Guide to the 2017 Chester Fall Festival

| Aug 26, 2017 | Comments 0

Diane Eichlan pottery

©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC

N ow in its 43rd year, the Chester Fall Festival is a fun-filled weekend of music, arts, crafts, food and friends. And it’s set in the gorgeous Vermont town of Chester. Is it any wonder that the Vermont Chamber of Commerce named it one of the state’s Top 10 Fall Events?

This year, the event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 16 and 17, and 65 vendors will fill the Green and surrounds along

Two Wooden Spoons granola

Main Street offering everything from maple cotton candy to hand-turned wooden bowls, fine art photography, hand-felted goods, homemade soups, hand-blown glass, hand-made jewelry and more. It’s a great start to the gift-giving season. See the full list of vendors below. The names of those with websites or Facebook pages are clickable. It’s a great way to learn more about them.

New this year is a Shuttle Bus that will take visitors from the NewsBank Parking Lot to the westside of The Green between Six Loose Ladies and Country Treasures and back again in a continuous loop between 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. It will be available both days.

The Shuttle Bus also will pick Green Mountain Flyer riders up at the Chester Train Station on their return trip to Chester, bus them to The Green, then return them to the train station at 3:45 p.m., just prior to the festival closing each day.

CAKE Jewelry

The Fall Festival is sponsored by the Chester Rotary and proceeds from vendor fees and its soup sales go to support local educational and community initiatives. For the past three years, The Chester Telegraph has teamed up with the Rotary to present this guide. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the advertising on this page will be donated to the Rotary. In 2016, The Telegraph was able to donate $450 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 down you to:
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES
TRAIN RIDES, CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES AND MORE
DIRECTIONS and PRINTABLE MAP
PARKING INFORMATION
COMPLETE VENDOR LIST

There is a lot to do and see so plan your Chester visit now. For more information about the Fall Festival click here and 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

Live entertainment will be filling the air at the Fall Festival, with music to suit just about everyone’s taste.
Saturday, Sept. 16

  • 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.
  • 2 to 3 p.m.: Matt Meserve piano and vocals.

Sunday, Sept. 17

  • Noon to 1 p.m.: Root 7 of Burlington is an a capella group with lively vocals in all genres and for all audiences.
  • 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: DV8 is a Chester band playing rock n roll.

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TRAIN RIDES, CHILDREN’S EVENTS, DEMONSTRATIONS and MORE

T

Dux the Balloon Man returns to entertain kids and adults alike.

he Green Mountain Flyer will once again be kicking off its annual Fall Excursions on Fall Festival Weekend,  with one roundtrip from Chester Depot Train Station to Ludlow on Saturday and two on Sunday. Enjoy a train ride through beautiful southern Vermont and you’ll still have time to shop and dine to your heart’s content in lovely Chester. For more information on the excursions, click here.

 

Children’s activities

  • Check out the Children’s Tent, run by Emily Burkland of the Community Art Garden, as she leads kids in the creative process.
  • And be sure to visit Dux, the Balloon Man, as he creates fantastical creatures and wonderful “Pop Art” from balloons, next to the Children’s Tent.

Demonstrations

  • Sheep to Shawl by Six Loose Ladies, fiber artists, at their booth.
  • Quilting by Country Treasures  in front of the store.
  • Felting techniques by Loominations of Vermont at their booth.

Other community happenings

  • Whiting Library Book Sale:  10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Hundreds of gently used books.
  • Scavenger hunt and treats for people and dogs: Saturday, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 313 Main St.
  • Music by Jennings & McComber: 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, outside St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
  • Book signings at Phoenix Books Misty Valley
    1 to 3 p.m. Saturday — Ron Patch, author of Local History.
    11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday — Megan Price, author of Vermont Wild.
  • Beer Garden at the Fullerton Inn, 40 the Common. (cost of food and drink)
  • Fund-raisers: In and around the Green during the festival, you’ll also find booths set up as fundraisers for the various school and community events.

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DIRECTIONS

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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PARKING & SHUTTLE

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.

And this year, the Current will shuttle passengers between the NewsBank Parking Lot and a spot between Six Loose Ladies and Country Treasures quilt shop on the westside of The Green in a continuous loop between 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Current Shuttle also will pick up Green Mountain Flyer passengers at 2 p.m. at the Chester Train Station on their return trip to Chester, bus them to The Green, then return them to the train station at 3:45 p.m.

***ON THE COVER: The 2016 Fall Festival. Photo by Lew Watters. Pictured are Michelle Ploof, left, owner of Mo’s Fudge factor of Massachusetts, and Tracy Metcalf Gordon. Both graduated from Green Mountain Union High School in 1989.

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Fall Festival 2017 Vendors

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