Westcott Street Cultural Fair bridges generations despite fewer SU volunteers
Despite a fewer Syracuse University volunteers, Sunday's Westcott Street Cultural Fair celebrated local artisans, businesses and performers. The event has been a hub of Syracuse culture since 1991. Maddison Cox | Contributing Photographer
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UPDATE: This story was updated at 4:26 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.
Syracuse natives Terri and Ralph Minnifield have been attending the Westcott Street Cultural Fair for over 30 years, watching it grow from a niche creative gathering to a blooming hub of art, personal expression and local organizations gathering community support.
Ralph used to live right around the corner from Westcott Street and tabled at the cultural fair to sell leather art he made.
“It’s changed a lot, but you know some people come, some people go, like myself,” Ralph said. “There’s a new generation here, and it’s still going on. The beauty of it.”
On Sunday, the 33rd annual Westcott Street Cultural Fair hosted around 11,000 attendees in the Westcott neighborhood, Sharon Sherman, chairperson of the fair, said. The cultural fair is held on the fourth Sunday of September every year.
A parade of local groups and organizations marched from the Westcott Community Center down Westcott Street to open the fair. Rock, blues and funk musicians played throughout the afternoon, mixed in with multicultural dance performances. Local vendors and Westcott businesses had tables throughout the route.
When the fair first began, the older generations in attendance gave the event a different atmosphere, Terri said. Nowadays, the event is more geared toward families and children.
“It just seemed like it was more people, more lively, even more music, just more,” Terri said.
Still, she appreciates the way the fair has adapted to keep it running for over three decades.
Sherman said the biggest change for this year’s fair was the growing need for more volunteers, especially Syracuse University students. She said student volunteers are a wonderful asset to the event, and they benefit from getting a chance to be a part of the Westcott neighborhood.
The event is a “massive operation,” with six stages, 140 booths and a parade route, Sherman said. This all requires a large amount of volunteers.
a2 embed: Multicultural dance groups and musicians performed throughout streets of the Westcott neighborhood as a part of the 33rd annual Westcott Street Cultural Fair this Sunday. Maddison Cox | Contributing Photographer
Sherman noted that past SU student volunteers were “the heart and soul of the fair,” and coordinators have felt a shift now that those numbers have dropped from 50 to 60 students across SU to mainly SU sorority involvement. This is the first year since Sherman began volunteering in 2006 that the majority of volunteers haven’t been SU students.
The volunteers who stand at barricades make sure people follow safety protocols, especially if the Westcott streets are needed for emergency vehicle transportation. This year, the fair hired personal security for the barricades for the first time.
“It’s quite a bit of money, but that’s what we have to do to keep it safe,” Sherman said.
Despite this, the Westcott Street Cultural Fair hopes to continue to grow in attendees, vendors, and in connecting the Westcott community with the locals of all generations. Sherman said she hopes next year exceeds this year’s attendee count.
Businesses along Westcott have also greatly benefited from the fair’s crowds. On Westcott Street, restaurants – like Mom’s, Munjed’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Lounge and Syracuse Halal Gyro – open their doors with outdoor barbecues and dozens of signature dishes for sale in heated platters.
Munjed’s has been selling food to attendees every year since the fair began. Sammer Essi, the son of Munjed’s owner, said it’s exciting to see the community show up for local businesses.
Ron Coloton, a local metal craftsman who tabled at the event, said SU student involvement enhances the fair. He appreciates when the SU community shows up.
“This is a great show because first of all, the students and this is parents’ weekend, so they come and sometimes in droves, and it just works out really well,” Coloton said.
Coloton began metalworking in the early 1970s, when he was dating an artist who introduced him to the culture of craft stores and fairs. A squash blossom necklace stuck out to him at Switz’s in North Syracuse, leaving a lasting impression that sparked his interest in crafting.
In his retirement, Coloton said he hopes to continue tabling at other local art shows — like this weekend’s — to spread his love for personal craftsmanship with the greater community.
Essi said the event and the Westcott community allow his long-running family business to connect with different generations.
“The Westcott community has a very diverse and rich community, and a lot of these businesses have been here for a very long time, and just the people themselves and the culture, just come together once a year to celebrate our people,” Essi said.
