For the first time in America since 2015, a rare musical experience will be taking place in Wayne County and surrounding areas this Labor Day Weekend. The World Fife and Drum Friendship Festival will provide audience members the chance to experience musical heritage from multiple countries. Approximately 120 fife and drum corps members from Belgium, France, Italy, and the United States will take the stage throughout Wayne County in unforgettable performances you won’t want to miss!
Hosted by the Towpath Volunteers Fife and Drum Corps of Macedon NY, the World Fife and Drum Friendship Festival began in 2015 and was held in Macedon & Palmyra. The Festival has since been hosted in Belgium (2017) and in Ivrea, Italy (2019). According to Towpath Volunteers founder and director Paul Willson, the Spirit of the Festival is to bring people of different cultures from across the world together in friendship through Music.
The fife and drum corps involved in the festival include:
• Trommelfluit: A band of experienced traditional musicians from Flanders, Belgium who have participated in historical pageants and parades since 1987. Their music and costumes date back to the late 17th and 18th centuries.
• Les Fifres et Tambours de Saint-Tropez (France) founded in 1991 by the musicians who accompanied the traditional celebration of the Bravades de Saint-Tropez.
• Pifferi e Tamburi di Ivrea (Italy) a historical group which began in 1808 performing for all of their infamous Carnivale festivities.
• Camden Continentals from Camden, NY founded in 1850.
• Towpath Volunteers from Macedon, NY, the host of the World Fife & Drum Friendship Festival and are proud to celebrate their 45th year.
Where and when can you hear and see these amazing performances?
Saturday, September 2nd:
• Macedon Heritage Festival on the Erie, 12:00-9:00 PM
Sunday, September 3rd:
• Marion Bicentennial Celebrations, 9:30 AM
• Sodus Point Summer Concert at the Lighthouse, 2:00-4:00 PM
• Perinton Amphitheater, 6:00-8:00 PM
Monday, September 4th:
• Historic Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM
The Sodus Point and Perinton Amphitheater performances, in particular, should be quite a spectacle. Audience members will see and hear each group individually perform, as well as all corps playing together as a symbol of world friendship through the common bond of music. These free concerts are a fantastic opportunity to show support for all the fife and drum corps involved!
For more information on the World Fife & Drum Friendship Festival, please email towpathvolun-teers@towpathvolunteers.org or visit www.towpathvolunteers.org.
