Excitement rippled among the five women sitting around me at a table on the second floor of the General Store. It was the excitement of having collaborated on a new idea, one that they hope will further the values they believe in and bring joy to other people. The idea is a community December Fest, a socializing, shopping, snacking, sipping stroll among three venues in the center of town— Fivesparks, the General Store, and the Congregational Church—Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“My vision is a lot of people in a festive mood, bumping into one another and stopping to talk,” said Tina Bardenheuer.
“Kinda Currier and Ives,” said Heidi Siegrist.
“People will recognize how much we have right here in town,” added Cary Browse.
The five women agreed that the idea for the community fest had grown organically, but as they talked more about it, they sorted out a sense of how it had evolved and what the day would be like.
Browse, a Fivesparks volunteer, said many people were disappointed that the artisan show and sale, created by Reba Maisel and Barbara Cerva and held at the Congregational Church over a two-day period, would not be happening this year. Maisel said she and Cerva loved doing the show, but it had been a lot of work, and after four years, they had run out of steam. Willie Wickman proposed that Fivesparks, of which she is a board member, become a host for a one-day show, inviting many of the people who had participated in the artisan show.
Then Nicole Schmidt, executive director of Fivesparks, ever looking for ways to collaborate, suggested choosing a date to coincide with the Congregational Church Fair and Festival of Trees so people could go from one event to another. Fair organizer Bardenheuer said she really liked the thought of a greater community attending the church festivities. After that, it was natural to involve the General Store, situated between these two venues, making for an even richer community experience in a single day.
Fivesparks
AnaMaria Nanra, Fivesparks events and volunteer director, said she and Browse have lined up 18 artisans. Among the participants are many from Harvard: Jill Adamy will be selling crafts and ornaments; Richard Gioiosa of Flowers at Westcott Barn will have holiday floral arrangements; Kim Houston will sell her handmade soaps; Judith Schutzman and Judy Warner will have their paintings, with Warner also selling note cards; and Ann Taylor will have homemade jams. Other items for purchase will be alpaca hats and other warm wearables, framed zentangles, ornaments, felted goods, pottery, stained glass, jewelry, paper boxes, scarves, succulents, and Christmas garlands. Artisans will pay $50 for a display space but keep all proceeds from sales. Nanra said she loves the idea of the fest because Fivesparks is all about collaboration. She sees the artisan fair as a great way to support artisans and to provide a place where people can shop locally.
General Store
Lindsey Borreson, events manager, described a number of things that will be taking place upstairs at the General Store. There will be a few artisans; Nashoba Brook Bakery will be doing a breadmaking demo, complete with samples; and Stow Away Preserves will offer tastes of unusual jams made from local fruits. Throughout the day there will be tastings of beer, wine, and seasonal drinks, and from 1 to 4 p.m., tastings of craft beer and hard cider will be offered. Borreson sees the fest as a way to build on the General Store’s Saturday farmers market and also to celebrate local seasonal tastes.
Christmas trees decorated with different themes are displayed at last year’s Festival of Trees. (Photo by Isabel Barton)
Festival of Trees
Bardenheuer and Siegrist talked about the Festival of Trees held in the sanctuary of the Congregational Church. People buy tickets and place them in the envelope of the theme-decorated tabletop tree they would like to win. There are between 20 and 30 trees to choose from. At about 2:30 p.m. a name is drawn from each envelope and the winner (who does not need to be present at the time) takes home a one-of-a-kind tree. Usually the trees are decorated only by members of the church, but Bardenheuer said she is also reaching out to other organizations in town for their participation. This year the Girl Scouts will decorate a tree, and she gave both Borreson and Nanra a form, encouraging their organizations to enter a tree. All proceeds from ticket sales go to the church mission fund.
People can also shop the fair for crafts made by church members, treasures from Grandma’s Attic, holiday greens arrangements and poinsettias, and baked goods. They can take a break from shopping for lunch at the church fair tea room or at the General Store.
After strolling through the center, fest-goers can keep on going by joining the Little Women Stroll at Fruitlands from 4:30 to 6 p.m., for which they will have to preregister.
For further information, go to each organization’s website.
