Falls Village: Autumn delights

Bearett and Wesson O’Dell complete the corn maze at Falls Village Fall Fest, Oct. 19.

Lans Christensen

Falls Village: Autumn delights

The spacious and inviting Falls Village Recreational Center was site of the Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19.

A truly gorgeous day welcomed visitors to the afternoon gathering surrounded by fall foliage. The Recreation Department and David M. Hunt Library put together the festival and offered games, music, and food for all ages.

Kids could paint pumpkins or, if they chose, could have their faces painted. Music was provided by John Stey and Rachel Gall, who laughingly said, “ I’m also known as the Falls Village Fiddler.”

The premier draw was definitely the “Pie Contests. Open to all, “baked from scratch” pies filled the judging table and there were 14 mouthwatering entries.

Apple and pumpkin were the majority of entries, with a strawberry rhubarb in the mix as well. Four judges eagerly sampled the pies and made detailed notes on taste, originality, and presentation.

Judge Denny Jacobs said he was “amazed at the variety and differences in just the apple pies” and added, “All the pies tasted great but there were a couple of outstanding ones.”

Results were tabulated and Emily Peterson, Falls Village Recreation Director announced the winners: Piper Peterson’s pumpkin pie took third, Tamara Polk’s pumpkin took second, and the grand prize went to Eileen Kinsella and her apple pie.

The eager public was then offered a tasting and loved every entry and gave the “Peoples Choice” award to Katlyn Kinsella.

Lans Christensen

Children paint pumpkins.

Latest News

Millerton’s Festival of Lights ushers in the holiday season

The Grinch Mobile was part of the procession of the Festival of Lights in Millerton on Friday, Nov. 29.

Photo by Olivia Valentine

MILLERTON — Holiday cheer was in abundance in Millerton at the annual Festival of Lights this past weekend, a celebration of the spirit of the season, which appropriately began following a brief but seasonal snowfall.

Starting with the lighting of the holiday tree, and featuring an array of festively decorated vehicles, onlookers enjoyed a brightly illuminated steady procession of participants from various regional fire departments, local businesses and houses of worship.

Keep ReadingShow less
Getting the upper hand on mighty phragmites

Phragmites australis australis in North Canaan.

John Coston

Finally rain. For weeks, the only place there had been moisture was in the marsh and even there, areas that usually catch my boots in the mud were dry. I could not see the footprints of the bear (or is it deer?) that have been digging up and eating the underground skunk cabbage flowers. Not that I could do anything to stop it. A layer of snow that actually sticks around for a while seems like wishful thinking these days.

Masses of skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, appeared one spring, like magic, after we hired a team to remove the barberry from about an acre of the marsh adjacent to the driveway. Of course, it had been there all along, waiting patiently underground or hiding in the barberry’s thorny shrub-cages, but we had not seen it. That was about eight years ago; after the barberry’s removal there have been successive infestations of invasives but also, as with the skunk cabbage, some welcome new sightings of native plants.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Cornwall reads Cornwall' returns

Roxana Robinson reads Cornwall, Nov. 30.

Natalia Zukerman

Bob Meyers, President and Publisher of the Cornwall Chronicle, kicked off the 5th annual Cornwall Reads Cornwall event at the UCC in Cornwall on Nov. 30 with a warm welcome and a gentle reminder to silence cell phones. Over the next hour, the audience was transported back in time as local writers, editors, luminaries, and students brought the Chronicle’s archives to life.

“This reading has become an annual event,” said Meyers, “as well as a welcome distraction from Thanksgiving leftovers.” He then noted that the event “was the original brainchild of Roxana Robinson.” Meyers added, “She also arranged to have this take place on the day of her birth,” at which point the audience wished the celebrated local author a happy birthday.

Keep ReadingShow less