About the Fair

According to weather reports and visitors, Easton and southeastern Massachusetts was in a small strip of good weather in a state that was cold and rainy. That meant we ended up with a slightly more intimate gathering at the Harvest Fair than we intended-about 7,000 people.

Harvest Fair is a very special event with folks returning year after year to volunteer. From the wonderful kids of the Brockton Cross Country who spent the day parking cars to people like John Ippolito who helps set up and then runs the French Fry booth we couldn't do the Fair without them. Stonehill College helps out in so many ways as well providing volunteers, parking at the Clock Farm, and part of our fleet of vehicles.

If you come to the Fair you're liable to see people you haven't seen in years. Two classmates from OA's Class of 1966 surprised me. Working on the grounds with the scouts was a dad who was in my very first class as a teacher back in Randolph. I also got a chance to chat with a mother and daughter, one who I taught in Randolph and one in Easton. Catching up with Easton students who seem to treat Harvest Fair as a homecoming was also great. Former Easton students are now in sales, HR, media, nursing and law school. I taught over 2,000 students in Randolph and over a 1,000 in Easton and only 300 in Holbrook so I suppose it's no surprise that I didn't see any Holbrook "kids" yesterday. It may also be a factor of population demographics. Many old Randolph families seen to have moved to Easton, but Holbrook families tend to move to more rural suburbs on the southside of Brockton.

If you missed the Fair you missed some great things. The food was great-everything from hamburg, hot dogs, and pizza to soups from Soups on Center and Mexican Food from El Mariachi. The non-profits section added a unique community aspect to the Fair. We added a second animal show at the Foundation to join the traditional magic shows and the musical entertainment never stopped. El Mariachi even brought a Mexican singer to serenade the Crafters Area.

I real enjoyed the visit of the W. O. Hesperus Company from Portland, Maine. They sell a vast variety of hot sauces and they provided samples of many of them at the Fair. You can find them on the Internet here. The sauces are accurately rated for heat on a scale of 1 to 10 (their habenero Jolly Roger sauce rates a well deserved 13!) The really great thing is that even with heat ratings of 7 or 8 you don't get just get a taste of vinegar and peppers. If the description says "a taste of cranberry and orange" that's what you get. I've never had hot sauces with so much flavor. Even the Jolly Roger which is mostly peppers and vinegar tastes great for the ten seconds before the deadly heat kicks in. All bottles at the Fair were $9 or three for $25, but prices at the factory vary. Worth the price if you like heat and flavor!