Cauliflower Festival Organizers Celebrate 2025 Success

By Matthew Avitabile

MARGARETVILLE — Reviews of the 2025 Cauliflower Festival in Margaretville were consistent: the event was a lively, fun success. With the growth of the event and a change of leadership, those who made it possible are looking forward to what 2026 and future years will bring.

Co-organizers Julia Rugg and Garth Kravits of the Margaretville Arts Center worked with Cindy Taylor, Dani Epstein, Jess Sweeney Olenych, and Jennifer Comstock-Zimmer. Kravits said that he was “excited and encouraged by how much the community supported us this year and how much the community showed up in big numbers to be a part of it.”

Rugg said that the word “reinvigorated” came up multiple times. She describes the growth of excitement behind an event that has been so important to Margaretville for a long time.

She said that the effort passing the baton from the Chamber to The Margaretville Arts Center in July was a challenge, but ultimately successful. The group took in feedback from a number of individuals who have been involved in the past.

The team were able to expand the events and food coverage, said Rugg.

“People were thrilled all day long,” said Rugg. Some families stayed through the entire event.

Any changes made “worked,” she said.

Kravits said that he enjoyed the use of “fresh eyes and a new committee,” including surrounding the festival with food vendors. By highlighting the food and making it the “perimeter of the event,” it “highlights all the best parts of what you want to do.”

Including music in the middle of the field was able to make it more visible and gave people a chance to sit down and enjoy.

“It was nice to hear music the whole day through,” he said.

There were three bands that were part of the event. These included Whiskey Lily, Lali and the Pops, and David Rama played guitar.

“He was awesome,” said Kravits.

The music was in part sponsored by the Phoenicia Diner.

There was also the addition of an area for children, he said. This included a bouncy house, an art project using cauliflower as a brush, miniature carnival games, the cauliflower catapult built by Tonya Hull and sponsored by NBT Bank, and facepainting sponsored by Kitchen Cheetah and run by the FCCLA. Even families without kids complimented the inclusion.

“It was fun to watch,” Kravits said.

The event was sponsored by Pure Catskills.

There will be several changes next year. Kravits said that the Tractor Parade was especially popular and will likely double in size next year.

“It was so spectacular,” he said. This would include marching bands and horses.

Rugg said that the parade will be again introduced by the Cauliflower Queen. There will be a Cauliflower Pageant, she said. This is a chance for “children to dress up as cauliflower in whatever iteration they can think of” to form the “cauliflower court.”

“Anything we can do that emphasizes the creativity” of the community, she said.

Since the planning process will start in January instead of July, there is more time to plan and expand.

There is a plan for an Iron Chef-style cooking competition using cauliflower as a major ingredient.

The group discussed a possible cauliflower coloring contest.

Both said that the hope is that all of the cauliflower will come from local farms.

“It’s very important that the festival highlights that cauliflower was the cash crop of Margaretville,” Rugg said, describing it as the “white gold” of the area.

Rugg is seeking an official historical marker from the state in the parking lot to denote where the cauliflower auctions used to happen. There is a hope for a dedication and a reenactment of a cauliflower auction, either at the festival or as a “teaser” of what was to come at the next festival.

Both credited work with the Middletown Historical Society and president Diane Galusha.

Kravits said that working with the committee was “hilarious and fun.” He said that the puns related to the vegetable were as common as cauliflower was over the years.

He said that the focus was great as showing off local agriculture, music, and community.

The great weather combined with a spirit of “positivity,” Kravits said. Walking around the festival “put such a smile on my face,” he said, and encouraged Rugg to do the same.

“People were stopping what they were doing, listening to the band,” said Rugg. There hasn’t been a formal survey, but it is self-evident that there was a surge of business along Main Street.

“That was a big thing for me,” said Rugg.

“We want people next year to say this is the only cauliflower festival in the world,” said Kravits. Since this is in the case, the hope is to draw in people for the weekend. He cited MTC sponsoring music at Union Grove the night before and cauliflower brunch at Cafe Mornings. They’d like to see a chance for more visitors to come to the Delaware-Ulster Railroad.

“Make it a destination,” he said.

“I have dreams of it becoming like the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival,” said Rugg. The festival could be a major draw for people from around the area and beyond, both agreed.