It feels like the festival has been regular Webster summer event for like, forever. But actually, Webster’s only hosted the Waterfront Art Festival since 2015, when organizers had a falling out with their original hosts at the Canandaigua City Pier. When they chose to move it to North Ponds Park in Webster, our community warmly welcomed the event, and it quickly became a summer favorite.
This coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday July 30 and 31, the Waterfront Art Festival returns for its 49th year, to North Ponds Park — now known as Charles Sexton Memorial Park. The festival is a must-see for those who appreciate fine art and quality crafts.
Dozens of artisan booths line the park’s scenic and shaded walkways, displaying an incredible variety of hand-made items in all price ranges. What’s really nice about this particular festival is that all of the artisans’ work is juried beforehand, which is why it’s all so different and high-quality. Plus there are food trucks, live entertainment, demonstrations, a wine, beer and cider-tasting tent, plenty of free parking right on the grounds, and a handicapped parking area. (Click here to see a gallery of photos from last year’s event.)
The festival runs from 10 am to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday July 30 and 31 at Charles Sexton Memorial Park (formerly North Ponds Park), off of Rt. 104 between Rt. 250 and Holt Road (take the Rt. 250 exit off Rt. 104).
Admission is $5, no charge for kids 12 and under. For more information, including a list of artisans and entertainers, click here for the Waterfront Art Festival website.
The Joe Obbie Farmers’ Market, which for years has set up every summer Saturday in Webster Towne Center, has just gotten better.
On Wednesday the market introduced its brand new “Evening in the Park” market at Charles Sexton Park (formerly North Ponds Park).
The new market, held from 4 to 8 p.m., is an offshoot of the regular Saturday Joe Obbie Market we’ve come to know and love. It doesn’t replace the Saturday market at the plaza, but is like a bonus market, held during the week.
Ten vendors had set up Wednesday night, selling a variety of wares from fresh vegetables and maple syrup to honey and crafts. The Webster Recreation Center had an information table, and four food trucks catered to hungry visitors. The vendor turnout was a little light compared to the regular Saturday market, but it’s still early in the season and I expect the Evening in the Park will grow through the summer.
There was also live music, provided by Steve Lyons and his band.
Judging from the attendance at this first-ever event, it appears that the new market will be quite successful. An hour into the event, the parking lot was mostly full, and people were still streaming in, quad chairs in hand, planning to grab some dinner at the food trucks and listen to the music.
The Evening in the Park will be held every Wednesday in July and August from 4 to 8 p.m. at Charles Sexton Park (North Ponds Park), which can be reached by taking the Rt. 104 access road off of Rt. 250/North Ave.
And don’t forget about the original Joe Obbie Farmers’ Market, held every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Webster Towne Center (Kohl’s/Target Plaza) by the Old Navy store.
Change can be hard. Especially when that change involves something you’ve known your whole life. For that reason, the announcement that the Town of Webster was planning to rename North Ponds Park was for some an unwelcome surprise, leading to the obvious question, “Why?”
I asked that myself when I first learned about the Town’s plans to rename North Ponds Park as the Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park. I’d never heard of Charles Sexton, had no idea how he was connected to Webster or why he was so important that the Town would choose to rename one of our most popular parks in his honor.
Then I started reading more about him and his accomplishments, and I began to understand the impact Charles Sexton had on a professional level. Then, at Friday’s official renaming ceremony, I got to know him on a personal level as well.
The event was held Friday afternoon under very sunny skies, on the cool and breezy shores of North Ponds. About 75 people attended, including friends, current and former Parks and Recreation staff members, government officials and many members of the Sexton family, some of whom had traveled from as far as California and Georgia.
It began with presentations to the family of a Town of Webster proclamation and a New York State Senate resolution, both recognizing Mr. Sexton’s history as Webster’s first Recreation Director, and the first African-American Recreation Director in New York State. His career spanned 34 years, from 1962 until 1996, during which he introduced the town’s first programs for senior citizens and launched the summer youth camps.
