Due to the overwhelming success of its “Purple People Eater Takeover” of Glen Park Vineyards the past few years, Owego Hose Teams, Inc. is bringing the event back on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Located on Allen Glen Road in Owego, Glen Park Vineyards is the perfect venue for the celebration of all things Hose Team purple and was recently named the 2025 Binghamton Community Choice Award for Best Winery.
Hose Team Captain and Central New York Firefighter Association President Patrick Gavin will be the “Celebrity Guest Bartender” serving New York-based wines and beers from 6-9 p.m. with musical guests the Crooked River Saints.
The event is open to the public, with proceeds benefiting the HoseTeam.
“We are excited to be back at Glen Park Vineyards with the Purple People Eaters,” said Gavin. “There will be a spiked blueberry lemonade that is a shade of purple; I’m not sure if it will be as tasty as Susquehanna Hose Co. #1’s famous fireman punch known as rocket fuel, but we’ll see.”
The year 2026 is forecasted to be another banner year for the Hose Team. The Steam Fire Engine project the team has overseen comes to a close with the Steamer’s return to Owego in April. The project included the now-completed, eye-catching Steamer House building on North Avenue that will showcase the Owego Fire Department’s 1866 Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine, the oldest operating in the United States.
Owego Hose Team Captain and Central New York Firefighter Association President Patrick Gavin competes in a firematic hose race at the FASNY Firefighters’ Home on the Hudson in Hudson, New York. Photo provided.
The Hose Team should pass the $1 million mark of funds raised since its inception as a recognized 501c3 not for profit organization in 2016. Funding supported the Baker Fireman’s Fountain restoration and its continued maintenance, the Steamer project, Hose Team scholarships, and several other community organizations.
In the 1950s, Owego Hose Teams paraded around in a vehicle named the “Purple People Eater,” a retired hearse. The “Purple People Eater” was replaced in the 1970s by the Hose Team with another retired hearse called the “Goofy Grape.”
Today the Hose Team has a Motor Hose Truck affectionately called the Purple People Eater in tribute to the 1950s vehicle. Purple and gold are the official colors of your championship Hose Team, and patrons of the Takeover are encouraged to wear the Hose Team colors at the January event.
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