Fall fun in North Canaan

Can Can Carl, the scarecrow made out of recyclable materials, at Lawrence Field.
Alec Linden

Can Can Carl, the scarecrow made out of recyclable materials, at Lawrence Field.
The North Canaan Pumpkin Fest occupied the expanse of Lawrence Field with spectacular weather on Saturday, Oct. 19.
While sporting a new name, North Canaan Events Committee Chair Jenn Crane assured that this year’s festival was a continuation of previous autumn celebrations organized by the Committee. It was the first year the event has been located at Lawrence Field, which Crane said was a welcomed change from the more restrictive sites of previous iterations.
“This is really about collaboration,” Crane said, highlighting the many partnerships that enabled the festival to go forward. The Committee joined with many local nonprofits and businesses to bring the action to Lawrence Field, including the Housatonic Valley FFA Chapter, the Scouts, Saint Martin of Tours church, The Music Lab, and the Cranford Club. Local farms also joined in, with Freund’s, Ford and Carlwood farms contributing to the festivities.
Vendor tents lined the field selling various crafts and trinkets, while activities for families included pumpkin painting, regular painting, face painting, kids karaoke and a petting zoo. The festival ran an emergency relief drive for communities in the Southeast impacted by Hurricane Helene, which was continued at town hall on Sunday.

The petting zoo was operated by the Housatonic Valley FFA and included two alpacas and several pint-sized goats in a small pen. Chris Crane, president of the chapter at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, said they’re “just trying to get outreach to the community” about opportunities with the FFA.
Other features included Heather Matthews’ “mobile classroom and book bus,” where she gives away donated children’s books. Based in Sharon, it was her first time bringing the book bus to North Canaan, and the day had been fruitful. “My goal is to give away as many books as possible,” and she had donated several hundred at the festival, Matthews said.
Another popular booth was run by national art honor society students from Mount Everett Regional School, providing face painting, painting lessons, and even caricatures for participants. Some 25-30 kids had stopped by, the students said, “and some adults too.”
The HVRHS boys rejoice around Jackson McAvoy after he scored the game-winning goal against Shepaug with just two minutes left to play.
WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team advanced to the Berkshire League tournament final after a 1-0 win over Shepaug Valley High School in the semifinal game on Friday, Oct. 24.
Jackson McAvoy scored the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining.
The victory marked HVRHS boys soccer’s first victory over Shepaug since 2020.
“Finally,” said HVRHS Coach Adolfo Portillo after the game.
HVRHS will play top-ranked Nonnewaug High School in the BL final. Nonnewaug advanced to the title game by beating Northwestern Regional High School in penalty kicks (4-3) after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The championship game will be played at Nonnewaug beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

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Students dressed in neon lined the soccer field for senior night under the lights on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game against Lakeview was the last in a series of competitions Thursday night in celebration of Homecoming 2025.
As homecoming week reaches its end and fall sports finish out the season, an air of school spirit and student participation seems to be on the rise across Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
But what can be attributed to this sudden peak of student interest? That’s largely due to SGA. Also known as the Student Government Association, SGA has dedicated itself to creating events to bring the entire student body together. This year, they decided to change some traditions.
Spirit week from Oct. 14-17 was unlike those of the previous years. From wearing Housatonic merch to Boomer vs Baby day, this year’s spirit week held a little friendly competition to see which grade could participate the most.
“I think that students are bored of the same old activities and events, so it’s good to switch things up even slightly to incentivize interest within students,” said SGA president and senior Mollie Ford. “Plus the point system is super beneficial because it gives students a reason to participate.”
The school spirit sentiment can be seen outside of just the school. Senior Simon Markow is known for his photography throughout the community, and has dedicated time to help Housy sports teams’ social media posts.
“Since I’ve started photography, I think school attendance [at sports games] has gone up,” Markow said. “I feel this year, students will be more aware of games and are more likely to be at the games.”
Whether it’s a pink-out volleyball game or an under the lights soccer match, it’s likely you’ll see some familiar faces.
Social media has played a large role in this over the years. Almost every student organization at Housatonic has an Instagram account, and it’s helped reach students more efficiently than a poster or email would.
“The increase of social media use, with the help from me but as well as the teams themselves has definitely increased student interest,” Markow said. “With Housy teams posting more about their upcoming games, and my help showing the cool goals, spikes, or touchdowns, it’s enlightened students to watch the games themselves.”
In a small school, promoting pride has proven to be a challenge. But this year’s senior class has made some adjustments in the hopes to change that.
“The SGA community has spent the last few years really focusing on student participation, because we think it’s the students who contribute to a better climate,” Ford said. While Housatonic’s student body may be small in size, it seems they certainly aren’t small in spirit.