Celebrate Bill Perry Day Blues Festival in Sugar Loaf

SUGAR LOAF — Bertoni Gallery presents its 10th annual Bill Perry Day Blues Festival on Sunday, July 30.
This is a free event, with several bands playing throughout the day, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Sculpture Garden at 1392 Kings Highway in Sugar Loaf.
Perry was an internationally acclaimed blues-rock guitarist who lived in the Chester, N.Y. area most of his life, until his passing in 2007.
Bertoni Gallery and the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan have joined forces to present the Ed Vandercliff Scholarship - Bill Perry Memorial Fund for Music Education and Appreciation Award.
The scholarship is awarded to a local high school senior who has shown excellence in the field of music, and to encourage the recipients’ ongoing pursuit of music. The scholarship recipient will be the guest of honor on this day, and will be presented the award during the ceremony in the sculpture garden at approximately 2:45 p.m.
The day is dedicated to Perry’s music and his legacy in the world of Blues. The Spirit of the Mountain Drum Singers will open the day’s event with a ceremonial American Indian drum circle not to be missed. There will be a host of musicians, many of whom toured and played with Perry for many years.
Throughout the day the bands playing in his honor include Spirit of the Mountain Singers, Lovesick Homeboys, Blackdirt Blues Band and the Bill Perry Celebration Jam Session.
This is a free event that is family-oriented and open to the entire community. It is outdoors and weather permitting. Bring a chair, a tent or blanket and spend the day enjoying some of the best local and regional musical talent around.
DonateThis year the scholarship for the Bill Perry Memorial Fund is given in honor of the late Ed Vandercliff who started the music in the Bertoni Gallery Sculpture Garden more than 10 years ago. All cash donations will be matched in Vandercliff’s honor by an anonymous donor. Make your donation count - for every dollar you donate it will become two this year only.
For more information, to volunteer, or to make a tax-deductible donation to the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan - Bill Perry Memorial Fund, contact Bertoni Gallery at 845-469-0993.