GRANVILLE — Thousands are expected to descend on Granville during its 41st annual Harvest Fair, which will feature hundreds of craft vendors, delicious and distinctive food, live entertainment and artist demonstrations spread throughout town.
“It will be a great weekend to be in Granville,” said Nicole Berndt, chair of the town’s Selectboard, about the fair that opens Friday, Oct. 11, and takes advantage of Columbus Day holiday to offer three days of fun, education, food, crafts and art beneath spectacular views of the surrounding hills as the fall foliage begins to explode in color.
Reminder Publishing file photo
Ron Bouwer, a member of the Granville-Tolland Lions Club and chair of the Harvest Fair Committee, was confident that all those who attend the fair will have something for everyone to enjoy.
“We’ll have over 100 craft vendors and we’ve tried to make sure each one is unique so we’re not duplicating a lot of things,” Bouwer said, adding with a chuckle that there are so many vendors he would be hard-pressed to give a general description of the types of crafts and foods that will be offered to visitors.
The vendor locations include the Federated Church, the Granville Village School, Cooley & Company on Route 189, the Noble & Cooley drum factory, the front lawn of the Granville Public Library and the Town Green.
He said police officers will help direct visitors to parking lots, which will be all over town.
While the vendor hubs are less than a mile apart, the town will still offer a free shuttle service to make getting around easier.
Cooley & Company will have the largest area for parking during the fair, with 60 acres available, proprietor Cooley Buy said.
Her art studio will host a variety of local artisans, and will feature live demonstrations of glass blowing, Native American flute making, chainsaw carving, and woodworking by various artists.
She is also offering live entertainment from noon to 4 p.m. each day of the fair.
“We’ll also have face painting,” Buy said.
Buy will also host the Cool Eats Food Truck and Westfield’s North Elm Butcher Block food truck, wines from Hardwick Vineyard and Winery, which will offer its “famous slush wines,” and Home Fruit Wines, which is based in Orange.
And the family-friendly Spooky Land will be open during the fair.
The Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation museum and Gift Shop will be open all three days of the fair with tours, demonstrations and food vendors.
Also at the museum will be fresh and locally brewed beer from Skyline Beer Company, which will also offer its trademark specialty pretzels, and Southwick’s Crepes Tea House will be there to offer sweets, savory crepes and kebobs.
The museum will also have live music playing Saturday and Sunday for listening or dancing.
Bouwer said that nearly every nonprofit organization in town will have food for sale, including the Granville Public Library, and the Federated Church.
“It’s our only and biggest fundraiser for the year,” he said. All proceeds generated will plowed back into the individual organizations for their charitable efforts, he said.
The fair takes place every year over Columbus Day weekend. It started as a quilt show in 1981, but has evolved into a town-wide event that includes tours of 160-year-old Noble & Cooley drum factory.
The fair hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Monday, Oct. 12 and 14, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13.
