Guide to the 2016 Chester Fall Festival

Handmade jewelry from Parker Posie Designs.

©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC

F or one weekend every autumn, Chester, Vt.’s Green fills with more than 60 artists, craftspeople and food vendors to celebrate the arts in Vermont and the rich colors of fall foliage that burst upon the Green Mountain State. This year, the event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18.

The Chester Fall Festival is sponsored by the Chester Rotary and proceeds go to support its educational and community initiatives. For the past two years, The Chester Telegraph has teamed up with the Rotary to present this guide to the Fall Festival. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the advertising on this particular page will be donated to the Rotary. Last year, The Telegraph was able to donate $300 to the Chester Rotary. Please frequent these and all of our advertisers.

As always, admission to the Fall Festival is free.

Click the following links to take you to:
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES
TRAIN RIDES, CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES ETC.
DIRECTIONS and PRINTABLE MAP
PARKING INFORMATION
COMPLETE VENDOR LIST

David Marden Photography.

There is a lot to do and see so plan your Chester visit now. For more information about the Fall Festival click here. And to learn more about the artists and craftspeople, check out the Fall Festival’s Facebook page. For answers to questions not answered in the above links, call Nancy Rugg at 802-875-2444.

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MUSICAL PERFORMANCES

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or the second year in a row, live entertainment will be filling the air at the Fall Festival. There will be something for every musical taste.

Will Danforth. Photo from Willdanforth.com

Saturday, Sept. 17

• 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.: The Last Chance Band with its smooth blend of rock ‘n’ roll.
• Noon to 1 p.m.: Will Danforth playing good time American roots music on guitar, frailin’ banjo and wailin’ blues harp.
• 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Stars from Broadway and the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company perform Broadway standards and contemporary musical theater songs, including Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Jason Robert Brown. Piper Goodeve, recently in WPTC’s All My Sons, Theresa Kloos, comedian and actress seen in Weston’s Fiddler on the Roof and To Kill A Mockingbird and Ryan Mangan, an alum of last year’s first Broadway Bootcamp, will be among those performing.

Sunday, Sept. 18

• Noon to 1 p.m.: Root 7 a capella group with lively vocals in all genres and for all audiences.
• 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Ida Mae Specker and Faith Wood playing a rambunctious fusion of traditional music.

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TRAIN RIDES and MORE

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Take a delicious dinner train ride or a daytime trek. Photo by Chester Telegraph.

ermont Rail System, owner of the Green Mountain Flyer, will be launching its chef-catered Dinner Train from the Chester Depot to Ludlow at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16. Enjoy a relaxing two-hour ride as you delight in a wonderful meal with friends and family. Click the Ride & Dine ad on the right to learn more. And be sure to call for your reservations and meal choices.

Just like last year, the Green Mountain Flyer be hosting its 2016 Fall Excursions during the Fall Festival.

Take a train ride on Saturday or Sunday from the Chester Depot Train Station to either Rockingham or Ludlow. Please see the map for location. Parking at the Train Station is available. The Train Station is about a 15-minute walk from the Green. (You can click the Ride and Dine ad to the right to purchase your tickets.)

• The Chester train to Ludlow leaves at 10 a.m. and returns at noon. Riders have the option of staying the day in Ludlow returning to Chester late in the afternoon.
• The Chester train to Rockingham leaves at 1 p.m. and returns at 2:30 p.m.
• The afternoon Chester train to Ludlow leaves at 2 p.m. and returns at 5 p.m.

Children’s and other activities

• Vermont author Megan Price will be signing her Vermont Wild Series of books midday on Saturday Sept. 17.

  

  Author Megan Price will be signing her books and Dux the Balloon Man will be creating wonder. Photo by Benjamin D. Bloom

  Check out our new Children’s Tent, and be sure to visit Dux, the Balloon Man.

• Demonstrations by Six Loose Ladies, fiber artists.
• Country Treasures quilting demonstrations in front of the store.
• Beer Garden at the Fullerton Inn, 40 the Common. (cost of food and drink)
• Shop at the local galleries and shops and eat at our local restaurants.

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DIRECTIONS

Click map to access PDF for printing.

The beautiful Victorian town of Chester, Vt., sits along Routes 103 and 11 in Southern Vermont. You’ll find beautiful homes, charming shops and friendly people at every turn.

From I-91, take Exit 6 and travel 12 miles west along Route 103. Keep going straight into downtown Chester. You can’t miss the Green. (Do not turn right onto Route 103 at Maple Street.)

From the west, take Route 11 in Manchester, traveling east. You’ll pass Bromley Ski Resort and the town of Londonderry, then head straight into Chester and the Green. It’s about a 30-minute drive from Manchester to Chester.

From the north, take Route 103 South into Chester. You’ll drive through the historic Stone Village and curve past Town Hall on your left and the historic Chester Depot Train Station on your right. Be sure to slow down. When you come to the fork in the road, bear right and head into downtown Chester.

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Rowan Danforth, left, gets a demonstration in felting from Six Loose Ladies.

PARKING

Designated parking will be at the NewsBank parking lot behind NewsBank off of Cobleigh Street. Look for the parking signs at Main and Cobleigh streets. (See map.)

There will be a handicap drop off at the eastern side of the Green.

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Chester Fall Festival Vendor List 2016

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