Oct. 14, 2010
40th Annual Bob Evans Farm Festival
Story By Sandee Lloyd
Photos By Sandee and Stephanie Lloyd
"Bob Evans, down on the farm." The familiar slogan was certainly true as the 40th edition of the Bob Evans Farm Festival drew thousands of visitors the weekend of October 8 through 10. The weather was beautiful, but felt more like midsummer than early fall even though fall decorations and flowers were everywhere.
There was so much to see and do that it was impossible to take it in on a single
day. Activities for children were plentiful, with a Kids' Farmyard Fun Area
which featured a hay bale maze, skill games where children won tickets that
could be redeemed for prizes, horseback rides with attendants helping the
children onto the horses then leading them around, train ride, horse-drawn buggy
ride and a wagon ride. The more adventurous children climbed on the hay bale
castle where they could see most of the festival from the top. Many children
were burying themselves and each other in the corn pile, where so much corn was
spilled on the ground the field won't need to be planted next year.
The Mark Wood Fun Show featured a cowboy-garbed magician who brought children up on stage to help him with his tricks as he created balloon animals for them. Also performing were Jason & Company Ventriloquist. A large crowd gathered to watch and participate.
There were competitive games for the children too, with the hula hoop challenge drawing children from all over the area. The children had to keep the hula hoop moving for two minutes, then whoever was still in the contest had to run across a field while keeping the hula hoop spinning and off the ground. Other games were chicken scratch, corn shelling-which seemed to consist of pounding ears of corn against a large metal tub, hay bale throwing and many other fun contests.
One of the most novel things I saw was dogs riding on tractors. Two large dogs sat tall and proud on tractor seats as the tractors twirled in circles. A little later the Delaware County Tractor Square Dancers performed square dances, complete with a caller giving them directions. Half the tractors had skirts hanging on the sides and the other half had pants. The drivers spun and twirled the tractors in time to the music and movements given by the caller. The tractors moved in complicated patterns just like human square dancers. If this group appears nearby, make a point to see them.
Food was plentiful all over the festival grounds at very reasonable prices. Plenty of seating areas and tents were thoughtfully placed around for tired and hungry visitors to rest.
Craft tents dotted the area with unique and unusual items. All craftspeople are juried in order to be part of the festival, with awards given at the end. Many were repeat exhibitors but there were some new ones too. A number of the exhibitors' work can be seen at upcoming holiday shows and fairs.
Glass blowing is an art practiced by Catherine Tietz Boring of Granville, Ohio, who received an Honorable Mention at the 2009 festival. Her blown glass Christmas ornaments are colorful and lovely and rival those made by the artisans at Blenko. She has beautiful paperweights and glass flowers. One design looked like a blue jellyfish in a clear cylinder. She also exhibited hand-thrown pottery. She can be reached at 740-587-1722 or ctietzboring@gmail.com. Her web site is www.tietzboring.com.
June Burns of Peachie Originals from Fredonia, New York makes elaborate wooden puzzles using antique scroll saws. She had a treadle scroll saw, circa 1867, called "Millers Falls" manufactured in Hartford, Connecticut with her and demonstrated her skills by making a tiny clover freehand. She has been making the puzzles for 26 years and has written three books about it. She also collects the scroll saws. Her puzzles are cut from a single piece of wood and can be displayed singly or in groups. She had 34 new designs this year, with a new line of farm animals designed for the festival. She has a group of circus pieces that can be stacked and arranged to form a little circus. The individual puzzle pieces can be moved forward or backward to create a 3D sculpture. She makes her own dyes for the coloring which blends with the wood and gives it a more subtle appearance than paint. She also received an Honorable Mention in 2009. Her contact number is 716-679-4766, with a web site at www.scrollsawpuzzles.com.
Decorative plates covered with fabric designs are the creations of Dora Reynolds of Sylva, North Carolina and Judy Keaton of Milton, West Virginia. They will take any fabric or a good quality picture that can be printed on fabric, and turn it into a design for a plate. They have several different shapes and hundreds of designs, including fall and Christmas plates. Ms. Reynolds can be reached at 828-631-1438 or 828-508-0873 or by email at doradreynolds@netzero.net and Ms. Keaton at 304-743-6976 or by email at judykeaton@msn.com.
