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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Walking across the field to the Springdale Field Festival tents, the foliage and natural beauty of the land shone through despite the overcast weather and light rain. Kids of all ages ran around outside of the three tents, throwing footballs, kicking soccer balls, and tossing frisbies back and forth. Neither the kids, nor the families, of Dover seemed to mind the weather.
“This makes last year look amazing! It was like 35 degrees last year,” said Jane Johnstone, a Dover resident who is involved with the Dover Land Conservation Trust. This was the second year of the annual Springdale Field Festival, the brainchild of the Trust. “With the Land Trust becoming more active in what they do, not only preserving the properties, but this is an example of active use of the properties as well,” Johnstone added.
The three tents each served a different purpose. One housed local Dover artisans and craftpeople, including those making organic beef jerky, local seasoning salts, and a woman who grew up in Italy and raises all of her herbs herself. A second tent was deemed the Kids Tent, where face-painting, a temporary tattoo artist, and a Charlie Brown themed cut out could be found for pictures. The middle, and largest, tent was for the live music. Nation Rising, a local band consisting of Dover High School students, played their first song with surprising confidence and ability, covering The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” with impressive accuracy.
The tents are located on the first piece of land the Dover Land Conversation Trust acquired in 1965. “The Dover trust has been in existence since 1965, so last year kind of kicked off celebration of its 50th year. We’re trying to create awareness in town,” John Shue, a member of the Dover Trust Board said. According to Johnstone, the Springdale Fest is really his baby.
This event comes in addition to Dover Day. “We didn’t want to duplicate what we already had. This is for the kids, but also for the parents, too. We really focus on the music, and craft beer - we’re trying to have the local focus,” Johnstone said.
Last year, despite the cold, 300 people came out to celebrate. This year, they were expecting many more. “This is just a way to raise awareness of what The Trust does, because I don’t think a lot of people are totally aware what they do,” Johnstone concluded.
