As if the town-wide yard sale wasn’t enough reason to get out into your neighborhood on Saturday, Sept. 14, the Palmyra Porch Walk is returning for a repeat performance and will follow the midday yard sales from 2 to 6 p.m.
The Porch Walk is a music festival that takes place on porches throughout Palmyra. Local musicians sign up for a time slot at a specific address, one with a porch, and play a miniature concert right there for an audience of their neighbors standing on the front lawn or the sidewalk.
Last year’s walk was a bit of an experiment as the borough hadn’t seen anything like it before. Organizer and owner of the Guitar Guild in Palmyra Renee Cappetta was asked to join the Palmyra Improvement Association in bringing the idea to life.
“We went back and forth with the township a fair bit to find out if we did need anything, but because it was such a new and unique event, nothing like it had ever been done, the township was like ‘we don’t really have any permits that seem to cover this,’ there was no paperwork,” said Cappetta.
Local police were notified about which houses would be hosting musicians and the inaugural porch walk went off without a hitch.
“It turned out to be such a peaceful day, it really was a family day,” said Cappetta. “We’re doing the same thing this year.”
Something they were unable to pull together in time last year was a final performance of the day at a more traditional concert venue. Cappetta is proud to announce there will be a professional band concert this year after the porch walk. From 7 to 9 p.m., April Mae and the Junebugs will be taking the stage at the bandshell.
Cappetta describes the band’s sound as roots music with a swing feel that you can dance to.
“They’re a really great act, loads of fun and they put on a great show,” said Cappetta.
As for the non-professional volunteer porch acts, Cappetta says you can expect to hear a variety of musical styles from traditional folk and country to rock and pop covers.
“You name it, there’s literally something for everybody,” said Cappetta.
After the success of last year’s walk, for which 10 volunteer musical acts signed up, this year’s will see an additional four acts playing throughout town. There was so much interest this year Cappetta recently had to cap the number of acts signing up to avoid overbooking the event.
Local watering hole Park Tavern is getting in on the fun and has invited the public to stop in any time from 4 to 7 p.m. for drinks and a free buffet. Everyone performing at the walk will be provided with a free drink ticket they can redeem after their set.
A full list of performers and venues will be posted online ahead of the event on guitarguildmusicacademy.com and on the Palmyra Porch Walk 2019 Facebook page.
