By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
After days of rainy and cold weather, Needhamites were finally treated with a beautiful day and the Needham Harvest Fair to accompany it. This annual event is presented by the Town of Needham and the Charles River Regional Chamber, in conjunction with the Needham Farmers Market.
Greene’s Field was packed with family and friends looking to enjoy all this Harvest Fair had to offer. With well over fifty plus vendors, there was a little something for everyone. As an added bonus, almost all of the vendors were businesses located in Needham. This aspect created an amazing community event that celebrated both the organizations who participated as well as the fall season coming up.
If you got there early enough, you might have been lucky enough to score a free pumpkin from Condon Realty’s Pick-Your-Own Pumpkin Patch. There were over 750 pumpkins brought at the beginning of the event and after two hours, they were all gone.
Whether you scored a free pumpkin or not, there was an unlimited amount of free goodies being given out by all the vendors. Many booths also had interactive activities like corn hole, arts and crafts, balloon artists, a caricature artist, a stretch tent, face painting, martial arts, and so much more!
Among the most popular attractions was Rocket the Dog. This Needham community resource dog was seen with the Needham Police and Fire Departments at their booth. Little ones and their families flocked to go and pet Rocket, who was more than happy to receive all the belly rubs he could get.
Over at the Charles River Regional Chambers booth, Lise Ann Elcock, Director of Membership and Development, could be seen passing out candy and mingling with attendees. When talking about this Harvest Fest, Elcock mentioned, “The Chamber went on to inherit this specific event from a smaller Needham association so we have been doing it now for five years. We did have to suspend it for Covid and after that we kind of had to reimagine it and rethink it because of the common renovation. So we had already been partnering with the Farmers Market who moved it to a Sunday so we added it to that. It is definitely their favorite day as well. It really just added this whole fall/autumn feel to it. And when the Farmers Market got relocated to the Greene’s Field we said we would follow them here. This is either our second or third year doing this event here and due to that we have been able to add so many more participants. People really love this location because it is evenly laid out and it is just unbelievable to see this space like this.”
Overall, this Harvest Fair was a major success for the town of Needham. The weather could not have been more perfect and Needhamites truly enjoyed the time they spent there. Here’s to the same great turnout next year!
