Hobofest, a great live music festival in Saranac Lake, will take place for the 10th year in a row on Sunday from noon until late in Riverside Park at Main and River streets. And the big one-zero is not the only thing that makes it special this time around.

If you only go to Hobofest once, this may be the year to do it. The lineup is largely a roundup of favorite performers from the last nine years, such as a reunited Frankenpine, Resonant Rogues, Baby Gramps, Crackin’ Foxy, the Biscuit Rollers with Bucket Ruckus, Mamie Minch — who is this year will share the stage with Carolina Chocolate Drops co-founder Dom Flemons — and, to close out the festivities, the Blind Owl Band. We love these acts and strongly recommend them all. It’s kind of a “greatest hits” compilation, but even if you look down on that kind of thing, consider that it’s an honor Hobofest has certainly earned.

Another thing that makes this particular Hobofest special is that it will be the last overseen by co-founder Peter Seward. He’ll continue booking music at Lake Flower Landing, which he and his wife Karen Davidson own, but he’ll leave Hobofest to new local management, which will be announced onstage Sunday.

This festival was Peter’s dream. When he explained that vision to Todd Smith, who at the time ran an art gallery next to the Union Depot train station, Todd said, “Let’s do it — right here beside the tracks.”

When a creative mind and a logistical mind team up, that’s one of the best ways to make good things happen. Peter, a talented artist, was in charge of booking performers and designing posters and T-shirts, And Todd handled behind-the-scenes details. Later, around the time Todd moved to Washington, D.C., they brought on other people and formed a board to keep the festival going.

It’s no longer held down by the tracks, ever since Todd closed his gallery and the Adirondack Scenic Railroad kicked Hobofest out when it held the lease, but that’s OK because Riverside Park is bigger and more visible and more part of downtown Saranac Lake.

Overall, Hobofest hasn’t changed that much. Sure, some of the performers get paid now, thanks to T-shirt sales and state arts grants, but these musicians are still people with whom Peter has formed a personal relationship, and they still reflect his desire to “bend people’s ears” toward music he likes that he thinks others will like, too. The booking itself is a kind of art form.

Peter is also a diplomat and a nice guy who cares deeply about Saranac Lake. Thank you, Peter, for your ongoing commitment to this community.

Hobofest still has a palpable grassroots feel to it, like the thrown-together backyard concert of friends’ bands that it began as in 2009. But from the beginning, it was clear that this thing had its own gravity — it drew people from near and far. It quickly became the premier thing to do on Labor Day weekend in the North Country.

This year, perhaps, more than ever.