Tammy Loewy of the local Badenyah Drum and Dance group keeps the rhythm at the Northern Current music festival in Saranac Lake on Sept. 3. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

The organizing committee of the Northern Current Music Festival extends its immense gratitude to the greater Saranac Lake community for making this year’s event the best to date.

Since taking over the tradition of free live music on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend from Peter Seward, Todd Smith and Hobofest, Northern Current has grown steadily, culminating in our biggest installment yet in 2023. The weather cooperated fully this year, providing us with 80 degree temperatures and nothing but sunshine all day long. The lineup was outstanding, the food vendors served up delicious meals and the kids area provided games and activities to keep the little ones entertained while parents enjoyed the show.

Hosting an event of this size takes a big lift. First and foremost, we thank the dozens and dozens of volunteers who set up, break down and keep things running smoothly. We also extend our thanks to the village of Saranac Lake and the town of Harrietstown for making things easy — and a special thanks to Andy Testo and his crew for making Riverside Park sparkle.

Northern Current is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts. We also thank the businesses, foundations and donors who help us bring such amazing local and national talent to the stage — we hope the Enterprise editorial team allows us to print this long list of generous individuals and institutions: North Country Community College, Hotel Saranac, Adirondack Health, The Waterhole, Play ADK, Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Long Run Wealth, Northern Power & Light, Cape Air, Edward Jones, Hammersong Architectural Metal and Design, Fiddlehead Bistro, Barley Sandwich, Ampersand Bay Resort, Corey Purcell and Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, Sara-Placid Inn, Adirondack for Kids, Casella, ADK ArtRise, Stewart’s Shops, Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters, Origin Coffee, Grizle T’s, The Wild Center, Bitters and Bones, Cloudsplitter Foundation, Explore Adirondack Frontier, Charles Wood Foundation and ROOST.

It’s always tough to call attention to specific individuals — we run the risk of leaving someone out — but we’ll take the plunge anyway and ask for forgiveness later. The following folks stepped up in a big way this year, and we’re grateful to them: Kenzie Marine of ROOST; Dave, Jim and the crew from TrestleStreet; Kaet O’Brien of Play ADK; Rachel Karp and Adrienne Oliveras of the Chamber; Echo of The Station; and Sarah Gorgas. If we missed your name, please know it’s because our brains are fried — we’ll thank you in pizza later.

Finally, Northern Current simply would not be possible without the Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation. We operate this music festival as a nonprofit — any money that we earn beyond our expenses rolls over into the next year. By acting as our fiscal sponsor, the Rotary Foundation ensures that we can apply for foundation grants and receive charitable gifts. Knowing that our funds are in Rotary’s hands gives us peace of mind and lets us focus on what we do best: organize a music festival. We are eternally grateful to Kevin LaPlante, Mitchel Smith, John Banta and Frannie Preston for everything they do for us.

To the Saranac Lake community: thank you for bringing your energy and spirit to Riverside Park. Next year we mark our fifth anniversary and we’re already planning something special.

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This guest commentary was co-signed by Eric Ackerson, Brandy Hobson, Rachel Karp, Dan and Jenn King, Abbey Lynch, Kenzie Marine, Luke Meissner, Eric Munley, Chris Morris, Emily M. O’Mahony and Kiki Sarko.