Fun-Seekers Defy Rain To Explore

First-Time Cooperstown Field Day

COOPERSTOWN – Weather be darned! A respectable crowd had congregated around Cooperstown’s downtown by early afternoon to explore the first Cooperstown Field Day, a collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce and Brewery Ommegang.

And it was a crowd of all ages, as evident, in top photo, as Mira Miller-O’Connor of Cooperstown dances to the beat of Subduing Mara, an Oneonta-based band featuring Brian Wilkens, Wayne Carrington, Peter Hutchison and Brendan Slater. A bounce-house and The Magic of Jim Okey were among offerings for youngsters.

The crowd gathered even before the main offering, a beer-and-food pairing ($20 per person) under a tenting to the east of the flagpole. In right photo, a few minutes before the 2 p.m. opening (it continues until 5), Bocca chef Jeremy Harris sliced lamb chops while proprietor Joe Vezza made sure everything was in place.

Also featured under a dozen tents that run along closed-off Main Street from Chestnut to the General Store are arts and crafts, including Dawn Helstrom of New Lisbon, in left photo, demonstrating a sock-knitting machine.