Stefanie Reed enjoys opening her home for the benefit of her neighborhood, so when she heard about a new music event highlighting Summerville, she was on board.
“I have had two homes on the Summerville Historic Tour of Homes in the past. I was on the Summerville Board and was tour chair one year. I have always been involved in my neighborhood,,” said Reed, who will welcome visitors to her Winter Street porch on April 28 for the inaugural Summerville Porchfest.
“I saw this as a way to breathe new blood into promoting our neighborhood,” she said.
Porchfest will feature 16 different performers from 1 to 5 p.m. on porches at homes on several Summerville streets including McDowell Street, Central Avenue, Queens Way, Johns Road and Kings Way.
The artists represent a wide variety of genres. Bending Strings with a countryish vibe will be on Reed’s porch from 2-3 p.m. Other performers include Trolls of Amsterdam, forceghost, JC + the Stents and Blue Lava. A complete list can be found at the website.
The event culminates with a party at the Partridge Inn at 6 p.m. with Woody+Sunshine.
Porchfest is free and volunteer driven according to the Porchfest site.
Augusta joins other communities from around the country for the concept of front porch concerts in neighborhoods. The event started in Ithaca, New York in 2007.
“Two neighbors had an idea: What if we had an afternoon when porches all over the neighborhood became stages and everyone just meandered from yard to yard, listening, hanging out, and connecting/reconnecting with their neighbors? Porchfest – the ultimate grassroots music festival – was born. It’s a family-friendly, free event that brings communities together to celebrate music and creativity. PorchFest is a nationwide phenomenon and there are currently more than 180 Porchfests in the US,” the website said.
Reed said she’s put some effort into getting her home ready for guests and is looking forward to Sunday.
“This is taking place in my yard . I have had to do some cleanup, but it was time. I am also excited to share my front yard veggie garden with the public. I hope it gets others interested in growing food, not lawns,” she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
The tour of homes has not gone down in fact it surpasses expectations every year. According to the report, the accountant of the association puts out the numbers increase every year. This neighborhood tradition is alive and well and has raised a lot of money over the years that is turned around and put right back into the Summerville community. Of course, everyone should be excited about porch fest as it keeps our community connected. There’s more than enough room for two events to be successful.