST swag. There will be signs and people to assist with the VIP parking and we will have a section in the front of Shermans pavilion for VIP seating. Thank you so much for your help.

Here's the Schedule:

2-3:00 Bluegrass Jam Session - bring your instrument!
3:00-4:30 Chris Azzara Quintet - amazing jazz with two Eastman professors.
4:30-5 Caroga Arts Ensemble
5-6:45 Singer-Songwriter Circle hosted by Richard Saunders - featuring local songwriters as well.
6:45-7:15 Caroga Arts Ensemble
7:15-8 Saunders Family Band - with special guests!
8-8:30 Caroga Arts Ensemble
8:30-10 Mama Juke - high-energy Americana from NYC!

SAUNDERSFEST 2019
Sherman's Amusement Park
Caroga Lake, NY 
Aug. 17, 2019

SAUNDERSFEST.com 

SAUNDERSFEST all started about 10 years ago on a small porch on Canada Lake in the beautiful Adirondacks. The Saunders Family decided to invite their musical friends and family up to their cabin to enjoy each other’s company and the beautiful outdoors. Jamming inevitably ensued and they quickly overflowed next door to Uncle John’s Garage where they set up a small PA backline and hosted bands and projects that the various Saunders’ were involved in. Neighbors from the surrounding lake community began to become curious about where all of the beautiful noise was coming from in this otherwise quiet and serene setting. As the Saunders further pursued careers in music, the caliber of guests and musicians they were inviting began going up and up and they have hosted acts such as the Grammy winning Mark O’Connor Band, Brooklyn based Thirdstory, psychedelic love-rockers Walri, and the sophisticated folk band Windsor Folk Family. 

Last year the Saunders’ decided to share the event in a more public setting for the whole community to enjoy for free. They partnered with the local Caroga Lake Music Festival and presented the first public SAUNDERSFEST at Sherman’s Amusement Park which is a local historical landmark that the Caroga Arts Collective, originated by Kyle Price, has been active in reviving. Over 500 people were estimated to visit the grounds last year as we hosted bands on two stages with continuous music from 2pm until 10.  The Caroga Arts Ensemble started it off with an amazing performance of Aaron Copeland’s Appalachian Spring, a Singer-Songwriter Circle featured songwriters from Nashville, as well as local singers. The Saunders Family Band performed their annual set and the Crooked North from Rochester, NY closed out the night with some rockin’ bluegrass!

This year we are hoping to follow the success of SAUNDERSFEST 2018 with a new lineup of acts as well as the time-honored traditions which make SAUNDERSFEST fun for the performers and the community alike. We are in the final stages of creating the lineup and are excited to share the news once our schedule is complete. We hope you can help support the festival. Your contributions help present great music at this beautiful and historic venue.

We have partnered with the Caroga Arts Collective (CAC) so all of your donations go directly to them but are earmarked only for SAUNDERSFEST. That means they are tax deductible! As a certified charity fundraiser we will make sure that your contribution is processed correctly and you can rest easy knowing your donation goes directly to the festival. For more info on receiving a tax receipt click here.

Your donations mean everything to us! We are hoping to raise $10,000 to bring you the high quality music experience you expect. $7500 will help us pay the artists for their participation, $750 for hospitality, $750 for promotion, and $1000 for merchandise. 

For your contribution you will receive:

$25 - SAUNDERSFEST 2018 CD/download code
$100 - Merch Pack - 2 CD/download, 2 T-shirts
$500 - Deluxe Merch Pack - 2 CDs, 2 T-shirt’s, 2 hats, 2 Posters, 2 stickers
$1000 - Festival Sponsor (*VIP parking/seating, Merch Pack)
$2500 - Artist Sponsor (name on poster/banner and announced from stage, VIP)
$5000 - Stage Sponsor (name on poster/banner and announced from stage, VIP)
$10,000 - SAUNDERSFEST Presenter

*VIP access includes 2 parking spots close to venue and 5 VIP seats per contributor.

We will begin processing and delivery Aug 5.


Thank you for your interest and support. Please donate now to keep SAUNDERSFEST going for years to come!