Harvest Festival. Ocean Grove Flower Shop display on Main Avenue. All photos by Paul Goldfinger
By Charles Layton
It was good to see so much activity on Main Avenue on Saturday. Some of us prefer the Fall Harvest Festival & Craft Show to larger-scale events such as the aptly-named “Giant Flea Market,” which is so big it swallows you up. And, because the town’s retail economy has suffered this year from the weather (including a weekend hurricane), the merchants were especially grateful for this bright, summery day, the sidewalk tables packed with customers, the bustling crowd in the streets. This is how things ought to be.
The OG Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the festival, says more vendors were on hand this year — 110 versus 92 last year. One thing they decided not to repeat this time was the pony ride on Pilgrim Pathway. According to Lois Hetfield, the Chamber’s administrator, that’s because last year they discovered that it’s bad policy to have a children’s pony ride close by a street band; when a rock drummer hits a smashing accent, she said, “it can cause the pony to buck.” So instead of ponies for the kids, this year they offered pumpkin painting.
Although it was nice having so many itinerate street vendors along Main, I felt a little sorry for a few of the town’s regular businesses — especially our new little jewelry store, Fusion. It had to compete with no less than six jewelry stalls on the street right outside its door. There was also a guy selling greeting cards at a stall on the curb in front of Smuggler’s Cove, the town’s leading greeting card shop.
Some of the OG restaurants were running their own street operations. The Barbaric Bean was doing a brisk business both on the street and at its counter inside. Yvonne’s had people making fresh crepes on the street, while at its second establishment, Yvonne’s Devil’s Food (formerly The Baker Boys), it was selling coffee and pastries at a street stall. And, of course, Nagle’s was dishing out ice cream from its sidewalk window.
I thought the music was especially good this year. Jo Wymer and her band played from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Chuck Lambert Blues Band carried on from 1 to 4.
Here is a taste of Jo Wymer’s music, from a CD she made this year.
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We truly enjoyed this event sooo much more than the flea/craft shows. It’s the music!! Everyone was happy and such a beautiful day. Loved the fact that the merchants could have a stall too. We visited both vendors and the stores and left a lot of money in town! Merchants were great…loved Smugglers Cove and Yvonnes bakery…Red velvet cupcakes and egg pie. We will be smiling for a few days after this wonderful OG day.