It was a warm day in September when we headed off for the Eagle Mills Craft Fair, an annual event in Eagle Mills, New York. Normally, Eagle Mills is a quiet venue, but once fall rolls around, the craft fair starts up for two weekends and the cars pile in. Most of the time, the regular parking areas are filled, and cars have to begin parking on the side of the road.
Obviously, we parked on the street.
It’s a long walk from the street to the actual fair, as the path winds pretty far back into the woods. But there’s a lot to look at along the way. Eagle Mills makes their own apple cider using a water turbine, so a station is set up out front selling cider and other goodies. Plus, there’s an iconic Eagle Mills water barrel to keep your eyes out for.
Finally, we got to the actual spot of interest: the craft fair. It’s divided into two sections because of its size – one part is right at the front entrance to the fair, and houses two buildings devoted tofood, one a lunch-oriented station and one devoted solely to pastries and doughnuts. Naturally, we headed right for the bakery.
You can just make out the bakery in the far left corner.It always smells delicious in the bakery, and it’s hard making choices. They have apple cider doughnuts, all kinds of turnovers, strudels, brownies, fudge… You name it, they make it. I ended up getting a raspberry turnover, and then eating half of my mom’s apple turnover. We also picked up a half-dozen apple cider doughnuts – fresh are the best!
I’m digging in.Next, we headed over the bridge that separates the two halves of the fair. We wanted to get to the back first to make sure we didn’t miss anything. The bridge holds a pretty view of both the stream that runs underneath it and the massive turbine waterfall.
Most of the time, I just like to look at the crafts instead of actually buying anything. I’m more of a window shopper. Depending on where you shop, there are some really cool Halloween items made by the crafters. Other items include homemade condiments like hot sauces and barbecue sauces, wooden decorations, Christmas decorations, keychains, food, soaps, and other knick-knacks that make good scenery in your home. I mostly look for the Halloween stuff, though.
I couldn’t get many pictures because many crafters are paranoid of people stealing their work. I did get a few examples of some homemade crafts for Halloween, though.
Taken secretly; note its tilt
These are some cool grim reaper ceramics I saw. They are incense burners, and smoke comes out of their hooded faces.Sometimes, you can even see crafters hard at work on their crafts, like this man making wooden pumpkins:
Unfortunately, I didn’t buy anything. But the experience is definitely worth the trip. I urge you to check out any community fall activities like this, as it’s a good way to support the community and gets you into that Halloween spirit. Plus, who can beat good fall pastries?
Thanks for reading; just a little taste of my own community.
