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Woodstock Magazine's 2016 Fall Guide: Fun Fall-Themed Events

Sep 16, 2016 05:15PM ● By Erin Frisch
There are so many fun fall themed events going on this season in and around the area. Check it out! 


19th Century Apple & Cheese Harvest Festival & Apple Pie Baking Competition 


Come celebrate the birthday of America’s favorite folk hero, John Chapman! Better known as Johnny Appleseed, this legendary fellow was born on September 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts. A great way to celebrate is to bring the whole family to a harvest festival at Vermont’s historic Justin Morrill Homestead on Sunday, September 25, from 11am to 3pm. Events include face painting, live music by Out on a Limb, and an apple pie contest with prizes that include gift certificates to popular local businesses. Children will especially enjoy meeting live farm animals—the kind that Justin Morrill would have had on his small 19th century farm. You can also make your own cider in an antique press and sample heirloom apples, fine artisan Vermont cheeses, Vermont ice cream, and of course, homemade apple pie. Play games that 19th century children would have enjoyed, hike the lookout trail, and play Valley Quest. You’ll also find lovely gardens, exhibits, an ice house and ice pond, and a historic home decorated with gingerbread designs. 

For more information, click here.

A celebration of the harvest, with a special focus on the star of the event, the apple! On October 1 from 10am to 4pm, you can visit a new heirloom orchard with unusual and rare antique apple varieties at the Calvin Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont. At 1:30, Linda Radtke performs “Vermont History Through Song” (sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council’s Speakers Bureau). Activities include something for everyone in the family, including an apple recipe competition, cider pressing, wagon rides, historic farm and craft demonstrations, barbecue and harvest treats, and guided tours of the Plymouth Cheese Factory as well as cheese-making demonstrations.

 


Don’t miss the Annual Fall Foliage Festival in East Burke Village, Vermont, held on the green at the Burke Mountain Clubhouse/East Burke Library on Saturday, September 24 from 9am to 3pm. There’s so much to do and see at this one! Events include a parade starting at 10am, a barbecue, a rubber ducky race, a kids’ area with a jump house, face painting, and more. There will also be horse-drawn wagon rides, a farm-animal petting zoo, and cow-plop bingo. Get a head start on your holiday shopping at the craft show, open from 9am to 3pm and featuring 75 vendors! A silent auction in the library will feature work from local artists and crafters plus unique historical items and antiques. The Vermont Institute of Natural Science presents an interactive Bird of Prey program, and Chickweed performs from 12:30–2:30pm at the Gazebo. A beer and wine tent will be open from 11am to 6 pm, located at Mike’s Tiki Bar, where Tritium Well will also perform from 3 to 6pm. The East Burke Congregational Church will have a luncheon of soup and sandwiches in the fellowship hall, a craft table, shoebox auction of local donations from businesses and individuals, tag sale, cookie walk (a favorite), and a jelly cabinet full of jams and jellies. 

For more information, click here.

Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, the town of Stowe’s event field will be transformed into a Bavarian village under a traditional tent for this annual celebration of the harvest and fall foliage. From oompah bands to authentic Bavarian foods and freshly brewed Vermont beers to traditional sing-a-longs and dancing, plus a silent auction, there’s something for every “villager” of every age from nearby and far away. It’s a weekend full of music, dancing, and of course, great beer. Oktoberfest is a great time for a good cause. Last year, the funds from Oktoberfest allowed the Stowe Rotary to provide over $50,000 worth of support to over 20 local charities and scholarships in the greater Lamoille/Washington County region. 

Find out more at stoweoktoberfest.com and check it out on Facebook.


The Chaffee Art Center in Rutland, Vermont, holds its 55th Annual Art in the Park Fine Art and Craft Festival on  October 8 and 9. This event features fine artists and craft persons, Vermont vineyards and breweries, food, kids’ activities, and musical entertainment. This event will be held rain or shine in the Main Street Park at the junction of Routes 4 and 7 in Rutland. 

For more information, click here.

 

The Billings Farm & Museum, gateway to Vermont’s rural heritage, will host the 32nd Annual Harvest Weekend on October 8 and 9 from 10am to 5pm. The weekend features a husking bee and barn dance, plus a variety of 19th century harvest activities and programs for the entire family. Each day a traditional husking bee will begin at noon, followed by a barn dance from 1 to 4pm. Lend a hand pressing cider, preserving apples, threshing grain, and making butter and ice cream. Harvesting the heirloom vegetable garden will be nearing completion, and children can help dig potatoes and other root crops, and learn how crops are “put up” for the winter. Other activities include shelling beans, fence building, apples-on-a-string, and 19th century games. Hot-spiced cider and homemade doughnuts will be on hand for all! Admission includes all programs and activities: adults, $14; age 62 and over, $13; children 5–15, $8; ages 3 and 4, $4; and those under 3, free. 

For more information, call (802) 457-2355 or visit www.billingsfarm.org.

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