Editor's pick: Sidewalks, symposiums, and all that jazz

Jazz festival

Thursday, August 31 through Saturday, September 2. LaPolt Park and other venues in Liberty, NY (see below for details of schedule). Free. liberty-cdc.org

It’s been difficult to appreciate the amenities of the Village of Liberty this summer amid the hullabaloo of the NY Department of Transportation’s Route 52 reconstruction project, but any who have been discouraged should give the village another look this Labor Day weekend as it emerges from the dust of construction to produce a fine conclusion to the summer season: Jazzfest.

Visitors will be able to stroll the new, improved sidewalks, listen to live jazz performances in the open air—or inside, if they prefer—purchase crafts and food and attend a symposium on the history of jazz in Sullivan County.

The symposium, “Jazz Performers of the Catskills,” a panel discussion led by Sullivan County historian John Conklin, kicks off the festival at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night at the Liberty Museum and Arts Center, at 46 South Main Street. Panelists include Walter Keller, Frank Petrocelli and Anthony DeCicco.

On Friday night, Steve Carlin, with Anthony DeCicco, will perform live and free of charge at the Seanachie Pub & Restaurant 64 North Main Street. Jazz fans hungry for more can wander a few steps down the street after the performance to the Cobbers Restaurant at 77 North Main, where the Sam Morrison Duo will play starting at 9:00 p.m., also free.

The centerpiece of the festival is a jazz marathon from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. in LaPolt Park at the Liberty Music and Arts Pavilion on North Main Street. There will be performances by the Al DeFino Trio, featuring Al DeFino, Lewis Greeney and Andrew Greeney; the Inner Urge Jazz Quartet, featuring Steve Carlin, Anthony DeCicco, Sam Morrison and Papa John; and the Kazzrie Jaxen Trio, featuring Kazzrie Jaxen, Robert Kopec and Dean Sharp.

The Liberty Jazz Festival is produced by Sullivan Performing Arts, with assistance from David Dann, and sponsored by the Liberty Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Liberty Parks and Recreation Department, First National Bank of Jeffersonville, The Town Crier and Catskill Shopper.