Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Amesbury Church is hosting a festival this weekend | news

AMESBURY – Fall is a great time to be in town, and Main Street Congregational Church celebrates the season on Saturday with its Fall Festival and Crafts Market.

The church would normally attend the annual village festivals, but the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in this event being canceled again.

Rev. Joan MacPherson said she and her ward still wanted to enjoy the season while helping others. Therefore, the autumn festival and the handicraft fair take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the front garden of the church

“We have the perfect place,” said MacPherson. “Everyone comes into contact and we just want people to come out and have fun.”

The festival is coordinated by Heidi Fram, member of the church district. Fram co-chaired the Byfield Music & Arts Festival for five years and said it was natural for her to reach out to local vendors to see if they would like to attend the show.

“I wanted to bring some craftsmen in here,” she said. “I know a lot of craftsmen here and wanted to give them the opportunity to sell their goods.”

The church had already signed 25 artisans from Amesbury and the surrounding parishes by the end of last week, Fram said.

The vendors offer everything from self-published books to wooden goods, canvas bags, knitted and crocheted items, pottery, ceramics, clothing, jewelry, home decor, paintings, macrame and glitter tattoos.

“We are very excited to see the variety of goods that will arrive,” said Fram. “Everything is done by the providers. So that’s a very good thing. “

The church is in the middle of their annual pumpkin sale, with thousands of the organic orange balls taking up most of the front yard.

The pumpkins arrived on September 26th and are usually gone before the end of October.

“Last year we missed October by a day,” said Fram. “We also did better last year than in previous years. I think because it was an outdoor activity and everyone just wanted to be outside. “

MacPherson said the pumpkins are from South Carolina Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers who grow pumpkins on a Navajo Indian reservation in Farmington, New Mexico and help churches across the country raise money for their services.

“They believe what we do matters in the world,” said MacPherson. “They also believe in creating jobs and opportunities where the pumpkins grow and the whole business is on the honor system. You send it to us, we get an 18-wheeler, unload it and pay nothing until we report what we sell and share with you. “

The church sells the pumpkins for $ 4 to $ 30.

Fram said the knowledge of the motivation behind Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers seems to keep people coming out year after year.

“People are waiting for these pumpkins, which are way more expensive than the ones you can buy in the supermarket,” she said.

Pumpkins like to grow in warm weather but don’t last long in the heat, Fram said.

“We have to move them a lot,” she says. “You sweat on your bottom and then get mushy. So we changed them and those that get mushy we give to a pig farmer who feeds them to his pigs. “

The Amesbury Council on Aging will also host a craft fair on Saturday and the Market Street Baptist Church will also host a flea market that day, MacPherson said.

Employee writer Jim Sullivan reports on Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.

Employee writer Jim Sullivan reports on Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.

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