By DENISE A. RAYMO
Staff Writer
MALONE — Farmers and the products they grow, produce and raise will be celebrated next month at the annual Harvest Festival at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Franklin County is teaming with the Greater Malone Chamber of Commerce and Adirondack Harvest to bring the day-long event to Malone on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Admission is $1 per person, and parking on the fairgrounds is $2.
"We wanted to partner with the Chamber of Commerce to help show businesspeople that agriculture is still a major industry in the county," said Bernadette Logozar, agriculture-program leader and rural and ag economic-development specialist for Cooperative Extension.
She said farmers are businessowners like other chamber members and that by working together and supporting one another, they can "strengthen our local economy and sustain the vitality of the county.
"Farmers partnering with small businesses and major businesses is a natural fit," she said.
"This is a chance for businesses to recognize these new partnerships and say if we want to pull ourselves out of this (sluggish economy), we're going to have to work together."
HOURLY DRAWINGS
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. and continues until 4 p.m. with a variety of vendors, including farmers, crafters and ag-related agencies offering foods, giveaways and more.
There will also be children's games sponsored by the 4-H Horse Club, hay-wagon rides from Bonesteel's Garden Center, pony rides for a nominal fee, a bouncy house, jewelry makers and crafters and plenty of demonstrations and displays of everything connected to farming.
Food products to be featured along with the midway include grass-fed beef and other specialty meats, locally made cheeses, locally produced maple syrup, maple cotton candy, vegetables of every kind and home-baked goods.
Logozar said the apple-pie contest is back by popular demand and that the 4-H children's ag-themed games again include the nightgown race, demonstrations and participation events and the hilarious bale-tossing contest.
"You win a prize, and we have regular bales and mini bales," she said, laughing. "There is still more time to practice so you can throw a bale the farthest."
Each person entering the festival will be given a ticket for hourly prize drawings for promotional items donated by local businesses, Logozar said.
And visitors can buy a chance to win a bushel basket filled with locally grown items donated by the day's food vendors.
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
