LUDLOW, Vt. – The late summer sun made an appearance on Saturday, Aug. 12, for the Art & Craft Festival at the rustic Fletcher Farm School campus in Ludlow. Entrance to the event was free, and about 20 vendors gathered to sell handmade crafts and artwork.
The festival featured a sampling of locally produced specialty foods, ceramics, paintings, photography, woodworks, and jewelry. A small, steady crowd filtered through the gates and circled the fair, stopping by each booth, while music from Michael Kelley & Friends provided the soundtrack.
The truck-mounted, wood-fire pizza oven from Goodman’s American Pie was parked in the center of the action, serving their consistently tasty slices.
Tyson Ladies Aid sold barbecued chicken and baked goods, with proceeds going toward scholarships for local high school seniors, and support for the Tyson Public Library.
Artisans included the family-run Highland Ledge Farm from Savoy, Mass., displaying a variety of their jams, simple syrups, vinegars, and country-style mustards. Mount Holly sugar maker Adam Karle showcased his repurposed sap buckets, which he sells through Green Mountain Backyard. Karle turns galvanized buckets, no longer used in commercial-level maple sugar production, into eclectic light fixtures. Designs such as maple leaves or snowflakes are cut into the buckets, then illuminated with candles or LED lights. Artist Abby Klein was set up inside the barn with a handful of other sellers, to present her delightful ceramic pieces, decorated with pop-art flowers and other whimsical designs.
Art demonstrations were presented throughout the day, and raffle winners were announced on the hour, with sales benefiting the Fletcher Farm Young Artist Scholarship program.
Visitors were overheard sharing stories from last month’s flood, and taking time to catch up with neighbors they hadn’t seen since. The mellow atmosphere was a welcome relief from the chaos of the recent disaster.
The Fletcher Farm School offers workshops through the fall, with classes on metalworking, silver fabrication, quilting, and printmaking on the schedule. Visit www.fletcherfarm.org/classes for more information.