Kenny and Rose Pohlar of Pohlar Fabrics from Liberty, Indiana displayed a wide assortment of homespuns, denims and calicos. Ms. Pohlar demonstrated her fabric artistry. Their contact numbers are 765-458-5466 or 800-357-3152, pohlarfabrics@yahoo.com, or on the web at www.PohlarFabrics.com.
Another glass blower was Bruce Lanier who had hundreds of tiny glass animals. His creations included larger brightly colored fish and many designs. Gerald Sanders of Nashville, Tennessee made elaborate three-dimensional wire trees. Rustic wooden dollhouses and a little town were built by Vanco's Dollhouses and More. Other artisans showed intricate silhouettes in hundreds of styles, jewelry, baskets, paintings, quilts and just about anything you might be looking for.
Cooking beans in huge kettles were the members of the Beanie Boy Gang, with Troy Daniels wearing a sash proclaiming him the Bean King. The men seemed to be thoroughly enjoying interacting with the crowd.
Dulcimer playing by Kendra Ward, Bob Bence and Friends was enjoyed by an appreciative crowd, and if they couldn't get enough at the festival, there were several CDs of their music available.
On the Clogging Stage the Porter Creek Cloggers, directed by Sheri Porter and the Riverside Cloggers, directed by Eric Hening performed while we were there. Other groups performed throughout the festival.
Late on Sunday afternoon seven-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and former Entertainer of the Year, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage played and sang bluegrass music. A very large crowd was caught up in the music. On the hillside behind the stage, completely oblivious to the music, children were running up and down the hill and sliding down on large pieces of cardboard.
Robbin Evans, author of "A Bountiful Heart-The Life of Bob Evans" was on hand all day to sign copies of her book and talk with festival goers.
In the Homestead Museum was a display of quilts by the winners of the Bob Evans Farm's Homestead Invitational Quilt Exhibit from 1994 to 2000. The quilt designs were fantastic and amazingly complicated, representing such techniques as hand-piecing, machine-piecing, hand-quilting, appliqué and embroidery, and each one was more gorgeous than the last. A group of ladies in old-fashioned clothing was having a quilting bee.
The Bob Evans Farm Festival is over for this year, but leave the weekend open next year and plan to spend at least two days to do justice to all the exhibits and performers.
Pictures show the Tractor Square Dancers; Troy Daniels; Rose Pohlar; June Burns; Dora Reynolds; the Porter Creek Cloggers; the Riverside Cloggers; Kendra Ward, Bob Bence and Friends; Rhonda Vincent and The Rage; Mark Wood; Robbin Evans; and scenes from the festival.
These pictures and more can be seen at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com.
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Story By Sandee Lloyd
Photos By Sandee and Stephanie Lloyd
"Bob Evans, down on the farm." The familiar slogan was certainly true as the 40th edition of the Bob Evans Farm Festival drew thousands of visitors the weekend of October 8 through 10. The weather was beautiful, but felt more like midsummer than early fall even though fall decorations and flowers were everywhere.
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The Mark Wood Fun Show featured a cowboy-garbed magician who brought children up on stage to help him with his tricks as he created balloon animals for them. Also performing were Jason & Company Ventriloquist. A large crowd gathered to watch and participate.
There were competitive games for the children too, with the hula hoop challenge drawing children from all over the area. The children had to keep the hula hoop moving for two minutes, then whoever was still in the contest had to run across a field while keeping the hula hoop spinning and off the ground. Other games were chicken scratch, corn shelling-which seemed to consist of pounding ears of corn against a large metal tub, hay bale throwing and many other fun contests.
One of the most novel things I saw was dogs riding on tractors. Two large dogs sat tall and proud on tractor seats as the tractors twirled in circles. A little later the Delaware County Tractor Square Dancers performed square dances, complete with a caller giving them directions. Half the tractors had skirts hanging on the sides and the other half had pants. The drivers spun and twirled the tractors in time to the music and movements given by the caller. The tractors moved in complicated patterns just like human square dancers. If this group appears nearby, make a point to see them.
Food was plentiful all over the festival grounds at very reasonable prices. Plenty of seating areas and tents were thoughtfully placed around for tired and hungry visitors to rest.
Craft tents dotted the area with unique and unusual items. All craftspeople are juried in order to be part of the festival, with awards given at the end. Many were repeat exhibitors but there were some new ones too. A number of the exhibitors' work can be seen at upcoming holiday shows and fairs.
