"I think it was wonderful. I wish it was twenty degrees cooler but despite the heat I think we had a good turnout." That was Ellenville-Wawarsing Chamber of Commerce President Holly Houghtaling's response when asked about how she thought Saturday's Blueberry Festival went. And she would know since she was one of the few who spent the entire day out in the sun.

As she put it, "I left my house [in Grahamsville] at 4:30 a.m. and I got home a little after 7 p.m."

High temperatures were definitely on everyone's mind when, on a day with so much blue, visitors to the Shawangunk Mountain Wild Blueberry and Huckleberry Festival were seeing red as the mercury soared over 90 degrees and humidity jumped to over 80 percent. The day had some festival regulars longing for last year's weather conditions when the whole day seemed threatened by rain showers.

But the day's events carried on through the heat as the Hunt Memorial Building's main entrance played host to a number of local musical acts such as songstress Amy Laber and Professor Louis and the Crowmatix, while more traditional fare was available in the festival's cultural area.

In addition to the musical acts, the festival featured a beefed up children's area with a stage of its own that hosted a puppet show, story time and dance routines featuring students from Ellenville's soon to open Dance Star Studio.

If shopping was more your speed, this year's festival had 240 booths that stretched down Canal Street from Route 209 to Yankee Place and offered everything from local produce to Chinese and Tibetan imports.

The 2007 edition of the festival also featured, for the first time, a health fair that had occurred on the same day in years past but had never officially joined the festival until this year.

Hot Time In The Old Town
One festival patron remarked that those who signed up for 'dunk tank duty' were, "lucky to have players with good aim to keep them cool throughout the day." cases Indeed, the day's hot conditions caused two instances where professional help was required for two festival-goers who were overcome by the heat and humidity. Elsewhere, people were buying bottled water and dousing themselves with the contents, going into stores and restaurants to take advantage of their air conditioning while others splashed themselves with water from the Liberty Square fountain.

Blueberry Pie Winners
Along with the new arrivals were festival favorites like the contest for best blueberry pie that took place in the festival's cultural area. Linda Egan of Wurtsboro took the honors with her 'double berry pie" that featured blueberries and cranberries. Egan said she had, "never won anything in her life," and explained the secret of the winning recipe as the mix of sweet and tart that each berry brings.

Other winners in the pie contest included Ellenville's Irene Morosky who took second and Damaris Cutner who took home third place.

Festival Grows Through Community Effort
Holly Houghtaling, who organized the event along with other chamber volunteers, explained that the event has grown so much that, "I had three vendors come to me Saturday morning looking for a space."

Houghtaling says that she had about ten high school volunteers and fifteen adult volunteers from the chamber of commerce who helped make sure the day went smoothly for vendors and visitors alike. She said she would be remiss if she did not mention the help that the village's street and police departments provided throughout the day.

The event's smooth execution was a victory for the chamber as it was able to overcome the loss of former festival organizer, "Blueberry" Barb Bleitzhofer, who left the chamber earlier this year.

Chamber of Commerce
The Shawangunk Mountain Wild Blueberry and Huckleberry Festival is organized by the Ellenville-Wawarsing Chamber of Commerce. The festival is the chamber's largest event each year but not its only community effort.

Earlier this year the chamber instituted a "buy local" campaign which continues to remind consumers about the benefits of supporting local businesses. The group also sponsored a community forum regarding the possibility of a Wal-Mart coming to the Napanoch Valley Mall and has taken on the Ellenville Farmers Market as a committee under its auspices.

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