The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Good Times, Chicken And Sunshine Highlight The Annual Grafton Festival

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By Doug La Rocque

By all accounts, this year’s Grafton Festival could be described by the old phrase “winner, winner, chicken dinner” which of course was one of the centerpieces of the Festival. 

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Members of Scrimshaws Battery ANV/ NY 7th volunteers demonstrate proper technique for firing a cannon at the Grafton Festival. Photo by Doug La Rocque
Members of Scrimshaws Battery ANV/ NY 7th volunteers demonstrate proper technique for firing a cannon at the Grafton Festival. Photo by Doug La Rocque

Sponsored each year by Our Lady of the Snows/Mission of Our Lady of Victory church, this year’s version was called by organizers one of the best yet.

Smoke envelops the crew grilling chicken for the Grafton Festival. Photo by Doug La Rocque
Smoke envelops the crew grilling chicken for the Grafton Festival. Photo by Doug La Rocque

Spokesman John Darling said 50 vendors took up more than 75 spaces, double last year’s event. Festival goers were also treated to many displays ranging from reptiles to a civil war encampment, complete with the firing of an 1841 12-pound Mountain Howitzer. The Grafton Community Library raffled off a vintage quilt, the Historical Society talked about days gone by in books, pictures and displays, and Grafton Lakes State Park was there to showcase its many summer programs. People of all ages were entertained by the Grafton Fire Department’s Dunking Booth. Refreshments were plenty, and of course there was the annual chicken barbecue, which once again catered to more than 300 people.

 

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