CUMBERLAND – The weather forecast for this Sunday, Oct. 4, is clearing more each day and the Nor’easter that pushed Franklin Farm’s Harvest Festival & Tractor Show back a week is long gone.
Denise Mudge, of Franklin Farm at 142 Abbott Run Valley Road in Cumberland, said the extra week actually gave them a little breathing room between the busy harvest season and the festival to go over more details on “some of the little things” and get everything just right.
They’ll end up having a lot of craft vendors, as many carried over from last week’s postponed date and some new ones are now able to make it, said Mudge.
That typically happens with any postponement and vendors, food trucks, and volunteers, she said, balancing out between the ones that fall off and the new ones that are now able to make it.
Nearly all food trucks are still able to come, she said, and they were also able to land more tractors. Tubby Cargill organizes the tractors each year, and Ray Construction brings about five or six antique tractors.
The added week also gives more opportunity for the fall foliage to turn, said Mudge, and the maples on the farm are already turning that pretty yellow-orange.
This is the big annual fundraiser for the Historic Metcalf Franklin Farm, supporting its preservation association’s mission to restore, preserve, and protect the 18th- and 19th-centuries old Metcalf-Franklin Homestead and its agricultural heritage through charitable, educational, and community engagement activities. The farm supports numerous local nonprofits in feeding the hungry of Rhode Island, running on volunteer support each summer.
The extra week also allowed them to keep the garden going a little longer, said Mudge, and after several hundred more pounds of vegetables were picked on Thursday evening, they’re now near a record harvest.
Sunday’s festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. What’s especially great about it is the cost, said Mudge. They could easily charge $20 per car, but they want to keep it affordable, so it’s $10 for an entire family to park. Once they’re in, they can spend money or not, with plenty of free offerings.
Mudge said they could use some more volunteers. Sign up on the event page.
Get your swag in the Franklin Farm Spirit Wear Store, she said.
In addition to tractors, there will be music by The Grassharpers bluegrass band, scenic hayrides, historic barn tours, pony rides, Audubon raptors, craft and doer vendors, educational activities, community groups, and more. The Fire Department will be there with its maze again, she said.
Mudge said they’re thrilled to have The Grassharpers as a new band for the whole day this year. Bales of hay will be set up near the vendor tents for people to
“It’s really in line with that fall, country feel,” she said of their sound.
This festival will continue to be known for its simple fun and great affordability, said Mudge, including free games for children and families.
“We really want to keep it as a throwback type of festival,” she said.
Visitors will also get to take in the history of the farm, including the soon-to-be-upgrades Long Barn, a historic structure dating from 1810-1895 and on the National Register of Historic Places. The project will focus on addressing the barn’s structural needs and improving the security and integrity of its roof, helping to preserve the key piece of farm history for future generations.
The $654,085 project will be paid for through what’s left of a $550,000 Community Development Block Grant and $153,085 in town funding, approved last week by the Cumberland Town Council.
