SYRACUSE -- Chris Geiger, President and CEO of CNY Central and Todd Fitzsimmons, President of the New York State Blues Festival Board of Directors, proudly announced today their partnership to put on the 2011 New York State Blues Festival…and Much, Much More.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the New York Blues Festival which will move from Clinton Square to Syracuse’s Inner Harbor.
The event will be held on Friday July 8 from 4:30 until 11:00, Saturday July 9 from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm and Sunday July 10 from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm. Over 100 artists will perform.
Continuous, free live blues entertainment will take place on two stages with fun and activities for both the blues fan and families alike. There will be a variety of ethnic and American food including the Dinosaur BBQ plus soda, beer and wine. New this year will be the addition of carnival rides, games and all sorts of fun for kids and families set along the beautiful Inner Harbor waterfront.
The New York State Blues Festival has been one of the largest free blues festivals in the country. Headline performers have included Buddy Guy, Little Feat, Dickie Betts, Bo Diddley and many others. The festival has become a local favorite winning numerous best festival awards while also garnering national attention in 2003 receiving a national award from the Blues Foundation based in Memphis: ‘Keeping the Blues Alive’ Best Festival/Promoter.
“This exciting Blues Festival partnership will combine blues and family fun activities like no other event in Central New York,” said Chris Geiger. “Our TV stations and website will be able to promote this festival to over 1,500,000 people in 15 Central New York counties and highlight Syracuse’s Inner Harbor, one of our area’s great venues.”
Todd Fitzsimmons said, “as President of the New York State Blues Festival Board of Directors, I am thrilled to have CNY Central taking a leading role in supporting our festival. In these difficult times for other charitable and cultural organizations, it’s been my privilege to see community support like this coming to help us celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of the area’s favorite festivals.”
CNY Central is owned and operated by Barrington Syracuse LLC. CNY Central consists of TV stations, WSTM-NBC3, WSTQ-CW6 and, through a Shared Services Agreement, WTVH-CBS5. Additionally, CNY Central owns and operates CNY Central DT 3.3, a digital news, weather and information channel available over the air on DT 3.3, on Time Warner Cable digital channel 864 and is available on satellite. CNYCentral.com is one of Central New York’s leading news and information websites.
The mission of the New York State Rhythm & Blues Festival, Inc. is to preserve, protect and promote blues music and culture. This is achieved through education in school programs, community events, and workshops, culminating with the production of an outdoor festival uniting our diverse citizenry in a celebration of American blues-based music. The Syracuse, New York based festival entertains while educating on the role of the blues in the development of popular music in the United States and around the world. The New York State Rhythm and Blues Festival, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3, not-for-profit, tax exempt, New York Corporation.
