By Roger Chambers
July is the hottest month of the year, with average temperatures a high of 83°F and a low of 58°F. Sometimes, it is much hotter and humid, with a record high of 100° in 1953. As thunderstorms are frequent during the month, the Full Moon is sometimes called the Full Thunder Moon, but more commonly the Full Buck Moon as antlers develop on deer by now. July is the hottest month of the year, with average temperatures a high of 83°F and a low of 58°F. Sometimes, it is much hotter and humid, with a record high of 100° in 1953. As thunderstorms are frequent during the month, the Full Moon is sometimes called the Full Thunder Moon, but more commonly the Full Buck Moon as antlers develop on deer by now.
Holidays and Observances in July
July 1 Canada Day
July 4 Independence Day, usually called the 4th of July
July 13 Nathan Forrest Bedford’s Birthday, Tennessee
July 17 Luís Muñoz Rivera’s Birthday, Puerto Rico
July 24 Pioneer Day, Utah
July 25 Constitution Day, Puerto Rico
July 27 José Celso Barbosa’s Birthday, Puerto Rico
The biggest July holiday is the 4th of July, with many communities having large parades and fireworks displays.
Utica has a large fireworks in Proctor Park at sunset.
Fruits and vegetables are starting to come in season in the home garden, or at several regional commercial growers. Strawberries are mostly gone by July but raspberries and blackberries are common. Summer squash and beans may be ready to pick in the home garden. For those without a garden, many regional farmer’s markets are available. Union Station is host to Oneida County Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, and Thursdays there is an open market on the Clinton Village Green.
Musical concerts, many of them free, occur in Hanna Park and Kopernick Park, in Whitesboro, New York Mills, and at Lock 20 in Marcy. A bit farther afield there are band concerts on the lake in Cooperstown, Old Forge, and Lake George and in Sherburne. Saranac Thursdays, with an admission fee, is a popular venue in Utica.
July is a vacation month for many families with the children out of school. Many people spend a few days in the outdoors at the Finger Lakes, Oneida Lake, or any of several state parks in the Adirondacks and Catskills. These are all popular for camping, boating, fishing, canoeing or kayaking, and swimming.
For those unable to get away for longer than a few days, there are many popular festivals throughout the region, usually on weekends. The Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute Sidewalk Art Show is very popular. This is followed by the Boilermaker Road Race, the second Sunday of July, Utica’s largest annual festival. The Bavarian Festival in Marcy and the Irish Festival in Frankfort round out a month of four big weekend festivals.
Some regional festivals, such as Ilion Days or various county fairs last nearly a full week. Most of these are very easy to get to on a day trip from the Utica area. Many of the more popular events in the region are listed below.
Selected Regional Festivals and Concerts
June 26-July 1MWPAI Sidewalk Arts Festival, July 4 Ping-Pong Ball Drop, Fern Park, Inlet Mondays-Levitt Amp Music Concerts, Kopernik Park, Utica
Wednesdays Saranac Wednesdays, Savoy in Rome
Thursdays Saranac Thursdays, Utica Brewery Ilion Civic Band Concerts, Ilion
Fridays Boonville Band Concerts, Boonville Sundays Old Tyme Fiddlers, Osceola July 6-8 Utica Boilermaker Weekend, 15 Kilometer Race on Sunday, July 8
Saturdays & Sundays, July 7- August 19 Renaissance Festival, Sterling
July 12-15 Madison County Fair, Brookfield July 13-15 Bavarian Festival, Utica Maennerchor, Marcy July 14-22 llion Days and Doo-Dah Parade on July 20 July 17-21 Lewis County Fair, LowvilleJuly 21-22 Arts in the Park, Arrowhead Park, Inlet July 24-29 Boonville-Oneida County Fair, Boonville July 26-29 Harbor Fest, Oswego July 27-28 Great American Irish Festival, Herkimer County Fairgrounds, Frankfort July 27-30 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction, Cooperstown Throughout July Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown.
In the Night SkiesThe Moon has several conjunctions this month. Mercury is visible in the western twilight as it meets the Moon on the 14th. Venus is close to the moon in the west in the early evening on the 15th. Jupiter is below the Moon on the 20th, while Saturn below the Moon on the 24th. Mars, in opposition and brighter than Jupiter at a -2.8 magnitude appears below the Moon on the 27th.
The Sun is in aphelion or its farthest point from Earth for the year on the 6th. The Full Buck Moon, sometimes called the Thunder Moon or Hay Moon, is on July 27.
Last Quarter Moon July 6New Moon July 12First Quarter Moon July 19Full Buck Moon July 27 Rising and Setting of Sun, Moon and Visible Planets on July 27 Sunrise 5:47 A.M. Sunset 8:27 P.M.Moonrise 8:29 P.M. Moonset 5:28 A.M.Mercury Sets 8:57 P.M.Venus Sets 10:20 P.M.Mars Rises 8:53 P.M.Sets 5:31 A.M.Jupiter Sets 12:33 A.M.Saturn Sets 3:30 A.M.
