PUTNEY — In a town devoted to the land, at a school equally devoted to growth, there is no better way to celebrate a season of cultivation and community than with a harvest festival.
The Putney School will hold its 76th annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 16, beginning around 9 a.m. on the school's campus on 418 Houghton Brook Rd., and continuing well into the afternoon.
The festival, which usually draws a crowd of up to 1,000 people, will feature a host of homespun amusements and delights.
Attendees are free to roam among a range of community booths, vendors, and food stalls, as well as participate in games and races. Little ones can look forward to an inflatable slide and bounce house, face painting, bobbing for apples, cider making, and jumping into the giant leaf pile.
The Harvest Festival is as old as the school itself and just as rich. It began on an autumn day in 1935 when Carol “Hutch” Maynard, the school's original farm manager, decided all the year's farm work and the harvest deserved appreciation. The faculty, staff and students were quick to agree. Floats were built, songs and dances prepared, farm animals groomed, and invitations were sent, giving birth to a Putney tradition.
Today, the spirit of the festival remains, though it has grown in every other way.
As Alison Frye, alumni relations manager at The Putney School, put it, “In many ways, this [original] spirit is still the essence of the Harvest Festival. Putney is a farm school. All of the kids here work on the farm; they work in the gardens; they work in the kitchen. We're still celebrating the harvest, but we're also celebrating Vermont, and the joys of living in a small, close community.”
True to its origins, there will be no shortage of farm-fresh fare at the Harvest Festival, with in-season produce from their on-site farm at a garden stand. And numerous community groups will sell harvest-inspired edibles - think apple pie and pumpkin bread - as well as hearty homemade soups and potato pancakes.
A farm-inspired parade steps off at 12:45 p.m. (if you've never seen an ox, this is your chance). The parade will be followed by a contra dance at 1 p.m., a firewood raffle, and a chance to sing along with the Putney School Orchestra at 2 p.m. Putney School students will play live music throughout the day.
The festival will be set in motion by the 5k Red Leaf Ramble, a walk/run on the Putney's School's cross-country trails. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Field House, and participation is free.
A “Kid's Bike Bonanza,” along with an obstacle course will begin at 9:30 a.m. on the soccer field. In the spirit of equality, this year's bike bonanza is taking on a rodeo form, as opposed to a race, giving kids of all sizes a chance to win.
A silent auction at 10 a.m. in the Currier Center lobby features prizes that range from a trip to the Caribbean, to Yankees tickets, to gift cards from local merchants. A craft fair will feature the work of local artisans.
The day will culminate in an alumni reception. In previous years, Frye said, as many as 300 alumni have attended the reception.
“It's a free day of fall fun,” said Frye. “You can come to campus, be outdoors, eat great food, see happy kids, families milling about, and people dancing and singing. It's a great tradition.”
For more information, contact Frye at 802-387-6273 or by e-mail.