BY MAT CLOUSER
BRANDON — Scores of intrepid locals braved the fall weather on Sunday, battling little red and yellow leaves as they danced across Estabrook Park in Brandon on brisk gusts as much as 10 miles per hour or more.
Alexa Moyer painted faces for a horde of eager children. Photo by Mat Clouser
Making matters worse—the sun shone but brightly enough in the cloud-dappled sky to raise the meager temperature only into the mid-50s.
Librarians Chandler Thomas, left, and Molly Kennedy had books and hot glue guns galore at the Brandon Free Public Library table. Photo by Mat Clouser
The reward for those brazen enough to battle the obvious onslaught of an upcoming winter? Brandon’s annual Harvest Fest, of course—where some folks dared thumb their noses at the cold à la dying them pink and blue with the errant slurps of defiant snow cones.
From left, Diane Benware, Donna Swinnington, and Marilyn Chicoine represented St. Mary’s Church
at their bakesale. Photo by Mat Clouser
Once there, like the ochre leaves listing on the breeze, visitors were invited to twirl along on a bevy of attractions, including hay rides, a petting zoo, face painting, vendors of all varieties, a mac-and-cheese smack-down, the grip of politicians pressing the flesh, a scarecrow construction station, and, not to be outdone, a station for the construction of scares—by way of a spooky horde of volunteers hell-bent on raising cash via raising pulses in anticipation of a new Halloween haunted house at Kampersville in Salisbury.
As ever, the event was a hotbed for charitable donations, with multiple vendors raising cash for causes near and dear to them—St. Mary’s church, for example, was on hand with their signature bake sale—with the overall proceeds benefiting the Allie Mae Foundation, the Brandon Area Toy Project, and the Brandon Recreation Department.
Tracy Rose won the Mac-and-cheese smackdown with her traditional variety. Photo by Mat Clouser
