WARDSBORO — It's turnip time again!
On Saturday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., hundreds will gather to celebrate Vermont's new state vegetable at the 14th annual Gilfeather Turnip Festival.
The free event, whose proceeds support the town library, takes place rain or shine.
The humble root vegetable - which some say is actually more of a rutabaga - has attracted much attention to the small town even after leaf season has peaked.
Bushels of turnips along with craft and farmers' market vendors arrive early on festival day, dominating the village, inside and outside of Town Hall and under tents of all sizes on Main Street.
Contestants may participate in the free annual Turnip Contest by registering their Gilfeather turnips in one or more categories from 10 a.m. to noon upstairs in Town Hall.
The largest turnip, total weight with greens, will be awarded grand champion of the festival. Winners are announced and ribbons awarded immediately after the judging. All children 12 and younger who enter a turnip will receive an honorable mention award ribbon.
The Turnip Café, located in the Town Hall, serves homemade cider donuts and coffee beginning first thing in the morning, followed by lunch featuring à la carte servings of turnip tastings plus the creamy Gilfeather turnip soup from 11 a.m. until the food runs out. Hot soup to go is also served at an outdoor kiosk.
Recipes for all food served at the festival is found in the third edition of the Gilfeather Turnip Cookbook, on sale in the Turnip Shoppe. The new cookbook features all categories of turnip recipes, including many old favorites, but most recipes are brand new to this edition.
More than 40 craft and farmers' market vendors are set up inside Town Hall and outdoors under the tents. A complete vendor list is available at www.friendsofwardsborolibrary.org.
Live music is always a big draw at the Turnip Fest. Wardsboro's own troubadour, Jimmy Knapp, loves to serenade visitors throughout the festival with his original Gilfeather turnip ballads and many more of his original guitar compositions. Other local musicians and entertainers are scheduled to perform in the Town Hall throughout the event.
At 2 p.m., the drawing for the Friends of the Wardsboro Library's Best Raffle Ever takes place at Town Hall. The prize is a handmade, queen-size quilt, “Fifty Shades of Vermont Green,” made and donated by Stratton resident Carol Steiner.
During the day, four large baskets containing items donated by the various vendors - food, decor items, ceramics, and jewelry - will be raffled beginning at 11 a.m.
Turnip art at library
The Wardsboro Public Library at 170 Main St. is also honoring the famous heirloom vegetable in its October “Artist of the Month” art exhibition featuring Gilfeather turnips.
This special art show featuring multiple artists was planned in conjunction with the Friends of the Wardsboro Library to complement the annual Gilfeather Turnip Festival.
The participating artists, from Wardsboro and Stratton, will offer many of their pieces for sale. The exhibition runs all of October during library hours and is open to festival goers on Oct. 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Honoring the new state vegetable
The Gilfeather Turnip was designated the Vermont state vegetable earlier this year after two years of lobbying by Wardsboro Elementary School students, their teacher-sponsors, and members of the Friends of the Wardsboro Library.
Festival organizers are expecting record crowds this year to honor the new celebrity status of the town's famous heirloom vegetable.
Farmer John Gilfeather could never have imagined that one day his town and the state of Vermont would celebrate and honor his humble tuber, which he first propagated in the early 1900s, with an all-day festival.
Gilfeather Farm still exists in the heart of Wardsboro, and the current owners carry on the tradition by planting a large crop of the heirloom turnip that originated on their farm at the turn of the century.
More and more people are discovering the Gilfeather's culinary possibilities. The turnips are adaptable to savory as well as sweet offerings.
More than 150 pounds of Gilfeathers are cooked for the event's signature turnip soup. Another 150 pounds go to volunteer cooks to prepare the savory tastings for entrées and sweet dessert tastings on the menu.
Turnips from the cart
This year's festival marks the 14th year that Cris Tarnay, the Friends' top turnip salesperson, has run the outdoor turnip cart selling organic and non-organic turnips and Gilfeather seed packets.
The large turnip cart outside Town Hall is always loaded with hundreds of pounds of Gilfeathers, all shapes and sizes, many grown on neighboring farms such as Dutton's in Newfane or in local gardens. Turnips are sold by the pound and “they go fast,” Tarnay warned.
Growers agree the plant is hardy and easy to cultivate from seed but shouldn't be harvested before a bite of hard frost.
The roots acquire a notable sweetness after a frost - and that sweetness is what makes the Gilfeather so special, the event organizers noted.