In awe of autumn’s amazement at Salisbury Fall Festival

SALISBURY — There was something for everyone at the Salisbury Fall Festival, which enjoyed two days of excellent weather Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12, before succumbing to a chilly, rainy Sunday, Oct. 13.

Ambling along Main Street Saturday, from the White Hart to the Scoville Memorial Library, a reporter began by renewing the acquaintance of Jocelyn Krodman, proprietor of PetitFelts and a regular at the Salisbury Handmade artisan shows hosted on the lawn of the White Hart.

Krodman has added ceramics to her repertoire and directed attention to smallish needle felted animal heads mounted on ceramic dishes.

They come with brief whimsical stories. A rooster head named Glen was accompanied by a brief recap of his career as an internet influencer.

Jayme Walsh of Lakeville and Olivia Robson of Salisbury are J&O Flowers. The two students at Housatonic Valley Regional High School have developed their flower business as their senior “Capstone” project, and they were busy near the war memorial on the Green.

This was also the venue for a dance show by young dancers from Lakeville’s Blue Studio, and for the Joint Chiefs, who started a set around 2 p.m.

The world epicenter of jigsaw puzzles was the entrance to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Mina Wood presided over two tables covered with puzzles.

She said her family is puzzle mad, particularly her husband Greg. “He does one or two puzzles per week!”

Moving along Main Street, the visitor could stop and chat with authors Peter Fitting and Tom Morrison, both selling their latest efforts.

A quick detour toward LaBonne’s resulted in a few moments listening to jazz guitarist Eric Loffswold, playing in the courtyard opposite J.T. Murphy’s barber shop.

The tents along Main Street housed a variety of organizations and commercial operations. An arbitrary sample: Jewelry and quilts for education of women in Guatemala; the Salisbury Forum sharing space with the Salisbury Dog Park; Peter Sadlon’s honey products; Project SAGE; and any number of opportunities to assist the Salisbury Central School eighth grade class trip to Washington, D.C.

Peter James, magician, did a couple of shows along Library Street by the Congregational Church. Inside the church was a tag and bake sale in the parish hall.

In the church proper was the annual quilt show, with some 47 entries this year. Janet Kaufman said the call for quilts was extended wider this year.

The Scoville Memorial Library lawn was a mass of (mostly) children, who were decorating pumpkins, or making their own sinister potions (“I got an eyeball!” yelled one experimental chemist), or playing the always popular “Heave the Wet Sponge” game.

The Salisbury Band Senior Hotshots played, and there were performances of Martha Graham dances.

And, of course, books for sale, at the library, at St. John’s Episcopal Church and at Johnnycake Books.

All this activity whets the appetite. Festivalgoers could get soft ice cream or a lobster roll from the food trucks or drop by the Lakeville Hose Company Ladies Auxiliary tents for a hot dog or something more adventurous, such as chili-mac.

The latter is just what it sounds like: A bowl of macaroni and cheese with chili on top. (Plus, a side of corn bread.)

It was the exact right combination for a brisk day that featured a lot of walking. This reporter ate it quite happily, his sense of wellbeing compounded by the fact he didn’t get any of it on his shirt.

Patrick L. Sullivan

The Salisbury Band Senior Quickstep Hot Shots perform on the lawn of Scoville Memorial Library.