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CLINTON — Cleary, sunny skies greeted the thousands of people who paid a visit to the Clinton village square on Saturday for the annual Art & Music Festival, a day-long celebration of the beauty of the area, according to coordinator Molly Marris. "It's just a great celebration of our community," said Marris, executive director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the event. "It's a way to bring the community together, and bring people in who've never been here before so they can see what a vibrant community we have here in Clinton.

" Dozens of vendors set up craft booths, food trucks brought the meals and different musical acts performed from 10 a.m. to after 6 p.



m. in the square. The festival also hosted the fifth annual Clinton Cornhole Tourney, sponsored by Strategic Financial Services.

A dozen or so cornhole boards filled the closed West Park Row as cornholers tossed beanbags across the street. "We're visiting the area and it's a beautiful day, and it's a good excuse to get out, listen to some nice music and see the beautiful art," said Melissa Smith, formerly of Clinton and now of West Virginia. She was in town visiting her mother, Evelyn Edwards, and took her rescue dog for a walk around the festival.

"I think it's wonderful. It's beautiful. There's lots of participation.

It's a perfect day to come out and see it." Vendors sold everything from alpaca-wool clothing and toys to custom-made candy, artwork, jewelry and much more. The morning kicked off with a performance by the Clinton Symphony Orchestra in the gazebo, and music continued throughout the day with performances by the Jess Novak Band, Mack Spellman, The Old Main and more.

Marris said the musical guests "for the most part, they're local to the Mohawk Valley." She said the festival is typically held annually, with the first one being in 2006. Attendance last year was around 5,000, and she said she hoped to beat that number this year with the nice weather.

Visitors came from across the region to stop by the festival. "We saw this online and it looked like a lovely event. We're local to the area so we wanted to come out and support the vendors and the community," said Emilya Washeleski, of Taberg, who came out with Wendy Washeleski.

"It's been a super fun day. We stopped in at some shops, got some great little gifts.".

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