The Windham Historical Society Hosts Third Annual Fall Harvest Festival!
Members of the Windham Historical Society were greeted with blue skies and sunshine on Saturday, October 4 as we prepared for the festivities at our Third Annual Fall Harvest Festival.
By 10 o’clock when the doors opened, we were ready to greet our guests. The morning saw a nice crowd of people looking forward to the musical sounds of the Lakes Region Strummers performing on ukuleles. At noon, an even larger audience was in attendance as the Windham Middle School Eighth Grade Orchestra took the stage.
The kitchen crew was busy with the lunchtime rush, preparing burgers and dogs and the dessert table saw a steady flow of customers picking up goodies to conclude the meal. For those looking for lighter fare, Poppies Kettle Corn was offering popcorn and other snacks for sale.
In the meantime, at the Windham Parks & Recreation Department’s booth, the coloring contest and scavenger hunt had begun. Kids were guessing how many candy corns were in a jar in the Old Grocery, and the relay races were underway.
The vendor booths were seeing a consistent flow of customers and the antique cars had arrived for the afternoon. Our resident blacksmith Sam Simonson was on hand demonstrating his skill and people enjoyed watching stonecutter Leo Ruel at his work.
The docents in our historic buildings were greeting visitors throughout the day. Many were interested in seeing how the renovations to the 1833 Town House were coming along. Others were intrigued by the stories being told at the Old Grocery and the South Windham and Windham Center Libraries.
At 1 o’clock, one of our festival favorites, the pie-eating contest began. Soon after, the Saco River Jazz Band took the stage and the bobbing for donuts contest took place. At select times during the day, our schoolmarm Paula Sparks offered people the opportunity to experience a living history lesson in the Village School and a White Elephant Sale kept bargain items coming for thrifty shoppers.
Raffles were held over the course of the day and the for the first time, the Society had a fundraising booth of our own where people could purchase books while being educated about our capital campaign for the 1833 Old Town House.
It is estimated that over 500 people were in attendance and that a record amount of money was raised. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of dedicated volunteers to put this event together. We thank each and every one of them. We have such a great team and this event has proven it year after year. It all goes to show that like our slogan says, you can have fun with history!
