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Deerfield celebrates the local harvest
Michelle and Jaclyn Barichello, 18-year-old twin sisters and Deerfield High School Key Club volunteers, congratulate nine-year-old Anaa Silva of Gurnee on her successful snag of a pumpkin in a ring toss at the Deerfield Farmers Market. | Michelle LaVigne
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Updated: October 29, 2012 6:10AM
DEERFIELD — Residents who visited Deerfield’s first-ever community Harvest Fest on Saturday were greeted by the autumn bounty and its weather.
Attendees braved the first chilly weekend of the year at the fall event, which incorporated the new initiative with the recurring Deerfield Farmers Market.
“This is the first year for the fest,” said Joan Reed, who manages the farmers market. “The purpose was to attract market patrons to the (fest) and to celebrate the harvest, especially because, so many farmers have had a bad year.”
The event was packed with fall-inspired family activities, ranging from a pie eating contest to gourd bowling, live music, a pumpkin ring toss, apple bobbing, a scavenger hunt and a guess the number of pumpkin seeds in a jar contest.
People appeared excited about the event; the only concern was the weather, said Sari Schwartz and Corey Blumenthal, leaders of the Deerfield Key Club.
Attendees agreed that the Harvest Fest was a great way to kick off the fall season.
The food offerings included fresh vegetables, cheese, honey, popcorn and even dog treats.
Claudia Cox, from MyPyes, was at the fest selling chili.
Although event organizers were not expecting a very large crowd due to the frigid weather, Cox said the fest was more crowded then she expected.
“People have been telling us they do enjoy the farmer’s market in general,” Reed said.
“It’s great, I hope they have it again next year,” added a community member, before Reed announced the Harvest Festival will return next year.
