Editor's pick: Cochecton celebrates bicentennial with boat regatta and more

Cochecton Day on the Lake recalls festivals of yore

WHEN: Saturday, July 18 starting at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Lake Huntington and other locations in the Town of Cochecton, NY. See below for details.

COST: Free

CONTACT: 845/252-3634.

COCHECTON, NY — As the pre-World-War-I outfits in the photos above attest, festive and fanciful boating celebrations were a familiar sight from the shores of Lake Huntington about 100 years ago. The Town of Cochecton has chosen to revive something very like the “Regatta Day” named on the left-hand photo as part of its Sullivan County Bicentennial Celebration, Cochecton Day on the Lake, with a day full of historically themed entertainment leading up to a boat regatta set for 2:00 p.m. on Lake Huntington.

But there will be plenty of tasty treats served up in anticipation of that event. The day will start off with a good old-fashioned church hymn sing at the Cochecton Center Community Center at 9:00 a.m. From 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the town hall in Lake Huntington, visitors can learn about the town’s history with the town historian, the Women’s Club and an exhibit of old photo albums. From 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, the Cochecton Preservation Society will be giving history presentations at the Cochecton Train Station on Route 97.

Back in Lake Huntington, there will be an art show at the Nutshell gallery, with more old photos and movies as well as artwork, opening at 11:00 a.m., and a street fair will get off the ground at 12:00 noon. A parade will step off at 1:00 p.m., with characters including Cinderella, Pocohontas, the Princess Aurora and the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.

The day promises to have something for everyone in a fitting tribute to the town’s days of yore.