Harvest Fair on the Green Draws Thousands Despite the Rain

Rain didn’t stop thousands of people from turning out for the annual Harvest Fair on the town green. It fell steadily from mid-morning until almost dusk on Saturday, soaking tent roofs, flattening paper signs and turning the grass near the bandstand into a shallow pond. But by noon, organizers estimated the crowd at well over 5,000 people, nearly matching last year’s sunny turnout.

Umbrellas in every color filled the green. Families in rain boots stood in line for kettle corn. A brass band played under a borrowed canopy while children stomped in puddles at the edge of the lawn. And in a white tent near the church steps, a panel of volunteer judges worked their way through 47 homemade pies.

A fair that refuses to cancel

The Harvest Fair has been held on the green every fall since 1962. It has been shortened by storms twice, according to the organizing committee, but never canceled. This year’s forecast called for an all-day soaking, and the committee met on Friday night to decide whether to postpone.

The vote was quick. Vendors had already prepared food. The band had already rehearsed. And, as one committee member put it, a rain date in late October would only bring colder weather.

People here don’t cancel plans for a little rain. They bring a better coat.

Beth Morgan, fair organizer

Morgan, who has chaired the fair committee for six years, spent most of the day moving between tents with a clipboard in a plastic bag. The committee did make a few changes overnight. Volunteers borrowed extra tents from two churches and the high school, moved the craft tables closer together so shoppers could stay under cover, and laid down straw along the busiest paths to soak up some of the mud. The town public works crew dropped off a pallet of wood chips at 6 a.m. and spread them near the food booths.

Morgan said several vendors told her their sales were close to normal, and a few said they did even better than usual because shoppers lingered longer under the covered areas.

“Rain makes people huddle together,” she said. “That’s not a bad thing at a community fair.”

The pie contest

A retired teacher won with a maple-pumpkin pie, her first entry in 30 years of attending. Carol Whitney, 71, taught fourth grade at a city elementary school for 34 years. She said she has come to the Harvest Fair every fall since she moved to town but never felt brave enough to enter the pie contest until a former student, now a pastry chef, talked her into it.

Her winning pie used pumpkin she roasted herself, local maple syrup instead of white sugar and a crust made with a mix of butter and lard, a recipe she said came from her grandmother. The judges praised its smooth filling, crisp bottom crust and a maple flavor that one judge described as “warm, not sweet.”

“I almost didn’t bring it,” Whitney said, holding a blue ribbon in one hand and an umbrella in the other. “I thought, who’s going to want to taste pie in the rain? Apparently everybody.”

The other winners

• Best apple pie: A high school junior who baked a lattice-top pie with three varieties of local apples.
• Best berry pie: A volunteer firefighter whose blueberry-raspberry entry won for the second year in a row.
• Best cream pie: A grandmother and granddaughter team who entered a chocolate cream pie with a graham cracker crust.
• Judges’ special mention: A savory chicken pot pie entered by a 10-year-old, which the panel said was “too good not to recognize.”

All pies left over after judging were sliced and sold for $2 each, with proceeds going to the town’s food shelf. Organizers said every slice was gone within 40 minutes.

For kids

The hay maze and pumpkin painting had lines all afternoon. The maze, built from about 300 bales donated by a farm north of the city, covered a corner of the green near the library. By mid-afternoon the paths were muddy and the hay was damp, but children did not seem to mind. Several parents said their kids went through it four or five times.

Pumpkin painting moved under a large tent in the morning after the paint started running off pumpkins left in the open. Volunteers from the high school art club handed out brushes, aprons and small pumpkins, and helped younger children write their names on the bottom so they could find their creations later.

Other popular activities for children included:

1. A puppet show from a local theater group, performed three times inside the church hall.
2. A petting area with goats, sheep and two very patient rabbits.
3. Sack races, which went ahead in the rain and ended with several cheerfully muddy winners.
4. A scarecrow-building table where families stuffed old flannel shirts with straw and gave their creations names.
5. A storytime with the children’s librarian, featuring fall picture books and warm cider.

Music in the rain

The brass band, a volunteer group of about 25 musicians ranging in age from 16 to 82, played two full sets from under a canopy next to the bandstand. Their usual spot on the open bandstand was too wet for the instruments, so they set up on a wooden platform borrowed from the high school.

The band played marches, show tunes and a slow version of a popular fall folk song that drew a small crowd of dancers in rain jackets. Between songs, the conductor joked that the brass section had never sounded so “damp and sincere.”

Later in the afternoon, a fiddle and guitar duo took over, and a few dozen people stayed to listen even as the rain picked up again.

Food, crafts and a few practical lessons

About 60 vendors set up booths along the paths that cross the green. Food stands sold cider donuts, maple cotton candy, chili, grilled cheese and roasted corn. Craft vendors offered wool hats, wooden toys, candles and handmade pottery. Several local farms sold squash, apples and potted mums.

Most vendors said they had come prepared for the weather, with plastic sheeting, extra tarps and towels. A few learned some lessons along the way. One jewelry maker said she would bring sidewalls for her tent next year after a gust of wind blew rain across her table. A cookie vendor said he sold more hot cocoa than cookies.

The fair committee said it would review this year’s event and consider adding more covered seating areas for future years. Morgan said the group is also looking at renting a larger tent for the pie contest, which drew a bigger audience than ever.

A soggy, happy tradition

By late afternoon, as vendors packed up dripping tents, the green looked like it had hosted a mud festival. Town crews were scheduled to reseed the worst patches this week.

Nobody seemed too upset. Families walked home with painted pumpkins tucked under their arms. Carol Whitney’s blue ribbon was pinned to her raincoat. And the committee was already talking about next year.

Key takeaway: The Harvest Fair proved again that in this town, a forecast is a suggestion, not a reason to stay home.

The fair committee is looking for volunteers for next year’s event, especially people willing to help with setup and cleanup. Sign-up information will be posted on the community calendar this winter.