But those two resume bullets only scratched the surface of why Charles Sexton was deserving of this honor, and how he helped shape our community’s future.
Three more speakers followed, painting a heartfelt picture of the kind of man Sexton was, during his tenure as Recreation Director and retirement, before he passed in 2021. Sean Torriegano remembered his close friend, saying “No one had a more profoundly positive impact on my life,” adding that he was “one of the most selfless persons I have known.”
He continued,
Mr. Sexton wouldn’t have been comfortable with this, no matter how appropriate we all believe and know this is. It was not his thing. Accolades and recognitions were not what he was about. He would have rather had the names of the families that helped bring about and sustain his vision as a group, not as an individual but as one family.
Penny Soos recalled the two and a half-hour interview she had with Sexton for a receptionist job.
“He talked and he talked and he talked,” she remembered. “And I listened and I listened and I listened.” It was only later she found out the reason he talked so long was to see how well she listened. She got the job.
Retired Town Councilman Barry Deane helped everyone understand why North Ponds Park in particular was chosen to honor Charles Sexton.
There have been many folks over the years in this community who have had impacts, who have helped us become who we are, but I can’t think of anyone who’s had more of an impact than Charles….
(Charles) was a man of great vision. He started a new department from the ground up, and he made many improvements in the community. One of them was this park, which was part of his vision.
When he started, this park was just a couple of (undeveloped) bodies of water. We inherited this park and over the years we did a lot to improve it. … This was really his baby.
Earlier in the day, at a memorial servce held at Holy Trinity Church, Sr. Barbara referred to Charles Sexton’s legacy as “branches and vines.” Sean Torriegano expanded on that analogy in his remarks. His comments touched me more deeply than any others that afternoon, especially when he shared his opinion about what Mr. Sexton might think about the day’s events.
He’d say,
Hang on to your thank yous, keep your well wishes, signs and ceremonies. If you want to say thank you, then you do right by yourself, do right by your family, do right by your friends. When you do wrong, and you will do wrong, you own it, you learn from it and move on. Thank me by giving before taking. Thank me by speaking up for someone who can’t and when no one else will. Thank me by doing your best to make sure our branches and vines stay strong and continue to grow, and to keep trying.
Through all the proclamations and speeches, the same words kept cropping up. Beloved. Respect. Legacy. Vision. Charles Sexton was clearly a man who had a positive effect on more than just our town. He changed lives as well and seems to have made everything and everyone he touched a little bit better.
A lot of signs will need replacing, and it’s going to take a generation or more before the name “North Ponds Park” fades into memory. But now, at least, the memory of Charles E. Sexton — and what he did for our community — will endure forever.
On Friday, April 22, the Town of Webster will officially rename North Ponds Park to the Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park, in honor of the former director of Webster Parks and Recreation.
Sexton was hired in 1962 as Webster’s first Recreation Director, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1996. He was also the first African American Recreation Director in New York State. He passed away in June 2021.
During his tenure, Sexton introduced the town’s first programs for senior citizens and launched the recreation department’s first summer youth camps. Many programs which began under his direction are still operating today. It is this legacy which led to the town’s decision to rename one of Webster’s best-known parks in his honor.
Current Webster Parks and Recreation Commissioner Chris Bilow said,
North Ponds Park is one of the most utilized parks in all of Webster. Whether it’s people walking, running, enjoying the water or attending one of the many events in the park, I am confident that Mr. Sexton envisioned this type of use when the park was being built. More importantly, Sexton loved North Ponds Park, a facility which he saw come together to be owned and managed by the Town of Webster. (from press release)
The official renaming ceremony will take place at North Ponds Park (soon to be known as the Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park) at 4 p.m. Friday, April 22. There will be brief remarks and a sign unveiling.
I feature the people and places and events that make Webster the wonderful community it is — and throw in some totally-not-Webster-related personal ramblings every once in a while as well.
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