The Historical Society’s Harvest Festival is Almost Here!

By Charlie Church

The fall of temperatures and hue-turned foliage are now testifying of the transition to Autumn. A delightful time of year; many call it their favorite season. A period in which we gather to go back to school, watch football, drink cider, and celebrate the bounty of the land. On the last Sunday of September, the sixteenth annual Vicksburg Harvest Festival will commence. The affair will enliven the Vicksburg Historic Village at 300 N Richardson with antique engine demonstrations, live woodturning, games, crafts, and animals, both big and small. The Historic Village itself is an attraction; a bespoke time capsule of relocated supercentenarian structures and lovingly crafted replicas. The Harvest Festival will begin at 11:00a.m. and close at 4:00p.m. on September 27^th and feature so much more than the above!

With five hours of festival and over 8 acres of park, the celebration encourages attendees to stroll along the gravel paths at a leisurely turn of the century pace. Each building is a destination, with many showcasing their former function in demonstrations. The great red barn near the north end of the grounds is not easily missed and is an excellent place to start a trip around the village. Originally constructed in the 1880s, it once stood on the Merrill farm east of town and will house the West Michigan Woodturners. Stop in to learn and watch them work!

Next door is the farmhouse from the Oswalt family and the 1860s. Here families can see early twentieth century laundry techniques and catch a ride on one of two horse drawn wagons. Just south of the barn, the animal zone abounds with all kinds of creatures to marvel and some to touch.

Further down the path still is a 123-year-old one-room school with a fun-to-pull bell, the information tent, and literal tons of beautiful vintage tractors on display curtesy of Kalamazoo Valley Antique Engine and Machinery Club. Make sure to inquire about their homemade ice cream!

Right there in Grace’s Grove, Generous Hands and South County Community Services will have games and mini pumpkins for kids to play and create. Directly across the way is a recreation of an early era village garage where patrons can take a quick tour about town in one of the Smoker’s Model A’s.

Vicksburg Arts will have their Creation Station between the village garage and printshop, which always coaxes any latent imagination and inspiration. In the printshop one can see a firsthand production demonstration of older social media. Gaze back into the not so far removed past and see how things like the paper in your hands used to be printed.

In the center of the village is the gazebo, where you might catch some live local music, and throwing a stone northwest or southwest will strike the township hall and sweet shop and general store respectively. The hall was once the actual Brady Township Hall and at the fest, folks can hear stories read aloud regularly.

Over at the general store, peruse all manner of provisions necessary for life in an early 1900s village. The sweet shop will host Apple Knockers, selling tasty cold treats and hot dogs! All over the grounds, food trucks and other vendors will have on offer fantastic fare and refreshing delights.

At the northmost point of the Historic Village is the community pavilion which will be full of crafts, produce, and more. Many of these local merchants also participate in the Vicksburg Famer’s Market. Here children can get their faces painted by two artists while parents’ shop.

At the southern edge of the Vicksburg Historic Village sits the Union Depot Museum. This unique 1904 building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here visitors can view entries in the pumpkin decorating contest, pick up a copy of this year’s business directory full of our sponsors and local history, and query our museum curator. Those that wish to enter the pumpkin decorating contest can do so by delivering their project to the Union Depot Museum on Saturday, Sept. 26, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The contest is open to all ages and application forms are available online at vicksburghistory.org and at the Depot Museum on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in September.

As always, all the buildings in the Historic Village, will be open for tours. Many will have secret words and items belonging to a village wide scavenger hunt. Collecting all the images or words on a search sheet will earn a prize at the information tent. Doting docents will be in each building to explain the history and help any wayward searchers. The Vicksburg Historical Society and Historic Village are open during the fall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. for researching and viewing the collection of artifacts at the Union Depot Museum and on the grounds. The Harvest Festival is organized by the Vicksburg Historical Society, and we look forward to welcoming all rain or shine on the last Sunday in September.

