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Date: 10/11/2022
WESTHAMPTON – The 15th annual Westhampton Fall Festival will take place on Oct. 16 at the Town Center on 1 North Rd. from 12 - 4 p.m. The festival is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Westhampton Public Library and the Westhampton Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) in collaboration with the Fire Department, Police Department and other civic groups.
This year’s festival will have plenty of fresh-made food on the field such as popcorn, donuts, French fries, pulled pork sandwiches, soup, hot dogs and hamburgers. There will be a 5K Fun Run and Walk, a hay bale maze, corn husking, cider making, cow pie bingo, Steeple Tours with Valley Views, fiber spinning, a blacksmith and a woodsman show with demonstrations of different types of woodcuttings and axe throwing. Plus, a sledgehammer and skillet toss competition, a story walk, live fiddle music by Mia Friedman, antique engines, homemade ice cream, fairy houses, Cooler Communities projects, Scouts, a pottery wheel demo, Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, farm animals, a giant pumpkin competition and their signature event, the Great Pumpkin Roll. There’s also an Interfaith church service that day at 10 a.m.
“This festival is a big community event,” said Co-chair Morley Cleary. “This is the first one we’ve done in two years. Our goal this year is to keep things interesting and fresh for people to come back to the community after a long two-year break with COVID [-19] restrictions. Hopefully, with good weather, we’ll have a good crowd.”
The Westhampton Fall Festival was created by a couple in town named Richard (Bill) and Janice Tracy. The original purpose was to create a fun event which would encourage people to come to the property and see it’s potential value as the library. It proved to be significant enough to continue the next year. “It evolved from there,” the Tracys said. “We started the Great Pumpkin Roll down Stage Road, and it has become a popular annual tradition. We wanted this festival to be a community event for families to attend and have a good time without spending a lot of money.” After chairing the event for 10 years, the Tracys asked Cleary to take over and she graciously agreed to do so.
“This festival is something in Westhampton people look forward to,” Cleary responded. “It relies on a lot of volunteers from a lot of different groups who come together and enjoy. It’s a nice tradition, it draws from a broader community of surrounding towns and there’s something for people of all ages.”
To learn more information about the festival, there’s an event page through the Westhampton Public Library’s Facebook page. There is event parking at Hampshire Regional High School. To register for the 5K, here’s the link for race registration: https://www.runreg.com/run-for-the-hills-westhampton-fall-festival-5k-fun-run