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Cold Spring Harvest Festival "Best Ever"
Weather cooperates to make day a huge success
by Kevin Foley
 | | Main Street was overflowing with festival-goers who enjoyed the weather and the annual fall celebration |
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Abundant sunshine and comfortable temperatures combined with "the biggest visiting vendor turnout ever" made for a successful and fun- filled time at the 30th annual Cold Spring Harvest Festival, sponsored by the Cold Spring Area Chamber of Commerce. "It certainly brought a lot of people to Main Street, the restaurants were packed and our member shop owners said they couldn't get out of their stores," said Chamber Executive Director, Maureen McGrath.
Throughout the day locals and visitors strolled Main Street from the river up to the grounds of St. Mary's Episcopal Church at the corner of Chestnut Street sampling the offerings of a variety of imported crafts people and food purveyors set up under tents outside the eclectic storefronts of the Village.
St. Mary's hosted the Cold Spring Farmers' Market with its 22 vendors where adults and children gathered on the lawn and chose among fresh fruits and vegetables from area farms as well as cheese, bread and wine produced by area artisans. "We put the harvest in the festival," market manager Steve Bates proudly declared. Bates pointed to children enjoying pumpkin painting provided by Morgiewicz Produce as well as Dave and Mary Finger's Barnyard Experience where children and their parents petted, held and sometimes jumped back from an assortment of rabbits, ducks, sheep and an especially feisty goat.
Main Street attracted families and groups of all shapes and sizes from near and far, often accompanied by all manner of dogs. All were drawn to the wide selection of hand made jewelry, as well as floral displays, exotic dolls, food delicacies such as hummus made in Vermont, salt sculptures that repel mice and insects, and the chance to create art from colored sand. A total of 52 tented vendors lined the street on both sides.
"You can't help but have fun when there are so many babies and puppies around," said Mark Tippitt of nearby Kent, NY as his wife Hildy held their one-year-old son, Jesse. Tippit said they had already gotten their "organic fix" at the farmers' market.
An al fresco barbecue lunch was available for hungry attendees at the Cold Spring Firehouse along with the inviting hospitality of the fire company's Ladies Auxiliary.
The local Girl Scouts attracted anyone with a sweet tooth with homemade cupcakes, pies and cookie lollipops along with eager smiles, while the Boy Scouts energetically hawked "really delectable" popcorn in their effort to raise funds for their respective organizations.
"The event is a wonderful complement to the natural beauty of the Village and the whole area,' said Margaret Craig of Williamsville, NY, who, along with her husband Kevin, was visiting relatives in Nelsonville.
Bluegrass music played by the band Two Blue added even more flavor to the seasonal celebration at the Farmers' Market. A German music band serenaded the lunchtime crowd getting an early start on their Octoberfest ritual at the other end of the Village at The Depot Restaurant. And the 21-piece Benson-Scott Big Band punctuated the day's enjoyment with an exclamation point as people danced to their romantic tunes around the gazebo on the waterfront at the foot of Main Street, as the autumnal sun began its descent behind Storm King Mountain.
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