A small lake community in the Town of Bethel is once again turning its porches—and shoreline—into performance stages this weekend as Smallwood Porchgest returns for its third year, with 17 musical acts scheduled across the neighborhood.
Myrna Marcarian, an organizer of the event, say it has grown beyond a small neighborhood experiment has expanded into a full-day, walkable music experience, fueled by strong community demand.
“We’ve had many many people offering houses and musicians more than we could even accommodate this year,” she said. “So unfortunately we had to say no to a few people. So in it we have… 17 acts this year.”
Smallwood, in Sullivan County, New York, is described by residents as a compact lakefront layout that makes it easy to move between performances on foot.
“It’s like one of the densest populated areas… I think there’s like over a thousand residences in Smallwood,” the organizer said. “People come from all over to walk around the lake.”
Acts are scheduled sequentially, guiding audiences through what Marcarian describes as a “music crawl” from porch to porch. The final sets of the evening will take place at a lakeside beach area, with informal gathering space, food, and music extending into the night.
Residents often set out food and drinks, and visitors are encouraged to bring chairs and settle in along the route. The Town of Bethel is also supporting the event with road closures in parts of the area to accommodate foot traffic.
“It’s a huge party for the whole community,” Marcarian said.
Musicians say the setting is part of what makes the event distinctive. One performer, Matt Werden, said he returned after playing last year and is performing a mix of solo guitar and collaborative pieces this time.
“The community part of it’s really great,” Werden said. “You get a lot of different genres, and different types of music… so you’re walking through the area and you get all kinds of different people, different music, and it feels like one thing.”
Image: Performers at Smallwood Porchfest 2025. (Smallwood Residents’ Forum on Facebook)