Quick now, name something as richly red, as consummately crimson, as a cranberry bog in autumn. It’s time for the New England cranberry harvest, time to gather all the goodness that will show up beside the turkey and dressing on our Thanksgiving plates.
Paying proper homage to the annual event is the Cranberry Harvest Celebration in Wareham, Mass. this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7.
The cranberry harvest itself is the undisputed star of the show. It’s a real spectacle. First the bogs are flooded. That’s where water reels come into play. Nicknamed “egg-beaters” they dislodge the berries from the vines. The fruit then floats to the surface where wooden or plastic booms gather it up.
The A.D. Makepeace Company, in concert with the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association, puts on the celebration, a festival some 25,000 folks are expected to attend. In addition to the harvest, there’s fabulous food, free rides for the kids, juried crafters (that makes a difference), cooking demonstrations and plenty of music. Organizers contend, “a family of four could spend the whole day here for as little as $10.”
Take a look at the crafts, smell the food, and you might just not mind spending more.
Among the good things for sale are homemade jams, jellies and soda bread with cranberries from Fennelly Farms. Spicing things up is the menu from Everything Jalapeno and NOT. The Hot Hot Salsa is precisely that. Clears the sinuses wonderfully.
Dragonfly Handmade Soap sells lovely bath and body items, while My Cape My Town Beads purveys designer beads reflecting the beauty of the Cape. For a really unique gift, stop by Newport Collection for resin and antique mammoth ivory Scrimshaw gifts.
The kids should love in the pony rides, the train trips and face painting – all while you and your beloved revel in the watercolor ambience of a New England fall afternoon.
(Image: naturegirl 78)
