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| Fireworks explode over vendors’ tents at last year’s Fall Festival. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz) |
For six years, Harvard residents have cleared their calendars for the weekend-long Fall Festival, a local harbinger for the autumn season filled with crafts, music, food, and more. This year the annual Harvard Lions Club event will take place from Sept. 17 to 19, and according to spokesperson Bob Kinnee, attendees can expect several new features to complement their classic festival experience.
What began 13 years ago as a quaint craft fair has blossomed into the Lions Club's largest fundraiser of the year, the proceeds of which fund projects dedicated to supporting the visually and hearing impaired. In the past, the Lions have also supported diabetics, the elderly, Bromfield's seniors, and other local projects.
The festival kicks off Friday night with the second annual Battle of the Bands competition. Hosted by the Harvard Police Department, the concert will feature 12—up from last year's 10—fledgling high school bands from around the area.
Following Friday's rock-filled night, festival-goers can enjoy live music all day while browsing the craft fair and participating in the numerous activities Saturday has to offer.
In addition to the two inflatable moon bounces and inflatable slide and obstacle course, kids can expect face-painting, beads and bracelet making, and arm-and-leg "tattooing" stations. As part of the expanded kids' carnival, the festival will also offer an upgraded Touch-a-Truck area, featuring Army vehicles, a police cruiser, fire trucks, and more. This year, free pony rides will be available as well.
Attendees may be surprised to see a 16-foot catapult launching a 3-pound bag of lime "ammo" toward a large castle wall. This new "castle siege" addition is yet another "challenge game" offered at this year's festival, along with last year's "log jousting" and "axe and knife throwing." These games, perfect for teens and adults, give participants the opportunity to win food and drink coupons.
The state-sanctioned barbecue cook-off, sponsored by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, is hotter than ever, as festival attendees have a chance to sample and judge some of the state's best BBQ from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The event, now including 40 teams, will determine Massachusetts' superlative BBQ team, offering cash prizes to the top three finalists.
If BBQ isn't enough to satisfy attendees' taste buds, the fair offers a variety of food options, including Thai cuisine, baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese, popcorn, cotton candy, and ice cream, in addition to the popular Lions food tent.
The festival climaxes on Saturday night, with the annual fireworks show following live music. In the past, the Lions have secured tribute bands such as Beetlejuice and Joshua Tree; this year, attendees can enjoy Tramps Like Us, a Springsteen tribute band expected to give a top-notch performance, according to Kinnee.
Helicopter introductory flights will also be available as a new feature on Sunday for the price of $35.
For blacksmith Mark Suchocki of Black Dog Forge, a participant in Harvard's craft fair for six years, the Harvard Fall Festival is "the best out of all that I've done." For Suchocki, the extra attractions that make the festival "more than just a crafts show" are enough to bring him back every year.
Suchocki's relationship with the Fall Festival began in 2004, when a member from the Harvard Lions approached his portable blacksmith shop at a craft fair in Templeton. Since then, his dual canopy setup has been a favorite at the Harvard craft fair. One tent, manned by Suchocki's wife, offers premade, finished goods, while Suchocki gives demonstrations of his work in the second canopy. "I make different items during the day, talk to different people who are watching, and sometimes give something away, depending on how much they show their appreciation for the type of work I've been doing," he says.
Suchocki's interest in blacksmithing was sparked 11 years ago, after observing a blacksmith working at a Springfield craft fair. Curious about the trade and with a basic understanding of welding, Suchocki used trial and error to teach himself the ways of blacksmithing. "I just got the bug for it," he says. "I worked out in the snow every weekend. By spring I felt the need to build a barn."
Suchocki, who works as a blacksmith on the side of a full-time job, began his blacksmithing career hoping to supplement his retirement fund. However, after years of craft shows, his hobby developed into a booming sole proprietorship. Suchocki's craftwork can be found across the country, from any New England state to Montana, Phoenix, and Arizona.
"I'd be classified as a general smith or an ornamental iron worker," Suchocki explains. "I'll do railings, fireplace screens, gates, fireplace tools, candleholders and chandeliers, wine racks… I do anything except horse shoes." Several of these items will be sold at this year's craft fair.
Despite having attended up to five craft fairs per year in the past, Suchocki selected Harvard's Fall Festival to be the only craft show he would attend this year. "It's one of the most fun festival I've taken part in since I've been [blacksmithing]!" he says. This craftsman enjoys exposing this trade to the familiar and friendly faces of Harvard residents. "The members of the Lions Club alone go out of their way to help you; they make you feel really welcome," he explains. "It's an enjoyable weekend, and the people that come to this festival in Harvard are very friendly."
Admission into Friday night's Battle of the Bands, or Saturday and Sunday's day portion of the festival will cost $5 per person. Saturday night's festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. and will cost $12 per adult and $8 per student. All proceeds go to the Harvard Lions Club.
For more information about the Fall Festival, visit www.harvardfallfestival.com.