NEW GLOUCESTER — Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village will host its annual Harvest Festival from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.

There will be free barn tours and wagon rides, as well as other activities.

Freshly picked apples from the historic Shaker orchards will be available, along with apple cider and homemade apple crisp. Barbecue dinner plates will also be available.

Chipman’s Farm, the Shakers’ neighbors since the 1790s, will have a fresh bounty of seasonal produce for sale, along with preserves and baked goods. Maple syrup and candy will be sold by Passamaquoddy Maple Syrup from Jackman. Seasonal mums, other late-season “bloomers” and houseplants will be available from Donna’s Greenhouses.

Free, traditional craft demonstrations include Shaker-style broom-making by Kent Ruesswick, wool-carding, spinning, knitting, and weaving by the R&R Spinners, rug-hooking by Parris House Wool Works, blacksmithing by Tim Greene, weaving by Marjie Thompson, wood-turning by Peter Asselyn and woodcarving by the Poland Woodcarvers.

There will be book-signings by authors Don Perkins and Chris Becksvoort of their respective works, “The Barns of Maine” and “The Shaker Legacy.”

Wagon rides will be offered throughout the day, as well as face-painting for children and gourd-decorating, all free of charge. All activities will be in the Shakers’ historic 1830 barns, rain or shine. 

Free nature walks will be offered at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. On these two-hour guided hikes through the Shakers’ land, participants will learn about the indigenous species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, plants, trees and fungi that occupy the diverse habitats of Shaker Village. Preregistration is not required but is encouraged due to limited space. Call 207-926-4597 or visit www.maineshakers.com/workshops.

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village is at 707 Shaker Road (Route 26).

FMI: 207-926–4597, info@maineshakers.com, www.maineshakers.com, www.facebok.com/SabbathdayLakeShakerVillage.

Copy the Story Link