Sheffield — The small town of 3,327 residents held two fairs in the past few weeks that brought together people from all throughout Berkshire County.
On Saturday, August 24, the Sheffield Historical Society held its annual Garlic and Arts Festival. The fair, held on the grounds of the Historical Society on Main Street, was a celebration of community arts and local agriculture growers. “We wanted to celebrate garlic because we have big garlic fans in Sheffield,” Aretha Whitehead, administrator for the Historical Society, told The Berkshire Edge. “Why garlic? Because at this time of year, everybody is thinking about garlic. Everybody is planting it, and everybody is eating it.”
The event was also a fundraiser for the Historical Society and its programs. “Our organization has been around for over 50 years, and our mission is to educate the community about the history of Sheffield,” said Historical Society President Paul Mulholland. “We have exhibits in our Old Stone Store that explore our town’s history.”
There were plenty of garlic vendors at the festival, including Gregory Scannell of Shadblow Creek Farm in Ghent, N.Y.
“Garlic is amazing, and it’s the spice of life,” Scannell said. “You can use it for everything, including paste, toast, and sauce.”
“For us, garlic is a staple of our food culture,” said Brittany Ebeling, co-owner of Little Beam Farm and Pantry in Sheffield. “It’s a great and accessible crop to grow. You can take them home, eat them, and plant them. Anyone can grow garlic.”
For more information about the Sheffield Historical Society and its programs, visit its website.
Two weeks later, on Saturday, September 7, the town enjoyed its 23rd annual Sheffield Fair at Town Park. The fair included 44 vendors, booths from various town organizations, livestock from local area farms, children’s activities, music entertainment, and arts and crafts from local area businesses.
“What’s unique about this fair is that there is no admission charge, and there’s no parking charge,” said fair co-organizer Renee Wood. “There’s no other fair in the area that features this many local vendors and nonprofit organizations. Everybody can just come here and have a great time because there’s lots of activities for kids of all ages.”
As part of the fair, the Old Parish Church in Sheffield held its “Cow Plop Drop” game. The game, which is sort of akin to bingo, involves a cow wandering through a grid marked with numbers. The cow will proceed to “plop” on a random number on the grid. The church sells 200 tickets for the event, and just before the “plop” happens, the tickets are all pulled out from a fishbowl and randomly placed on a numbered grid. Whoever’s number the cow “plops” on is the winner of the contest.
“There’s always a lot of excitement over the ‘cow plop’ game,” said Julie Hannum with the Old Parish Church. “We always get a lot of people at our town’s fair because we have a fabulous steering committee, and, through their leadership, they’ve worked hard to organize this event. It’s always a great time for everybody in Sheffield and beyond to come together for the fair.”
“I think it’s awesome for the community to get together to realize what a wonderful little town we have,” said Sheffield Senior Center Director Kathie Loring. “It’s great to have such a nice day for everyone in town.”
