From outside appearances, Phoenicia at least appears calm. To be more accurate it appears fully festive, with Shandaken Day opeining at 10:00 AM under a sunny and windless sky. The event started on a somber note with a deeply respectful moment of silence in honor of PFC Douglas L. Cordo, who fell in Afghanistan last week, and to whom today's celebration is dedicated. After that, the small but steadily growing crowd scattered off to visit the many fair booths.
Across the street from the entrance to Parish Field, where Shandaken Day is being held this year, the Phoenicia Library is holding a used book sale in front of the building it is temporarily occupying since a fire badly damaged the Library earlier this year. A block or two away, Shandaken Theater Society volunteers are staffing a large yard sale in front of the theater to help raise money for a much-needed new roof.
Near the main entrance to town, the Black Bear Campground remains open to campers, though most who are staying there came in RVs. Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is taking a more wary approach, and has closed campgrounds around the state. In conversations around town, some were expressing slight relief that Irene's winds have begun to pack a weaker punch. Opinions seemed to vary over how severe the winds and rain that still approach us will actually be once they finally arrive. But it is still early and the weather still seems fair. The mood may yet change when the skies start to darken.