Contest Entry Form and Rules

15^th Annual Harvest Festival set for September 28^th

By Charlie Church

Rolling north up 23^rd from TU avenue, a western wash of gilding light stretches through the corn, causing travelers to marvel at the crop’s height and mark the coming season. The rays lancing through the field and the coolness of late August evening air, an evocative mixture, engender one to wonder how many years corn has been cultivated here. Thoughts like these of prior harvests, earlier farmers, and all the little histories slightly obscured, surround us and we commemorate them in a celebration. The Vicksburg Historical Society entreats all to attend the 15th Annual Harvest Festival at the Vicksburg Historic Village on Sunday, September 28th. Between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., village visitors will discover the park has come to life with all the historic and replica buildings open and hosted by knowledgeable docents, an ample animal zone, live craft demonstrations, the Dodworth Saxhorn Band, and so much more!

In its fifteenth year, the Harvest Festival looks to grow its educational offerings by adding a flavor of musical history. The wonderful Dodworth Saxhorn band will play in the gazebo illuminating the look and sound of 160 years ago. Through musical stories, the troupe will entertain all in a moving and often comedic fashion. Singing, antique instrument solos, and well-crafted narratives coalesce to make the band an attraction no one should miss.

The pumpkin decorating contest returns in its expanded form, allowing nearly everyone to join in. Adults, teens, and kids can all compete amongst their respective cohort by ornamenting a pumpkin before the fest and submitting it to the depot on Saturday, Sept. 27. Children aged 5 to 12, teenagers, and adults can enter this pumpkin decorating competition for fun gift cards and accolades! This contest requires entries to be delivered to the Depot Museum on Saturday, Sept. 27, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Application forms are available online at vicksburghistory.org and at the Depot Museum on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in September.

While attending the Harvest Festival, those of an artistic bent will also be able to sate their creative cravings at the Vicksburg Arts’ Creation Station. Open to all ages, the activity is always a blast and will be located between the village garage and print shop. In addition, South County Community Services and Generous Hands will have plenty of petite pumpkins to sticker, marker, and beautify. While there, kids can also play tons of fun handmade games and collect sweet treats. Of course, throughout the Historic Village, children can seek clues to a secret phrase and engage in a delightful scavenger hunt of artifacts. Attendees can also guess the weight of a locally grown gourd for a prize up at the headquarters tent. All over the grounds, people will be able to participate in a 50/50 raffle and take photos in hand painted cutouts.

At the pavilion, local agriculture and craftmanship will be available to peruse and purchase. Many vendors from The Farmers’ Market will be present, as well as local businesses and service organizations looking to engage visitors. There will also be a variety of food trucks to satisfy a wide spectrum of palates. There is certainly something for everyone with face painting, fiber arts presentations, an expanded animal zone, horse-drawn wagon rides, woodturning demonstrations, and more.

The Harvest Festival is a free to attend event and is made so through many amazing volunteers and donors. From the straw bales and corn stalks adorning the village, donated by the Richardsons and Lenny Jaworski respectively, to the ample parking afforded by the Krills, the festival relies on many caring people. Though it’s not possible to name all such folks, we would like to recognize a few here. Folks like Dewey Waterman and the schools’ maintenance department that loan equipment necessary for the administration of the event. Of course, A favorite attraction are the Model A rides for $1, and this aspect of the fest too is only possible with the generosity of the Smokers who will chauffeur visitors in their lovingly restored vehicles.

This year, the Vicksburg Historical Society is introducing a business directory that will feature interesting snippets of local history and cool photos and will recognize business supporters. Be sure to stop by the headquarters tent to pick up your free copy.  At the Harvest Festival, all the buildings in the Historic Village will be open. Friendly and knowledge guides will be in each to explain the history of the print shop, general store, Doris Lee Sweet Shop, schoolhouse, township hall, garage, and farmhouse. The Vicksburg Historical Society and Historic Village are open during the summer and beginning of the fall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. for researching and viewing the collection of artifacts at the Depot Museum and on the grounds. The Harvest Festival is organized by the Vicksburg Historical Society, and we look forward to welcoming all, rain or shine, on the last Sunday in September.

Contest Entry Form and Rules

Contest Entry Form and Rules