LIVERMORE FALLS – Sweet berries, sunny skies and runaway horses combined on Saturday to make the annual Strawberry Festival at Norlands Living History Center an event to remember.

The festival, which began in 1975, had a first this year when two teams of horses being used for the hay rides were spooked, possibly by a team of oxen.

One horse team was caught quickly, but the second team of two 1,000-pound dapple greys owned by a Norlands volunteer bolted, causing a visitor to fall to the ground. Another guest jumped from the wagon. The volunteer suffered minor injuries.

“The team circled the church, where the wagon struck at least three parked cars,” said Damian Steele of Winthrop, a volunteer at the gates.

The team then headed for the road where they stopped and were caught by volunteers.

“It was pretty scary,” said Elaine Briggs, administrative coordinator at Norlands. “It was frightening to see it. The volunteer got banged up trying to recapture the team.”

“An ambulance was called for a man that got hit,” said Heather Roux of Livermore, also a volunteer at the gates.

Though it may have been upstaged by the excitement of stampeding horses, the main event was the strawberry shortcakes served by the First Baptist Church of Livermore Falls.

A group of 14 seniors picked 40 flats, or roughly 400 quarts, of sweet, juicy berries for this year’s event.

“We had 22 hullers this morning, including 10-year-old Lindsay Couture,” said Roberta Morrill, a volunteer.

The berries were served on homemade biscuits baked by volunteers. Approximately 70 dozen biscuits made by 25 bakers were donated for the event.

Other events available were tours of the Norland family mansion, church, library and school; demonstrations; musicians; craft items; and children’s games.

Music was provided on the veranda by Fred Legere, 92, of Jay who played a mouth organ while manipulating hand-carved wooden puppets. Until recently, the “Dancing Limberjacks,” a set of prize-winning puppets he calls “The Twins,” were on display at the Franco American Woodcarver’s Museum.

Crafters present included Eileen’s Handwoven Baskets of Farmington, Weave Works of Monmouth, Riverside Pottery of Auburn, Oh Sew Fine of Leeds, and The Skunk Works Ltd. of Readfield. Flowers and plants were also available from Boothby Greenhouse of Livermore.

A variety of games was available for children, including “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” the “Farmer in the Dell,” the “Flying Dutchman,” a tug-of-war, a three-legged race, a sack race and an egg race.

A variety of refreshments were available for purchase beside the mansion. Visitors were also able to view the farm animals in the barn and antique farm equipment was on display by the church. The Androscoggin County Rescue Service Dive Team was also present, and a demonstration of “Keeping House” was available in the Farmer’s Cottage.

The museum gift shop was also open for those wishing to purchase books or other souvenirs of Norlands.

rkarkos@sunjournal.com

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