Fiddlehead
Festival
Is Saturday

Tractors Galore! Members of the Central Vermont Tractor Club gathered Sunday for their 10th Annual Plow Day. Using vintage tractors, area farmers plowed 10 acres at the Beidler Family Farm in Randolph Center. Many of these same folks will be riding in the Fiddlehead Festival's "Tractor Cavalcade" on Saturday. The festival is free and starts at 9:30 a.m. at VTC. (Herald / Bob Eddy)

The second annual Fiddlehead Festival, set for this Saturday at VTC campus in Randolph Center, has added new events for families and children while keeping its focus on food, farming, the arts, and the coming of spring.

What hasn’t changed is that all events at VTC, except for lunch, are free.

All children can participate in a Fiddlehead Children’s Parade that will open this year’s festival. Participants are asked to gather at the Randolph Center Church parking area at 9:10 a.m. Bright spring costumes are suggested and children are invited to bring bikes or express wagons to carry the youngest participants.

Children will also play an important role in the maypole celebration.

After the opening events are completed a new Children’s Tent will be open from 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Bonny Willett has organized a variety of activities. They include creative face painting, storytelling, a penny search and crafts activities using recycled materials.

Live animals will also be of interest to the children attending. Two teams of oxen, alpacas, water buffalo calves, fancy chickens, piglets, chicks, calves, as well as sheep dog demonstrations will be at this year’s Fiddlehead Festival.

Parents will enjoy the new Farmers Market Tent, a gathering place for local food and service providers and craft persons to offer their goods and services. You’ll find local vegetable growers, pottery, jewelry, aromatic therapy products, chair massages, honey and beeswax products, and organically raised meats.

And of course there will be food! Local vendors will offer will food from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The Vermont Pomona #34 Grange will barbeque chicken for carryout sales. A Wild Edibles workshop, starting at 10:45 a.m., will be offered two times this year.

Another interesting new addition to the festival will recognize the growing interest in local eating. Participants are urged to bring a dish that uses local food, along with the recipe for that entry. Prizes will be awarded in four categories, [1] snack/appetizer, [2] salads, [3] main dishes, and [4] desserts. Entries must be brought to Judd Auditorium by 9:30 a.m. to be part of the competition. Prizes will be announced at the noontime Farmers Lunch.

Everyone will find the tractorcade and the tractor obstacle course of interest. This year the obstacle course event will feature six teams and a new set of challenges, hoping to win the unique Fiddlehead Festival trophy. John Howe, from Maine, will be there to describe how he has created various solar powered vehicles, including a tractor, in response to the fact that oil supplies are in decline.

Banjoheads and Fiddleheads

In the afternoon and evening, the focus shifts to Randolph village. The downtown events include an opportunity to view the gallery exhibit at Chandler Gallery, and a nature walk on the Randolph floodplain (3:30 p.m.).

At 7 p.m., the evening Fiddlehead Festival performance will feature Banjo Dan and His Mid-Nite Plowboys at the Chandler Music Hall. This concert carries a "family-friendly" price tag; a call to 728-6464 will reserve tickets early.

The Three Stallion Inn will also combine music and food at 3 p.m., as Telford and Green will present live music in Morgan’s Pub and the dining room will offer a three-course "Fiddlehead Special". Another "downtown" event will be a church supper at the United Church on Main Street, which will serve from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

This year the local business community is also offering a variety of Fiddlehead specials, as specified in 10 coupons included in an insert in this week’s Herald.