Over the weekend, the annual Fall Festival at Samaria’s Heritage Square celebrated the coming fall with a range of activities and events, including a surprise puppet show.

Local author Carolyn Frank was an unexpected discovery for Luke Waldron, who was looking for an additional activity for kids during the day.  While speaking with Carolyn, it emerged that not only was she a puppeteer, but had a supply of puppets she had made as a large scale puppet maker, and which Luke discovered were ready (and willing!) for use at the Festival.  

“She drove to her house and came back with all of these,” Waldron said, gesturing to the puppet theatre.  “It’s amazing!”  The story of Frank’s history with puppets was recounted several years ago during an evening Frank was reading at the Oneida County Library, but it’s certainly a good one that will be returned to in the future.

A host of other volunteers helped make the weekend fun for everyone who visited.  Caroline Whipple was introduced to tying balloon animals literally a week before the event, and by the time the festival came around was something like a professional.  She was clocked making a balloon dog in under forty seconds.  “The dogs have been probably the most popular,” she said.  “And flowers.”

“And dragons,” Edson Whipple said.  Along with Temperance Garrett, who was learning the ropes, so to speak, the group had been tying balloon animals near the grandstand, and getting better and better.

Local artist Pennie Wolf set up an easel and many of her paintings outside the east cabins and painted as people strolled by to chat and take a look.  She let one young girl, Chloe, take a tune with the paint brush and add some additional color to a mountain stream she was busy painting.  “It’s perfect out here,” Wolf said.  “Couldn’t be better.”

Lillian Johnson was nearby in the Osmond cabin, demonstrating the art of spinning yarn.  On request, Lillian would explain what was involved in spinning, as her own experience with the process.  Johnson has been spinning for about two years, and has migrated to a more complex wheel.  “A lot of people start on this one,” she said, pointing to a modern spinning wheel.  “It’s much easier and there isn’t as much to keep track of.”  She, however, prefers the more antique
styled machine.

Rope tying, quilting, apple pressing, cornhole, and other games and activities filled the days, which saw fantastic weather across the board.  

The pumpkin painting contest brought a lot of color and talent to the Festival, and while the pie eating contest didn’t exactly do that, it was a fun spectacle for everyone who came.  Luke Waldron claims that he won just because he was so hungry, but maybe he’s just being humble.

In past years, the Fall Festival itself has taken on different forms, from a larger event with Renaissance Faire elements most recently, to an animal focused event in years past.  Whatever the specific form, the weekend is always a relaxing and entertaining time in the historic townsite of Samaria!