To Bethel I go

Crowds in the hundreds swarm the intersection of Hurd and West Shore Roads for the premiere Bethel Woods Harvest Festival. Parking attendants, waving flashing lights and dressed in bright green vests, direct cars from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania into designated parking spots. The rolling hills of a town rich in farmland welcome festival-goers for another year.

The festival’s theme for its kickoff event is the NaCL Busker Experience. NaCl, located in Highland Lake, just minutes from Eldred, is theatre dedicated to the performing arts. Buskers are performers such as clowns, mimes, jugglers and musicians who perform in the street.

As soon as I walk onto the grounds I’m greeted by a busker, draped in blue robing, wearing a medieval masquerade mask. This particular performer is stilt walking. Her height is no less than ten feet and she moves around entertaining the crowds with complete ease.

Scanning the rest of the festival I see that she is not alone. Three other stilt walkers are entertaining the crowds. One, dressed in a traditional mime garb, is juggling. She smiles as I snap I picture of her, hovering in air atop a good five feet of stilts while juggling and smiling for my camera and a swarm of onlooking children.

A clown, dressed like a hobo, is entertaining the children in front of NaCL’s music stage. The children all have a series of sticks, ropes and brightly colored yoyo-like attachments that they swing around with ease and acuity. The clown, performing with the same toy, also attracts adults to the scene.

A main lure at the festival, other than the buskers’ performances, is the mazes. A small hay maze is set up that is easy for small children to get through. Some little daredevils actually run on top of the hay bales. The more challenging maze is made up of fields of corn almost seven feet high. The corn maze is so windy that the maximum visibility allowed is no more than ten feet in front of you. Stalks of corn, almost ready to be harvested, blanket your view in the twists and turns. Bursts of giggles are the only sign that you are almost through the maze. The scariest of the stilt walkers, masked and robed like some sort of sea hag, meets me during my journey out of the maze. A frightened yelp escapes from my throat before I realize what the creature is. She turns and grins at me, drapes her cape across her back, and walks away to find other maze adventurers to trespass upon.

Finally reaching the other end of the maze I see two beautiful little ponies, eager for attention from some children near by. The children are amazed to see ponies not only so close in proximity but also without the constraints of fencing. They laugh with excitement as they wait for their turn to ride.

There’s a large stagecoach next to the ponies. Two great Clydesdale horses are attached by reins. They stand proudly in the shade of a large series of maple trees, not making a sound and not overly excited by the children nearby.

Traditional carnival music draws near me. Two musicians stroll through the crowd to display their instrumental talent. The mood created by the traveling duo is jolly and carefree.

The festivals would not be complete without the local arts, crafts and food. Four large tents are set up to hold the array of items for purchase. The aroma of fresh baked bread and freshly brewed coffee are the first smells to catch my nose. My eyes are immediately drawn to beautiful handcrafted wooden bowls in the tent dedicated to local arts and crafts. The bowls’ shapes and textures are dependent on the knots in the wood, I’m told. Huge oil paintings and hand-glazed pottery decorate other tables under the tent. Traveling to the next tent I find the local produce. Tables are dressed with juicy red tomatoes, sweet corn, zucchini and almost any other vegetable or fruit that you can imagine. It is harvest time here. Local products such as maple syrups and wines are also available under the tent.

For each of the next eight weeks there will be a new experience at the Harvest Festival at Bethel Woods. Each festival will have a different theme, varying from an Alpaca Festival to Earth Day. The festivals are open on Sundays only from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.