Excerpt from The Times Herald Record Ulster County Edition Thursday, August 24th, 1995, P5

Street fest back after 15 years

By RICHARD A. D'ERRICO, Staff Writer

ROSENDALE - Move over Woodstock

With 57 bands playing at the Rosendale Street Festival, there will be more music offered than at last year's much-hyped Woodstock '94. And this will begin and end as a free event.

A banner was unfurled yesterday to promote the twoday event that begins at noon Saturday. The last bands take the stage at 6 p.m. Sunday.

After a 15-year hiatus, the festival returns with folk music, world music, jazz, country and western, a couple of choirs and standard rock.

Sample. these offerings: Big Sister, Robert Kennedy, Stray Toasters, Dead Beats, 3 of a Kind, Double Entendre and St. Clara's Gospel Choir.

The festival was abandoned 15 years ago for being too rowdy. Now, even Supervisor Bea Havranek is in on the action with her band, Queens.

The banner raised yesterday was a 20-by-40-foot "kinetic fabric" made up of dozens of panels forming geometric patterns. Created by Stephen Laden of New Paltz, the piece weighs between 30 and 40 pounds.

"Each panel is an element unto itself," explained festival Director Brian Cafferty. "The wind blows totally through it. The whole thing acts like a kite."

Diter and Carmela Lujan of Newburgh were in the crowd that stopped on Route 213 to get a glimpse of the sculpture. "It's an eye-opener, definitely," Diter Lujan said.

Cafferty spearheaded the festival's comeback. In 1980, the last time he was at the event, he was 20 years old. He said he's looking forward to seeing the band Transnationals.

Cafferty said he hopes the festival will draw 20,000 people.

Besides music, the festival will feature 20 poets and three dance companies.

Festival will have food: everything from Mama Rose's pizza to the Rosendale Cafe's vegetarian delights. And Schneller's will be bringing the best of its wursts.

"This event is rather unusual," Cafferty said "A small town is putting on one of the largest musical festivals in New York state."