The First Annual Fall Harvest Festival Shows Community Spirit in Action
The biggest fundraising event for the Windham Historical Society this year
was our First Annual Fall Harvest Festival.
"One patron told me she lived in Windham for a long time and didn't know the Village Green existed.
She was delighted to know it did." Becky Delaware, Windham Historical Society Volunteer
The event took place on October 14 on the Village Green. It was a day of old-fashioned fun reminiscent of a country bazaar at the turn of the twentieth century. We designed the Festival to draw attention to the Village Green and bring as many people from the community to the event as possible. To achieve that goal, Co-chairs Linda Lunt and Haley Pal went into the community seeking sponsors to help with our marketing efforts. Tom Bartell of The Windham Economic Development Corporation of the Town of Windham and Evergreen Credit Union jumped right in and their ample sponsorships funded the advertising and promotion used to generate interest in the new event.
President Susan Simonson then went out with a request to our membership and donations towards the Festival came rolling in. These Membership donations were used to cover the musical acts who would perform, the burgers and hotdogs being served for lunch, and other miscellaneous expenses that would be needed for the day.
Then Linda and Haley arranged for the Windham Parks & Recreation Department to come onboard as our partner. They helped with some of the contests and games and procuring prizes for them while Haley and Linda did some solicitating of their own. Eight local businesses provided prizes at no charge. Other area businesses donated pumpkin pies for the pie-eating contest, chips for lunchtime meals, water, and more. One farmer gave us apple cider to sell and another provided bales of hay where people could sit to watch the performers on the stage. It was wonderful to see community spirit in action!
And then came the day of the event. We were initially scheduled for October 7, but the inclement weather forecasts for that day led us to postpone the event to the following weekend. And we were glad we did. We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful day. Many people, young and old, were in attendance. The kids enjoyed the relay races where they competed in the potato sack, three-legged race, the wheel barrel race, and the egg and spoon competition. The pie-eating contest was messy fun with one of the older contestants winning, but it was a younger one who took home second place. Town Clerk Linda Morrell acted as judge.
The potato sack race! (Click full screen for a better look.)
~ When asked if she would mind if her video was used on our website or if she wanted any credit for taking the footage, the mom of one of the children in the potato sack race replied, "If anything, credit should go to the organizers from an appreciative Windham resident and parent for a good ole-fashioned, wholesome, and fun Fall gathering."
The food booth was a big hit. We sold out of just about everything, including all the hotdogs and burgers, the chips, and most of the cookies, candy, breads, and pies baked by our talented members.
The South Windham Library was decorated as a Christmas Shop with lots of items marked at $1. Many of them sold and several larger items were purchased as well. The White Elephant table and Halloween “Boo” booth also generated income.
On the outskirts of the Green, starting right past the blacksmith shop where resident blacksmith Sam Simonson was doing demonstrations, a semicircle of vendors sold a nice variety of crafts. At the end of the festivities, they confirmed that they had had a fun, successful day. They also said listening to the excellent music while working was an added bonus.
And the acts on the Gazebo were a pleasant blend of musical genres. The Sebago Lakes Ukulele Association or SLUKES performed old-fashioned tunes and were a fantastic way to kick off the day. The Windham Middle School Band performed some patriotic Sousa tunes at noon, and in the afternoon, we were delighted by the masterful music provided by Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection who had our toes tapping, even at the end of a very busy day.
The Sebago Lakes Ukulele Association
Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection
Master of ceremonies Walter Lunt did an excellent job of keeping the crowd informed of all the many activities scheduled throughout the day. When all was said and done, close to $6,000 was raised!
This event was a real testament to our Society. When we pull together as a team and invite the wonderful people in our community to join in, amazing things can happen.
Here are a few more glimpses of the day . . .
"I want to thank the Historical Society for letting me be a part of Saturday's festivities. Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was organized beautifully and the weather was perfect. I hope to be back next year with a new collection of painted rocks." Stacey Turcotte, Vendor