Published: September 11, 2008 08:17 am         

30th annual Harvest Fest slated for this weekend

By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer

This year will mark the 30th year of the popular Harvest Festival held at the Farmers’ Museum annually.

Vice President of Education at the museum, Garet Livermore, says the event is a great way to celebrate the arrival of fall in Cooperstown. He says people travel from near and far to enjoy the festivities. ``People tell us it is one of the events they go to every year,’’ said Livermore.

Livermore says the festival typically attracts around 2,500 to 3,000 people. He said the event is very weather dependent and he is hoping for beautiful autumn weather for this year’s event, which will take place September 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to organizers, the Farmers’ Museum grounds will be transformed into a wall-to-wall celebration that will bring together a wide variety of performers, artisans, exhibitors, and vendors in a lively and festive atmosphere. Livermore says the festival is intended to be fun for both children and adults, with traditional music, horse drawn wagon rides, harvest foods, crafts, historic games and races being just some of the many activities scheduled for the weekend.

Festival favorites Jim Kimball and Dick Bolt, presenting traditional music of New York State; Dickens the Clown, entertaining children with his juggling feats; and the B.F. Harridans, presenting traditional Morris dancing, will entertain audiences throughout the weekend. In addition, visitors can cheer on the dog agility demonstrations by the Kilmoreen Training Center, take in a band organ concert at The Empire State Carousel and get a glimpse of the Junior Livestock Show’s Parade of Champions. Festival programming also includes acoustic music from Panhandle, The Dancing Bear Puppet Theater presenting ``The Frog Prince,’’ and American Folk Tales with Melanie Zimmer. New to this year’s festivities will be agriculture demonstrations by SUNY Cobleskill and a showcase of traditional arts and crafts by the New York State Council of the Arts, said Livermore. Visitors will also have the opportunity to enjoy the museum’s classic attractions such as the Historic Village, the Lippitt Farmstead, and the farm animals, according to organizers.

Saturday, Sept. 13 will mark the grand opening of the Dimmick House in the Historic Village. The structure, which was originally built in 1845, was relocated to The Farmers’ Museum in 2000 from Mechanic Street in Norwich. The house, which was donated by the YMCA of Norwich, has been painstakingly reconstructed and now houses the exhibit ``All the Modern Conveniences.’’ áAccording to organizers, the exhibit showcases varied 19th century ``modern’’ technologies such as the sewing machine, the iron and the washing machine; and illustrates their impact on average households of that time period.

``The Dimmick House is a great architectural example of the Greek Revival style,” says The Farmers’ Museum curator Erin Crissman. ááIt represents a typical 1840’s middle-class home in central New York and examples of this style can be found in almost every village and town in the region.’’

Crissman says the exhibit `` imaginatively’’ explains the profound changes inventions made in the lives of the people that used them. Crissman says she relied heavily on a thesis written by Dawn Reid, a 2008 graduate from the State University of New York at Oneonta - Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies, as a basis for the reconstruction process. She says the research assisted in areas such as determining the objects to be displayed in the house and the development of the exhibition’s interactive elements.

Across the road at the Fenimore Art Museum, organizers say visitors will have the opportunity to take in the new, insightful exhibition ``Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art.’’ Organizers say the exhibition offers perspective on the ways that Americans in the past viewed one another, how artistic representations of black people created and reinforced popular attitudes, and how these attitudes continue to affect people today.

Admission to the event will be $11 for adults, $9.50 for seniors 65 years old and older and $5 for children ages 7-12. Children 6 and under and members of the New York State Historical Association will be able to get in for free. On Harvest Festival weekend only, visitors who sign up for a new membership in the New York State Historical Association will receive a 20 percent discount on the annual membership fee.

Organizers say Harvest Festival relies on the generous spirits of volunteers and their gifts of valuable time. If interested in being a part of event call Volunteer Coordinator Nancy Karaman, at (607) 547-1533.

Harvest Festival is sponsored in part by KeyBank, McCadam Cheese, Organic Valley and NYSCA.