Glass blowing is an art practiced by Catherine Tietz Boring of Granville, Ohio, who received an Honorable Mention at the 2009 festival. Her blown glass Christmas ornaments are colorful and lovely and rival those made by the artisans at Blenko. She has beautiful paperweights and glass flowers. One design looked like a blue jellyfish in a clear cylinder. She also exhibited hand-thrown pottery. She can be reached at 740-587-1722 or ctietzboring@gmail.com. Her web site is www.tietzboring.com.
June Burns of Peachie Originals from Fredonia, New York makes elaborate wooden puzzles using antique scroll saws. She had a treadle scroll saw, circa 1867, called "Millers Falls" manufactured in Hartford, Connecticut with her and demonstrated her skills by making a tiny clover freehand. She has been making the puzzles for 26 years and has written three books about it. She also collects the scroll saws. Her puzzles are cut from a single piece of wood and can be displayed singly or in groups. She had 34 new designs this year, with a new line of farm animals designed for the festival. She has a group of circus pieces that can be stacked and arranged to form a little circus. The individual puzzle pieces can be moved forward or backward to create a 3D sculpture. She makes her own dyes for the coloring which blends with the wood and gives it a more subtle appearance than paint. She also received an Honorable Mention in 2009. Her contact number is 716-679-4766, with a web site at www.scrollsawpuzzles.com.
Decorative plates covered with fabric designs are the creations of Dora Reynolds of Sylva, North Carolina and Judy Keaton of Milton, West Virginia. They will take any fabric or a good quality picture that can be printed on fabric, and turn it into a design for a plate. They have several different shapes and hundreds of designs, including fall and Christmas plates. Ms. Reynolds can be reached at 828-631-1438 or 828-508-0873 or by email at doradreynolds@netzero.net and Ms. Keaton at 304-743-6976 or by email at judykeaton@msn.com.
Kenny and Rose Pohlar of Pohlar Fabrics from Liberty, Indiana displayed a wide assortment of homespuns, denims and calicos. Ms. Pohlar demonstrated her fabric artistry. Their contact numbers are 765-458-5466 or 800-357-3152, pohlarfabrics@yahoo.com, or on the web at www.PohlarFabrics.com.
Another glass blower was Bruce Lanier who had hundreds of tiny glass animals. His creations included larger brightly colored fish and many designs. Gerald Sanders of Nashville, Tennessee made elaborate three-dimensional wire trees. Rustic wooden dollhouses and a little town were built by Vanco's Dollhouses and More. Other artisans showed intricate silhouettes in hundreds of styles, jewelry, baskets, paintings, quilts and just about anything you might be looking for.
Cooking beans in huge kettles were the members of the Beanie Boy Gang, with Troy Daniels wearing a sash proclaiming him the Bean King. The men seemed to be thoroughly enjoying interacting with the crowd.
Dulcimer playing by Kendra Ward, Bob Bence and Friends was enjoyed by an appreciative crowd, and if they couldn't get enough at the festival, there were several CDs of their music available.
On the Clogging Stage the Porter Creek Cloggers, directed by Sheri Porter and the Riverside Cloggers, directed by Eric Hening performed while we were there. Other groups performed throughout the festival.
Late on Sunday afternoon seven-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year and former Entertainer of the Year, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage played and sang bluegrass music. A very large crowd was caught up in the music. On the hillside behind the stage, completely oblivious to the music, children were running up and down the hill and sliding down on large pieces of cardboard.
Robbin Evans, author of "A Bountiful Heart-The Life of Bob Evans" was on hand all day to sign copies of her book and talk with festival goers.
In the Homestead Museum was a display of quilts by the winners of the Bob Evans Farm's Homestead Invitational Quilt Exhibit from 1994 to 2000. The quilt designs were fantastic and amazingly complicated, representing such techniques as hand-piecing, machine-piecing, hand-quilting, appliqué and embroidery, and each one was more gorgeous than the last. A group of ladies in old-fashioned clothing was having a quilting bee.
The Bob Evans Farm Festival is over for this year, but leave the weekend open next year and plan to spend at least two days to do justice to all the exhibits and performers.
Pictures show the Tractor Square Dancers; Troy Daniels; Rose Pohlar; June Burns; Dora Reynolds; the Porter Creek Cloggers; the Riverside Cloggers; Kendra Ward, Bob Bence and Friends; Rhonda Vincent and The Rage; Mark Wood; Robbin Evans; and scenes from the festival.
These pictures and more can be seen at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com.
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