Three packed days of groovy reggae beats and family-friendly fun will return to Ithaca this weekend. This year, the seventh annual Ithaca Reggae Fest adds a third day to its lineup, hosting more musical performances, activities and lessons on environmental conservation for the community.
Set in Stewart Park, the festival will span June 20-22 and feature over 20 artists, with headlining performances from Grammy Award-winning reggae bands Steel Pulse and Kabaka Pyramid. In addition to the tunes, the festival will host age-inclusive activities like skateboarding, collaborative murals and games.
Thousands of people are known to cover the park’s grass on festival days, and Russ Friedell, a director for the festival, expects a record turnout this year. In the spirit of reggae, he hopes that, through the music, the festival will foster connection and love throughout the community.
“The vibe of Reggae Fest is really peace, love, reggae and community,” Friedell said. “The message of reggae music in general is pretty universal — peace, love, love one another, come together. In these times, that message has never been more necessary for us all to remind ourselves of.”
What to Expect
The festival will kick off with a free block party on Friday evening at Stewart Park’s Large Pavilion. With the sun setting placidly across Cayuga’s waters, community members can listen to DJs spin classic reggae music, watch the GIAC Jumpers jump rope and see indigenous artists Ononkwa-Medicine perform.
Yogis from Yoga Farm will guide the community through early morning sun salutations and meditation on Saturday and Sunday. Those who participate in the yoga events will receive free tickets to the festival, Friedell said.
In addition to headliners Kabaka Pyramid on Saturday and Steel Pulse on Sunday, the festival will present performances by DJ Mike Judah, Cha Cha & The Analogue Sons, Personal Blend, Gunpoets, SingTrece, Mihali, Black Lion & Heat Wav, The Bebble Rockers, DJ Art-V, Notorious Stringbusters, Metasequoia, Double Tiger, New Planets, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Thousands of One over the weekend.
The additional activities will be structured through a series of five “villages” on the grass: Lake Discovery Village, Yoga Village, Skateboard Village, Art Village and Youth Village.
At the heart of Ithaca Reggae Fest is Cayuga Lake, Friedell said. He added that, as a nonprofit, Ithaca Reggae Fest is dedicated to the lake’s protection and the shore-side festival is a “conscious celebration” devoted to the conservation of the lake.
In the spirit of water conservation, various water-focused sponsors will table at Lake Discovery Village, offering interactive activities for community members to “get their hands wet and dirty” and learn about the watershed that keeps the community “healthy and alive,” Friedell said.
“It is so important to have that space for people to come together and be reminded of what we all have in common — and to really celebrate this beautiful place that we call home,” Friedell said.
Ticket Pricing
Advance tickets are available online. One-day advance tickets are $40 per day and advance passes for the whole weekend are $65.
At the gate, one-day tickets are $50 per day and passes for the whole weekend are $90.
Youth under the age of 16 are admitted for free.
The Friday block party is free.
Schedule of Events:
Friday, June 20 (Free)
- 5-9 p.m. — Friday Block Party, featuring GIAC Jumpers, EvoEvolution, Ononkwa-Medicine and Carter Van Pelt
Saturday, June 21
- 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. — 108 sun salutations, (free) yogi brunch, qigong dragon practice and meditation with Yoga Farm
- 12:15-1 p.m. — Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Cultural Celebration
- 1:15-10 p.m. — Performances by DJ Mike Judah, Cha Cha & The Analogue Sons, Personal Blend, Gunpoets, SingTrece, Mihali, Black Lion & Heat Wav and Kabaka Pyramid & The Bebble Rockers
Sunday, June 22
- 9 a.m.-noon — Jupertarian Solstice Sadhana and (free) yogi brunch with Yoga Farm
- 1-3:45 p.m. — Performances by DJ Art-V, Notorious Stringbusters and Metasequoia on the Second Stage
- 3:45-4:45 p.m. — Performance by Double Tiger on the Main Stage
- 4:45-5:45 p.m. — Performance by New Planets on the Second Stage
- 5:45-7 p.m. — Performance by Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad on the Main Stage
- 7-9 p.m. — Performances by Thousands of One and Steel Pulse (50th anniversary) on the Second Stage
Varsha Bhargava is a reporter at the Ithaca Times and a news editor at The Cornell Daily Sun working on The Sun’s summer fellowship. This article was originally published in the Ithaca Times.
Varsha Bhargava is a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at vbhargava@cornellsun.com.
