In this September 2016 file photo, children play under a colorful canopy during the Wells Reserve’s Punkinfiddle Festival at the Wells Reserve. The festival will celebrate its 15th year on Saturday, Sept. 30. RYDER SCHUMACHER/Journal Tribune
The festival, now in its 15th year, has attracted thousands of guests over the years, making it one of the biggest events at the Wells Reserve.
This year will feature old festival staples: live music, farm animals, dozens of vendors and old-fashioned games, according to the Wells Reserve website. Sheepdog demonstrations will also return to the festival after attracting large crowds last year and the years prior, as will the Cider Donut Company, who in 2016 kept guests coming back for donuts prepared onsite.
New this year will be a dunk-the-dad dunk booth, said President of the Laudholm Trust Nik Charov in a phone call.
“It will have a watershed tie in,” he added.
Musical performances include Portland fiddler group, The Violin Movers, at noon and duo Zach Ovington and Mike Arciero at 1:30 p.m. For parents looking for a performance for the kids, storyteller Jackson Gillman will take to the Laudholm Live Stage at 10:30 a.m.
Children will also be able to enjoy artisan crafts, like cornhusk dolls, and partake in a variety of games, such as tug-o-war, the wheelbarrow and sack race, pumpkin bocce and stilt walking.
For those looking for a more cultural experience, Maine native Claire Curtis will be crafting violins in person, master pumpkin carver Moe Auger will be carving onsite, and the Southern Maine Guild of Spinners and Weavers will showcase their craft throughout the entire day.
The Punkinfiddle Festival falls on National Estuaries Day and is seen as a celebration of the clean estuaries surrounding the Wells reserve.
“It also will be National Public Lands Day as well,” Charov said, adding that people are encouraged to venture outside the farm and traverse the many trails of the Wells Reserve.
“People can line up for kayaking trips, all that good stuff,” Charov said.
Tickets for the event are $7 and $5 for Laudholm Farm members. Those under the age of 16 may enter for free. The event will take place in rain or shine. For more information, call the Wells Reserve at 646-1555.
— Staff Writer Ryder Schumacher can be reached at 282-1535, or via email at rschumacher@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
