In January of this year,  the Friends of Wendemuth Meadow, a motley crew of concerned citizens (I include myself among them), began planning a major event as the capstone of our campaign to raise funds for the purchase of Wendemuth Meadow, a 30 acre tract of land on Bates Street in North Brookfield.  We discussed a number of ideas and settled on a festival celebrating art and music and everything that adds color to our lives.  Thanks to the energy, enthusiasm, and hard work of Brandon Avery and Janine Drake, co-chairs of the North Brookfield Color Fest Committee, the event was a resounding success.

At 10 this morning, I drove into the lot at the Time-Out on 31 East Brookfield Road (the former Chooch’s bar).
For most of the day, in fact, until almost 5:30 when we began closing, I was at the Friends table, in a booth with both the East Quabbin Land Trust and the Color Fest Committee.  We talked to fair-goers, handed out literature, sold T-shirts, and collected donations.  In the photo below, Cynthia Henshaw, East Quabbin Land Trust Executive Director, sets up the display:
In between, I found some time to enjoy the festivities.  The festival attracted many vendors who sold their wares, all in accord with the theme, like this one:
There was food and drink of course, and I treated myself to ice cream.  I also made sure to step inside the bar, where I admired the works by local artists in the art show and perused items in the silent auction (I bid on two items and won one).

There was lots of music, with local bands showcasing their talents:

At the other end of the lot was a drumming circle:

A friend decided on a henna tattoo, which I liked so much I got one myself (I tried taking a photo of my arm so you could see the design, but the photo didn’t do it justice):

The color throws took place in the afternoon.  Don’t these guys look great?

Note that the colored powder we sold is made of cornstarch and FDA-approved cosmetic-grade dyes.  It is an environmentally friendly product, non-toxic, biodegradable, and skin-safe.  Here’s another group of colorful fair-goers:

At the back of our booth, you can see our fund-raising thermometer, climbing toward the $50,000 goal, which we reached this afternoon!

I’m so glad we could do this, both to meet our fund-raising goal and to bring our community together for fun and festivities.  We thank our sponsors, the Statz Restaurant and Sports Bar and the North Brookfield Cultural Council; heartfelt thanks as well to the many volunteers who made the day a success.