Rain can't dampen warmth of Chestnut Roast
by Becky Legel, posted Oct. 16, 2007
Activities at the MU Center for Agroforestry’s fifth annual Missouri Chestnut Roast went on as planned Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, despite the rain that continued through the day.
There were several tents set up at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC) in New Franklin, Mo., so visitors could enjoy the festival in any weather.
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| Jeanne Trujillo from Harrisonville, Mo. looks at “Taste of Missouri” products at Gift Baskets Unique, a vendor from Columbia, Mo. Joyce Garrett, vendor says that she usually creates gift baskets but offers individual products at the festival to promote local products. |
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A large vendor tent housed vendors, children’s activities and a stage for visiting chefs. A smaller vendor tent featured an educational exhibit by the MU Center for Agroforestry and potted chestnut trees available for purchase. The MU Raptor Rehabilitation Project and the Ironweed Bluegrass Band performed throughout the day in the entertainment tent, and the New Franklin High School Athletic Boosters offered snacks and grilled meats in a food concession tent.
About 2,000 people attended the 2007 chestnut roast, a 60 percent drop from 2006 when attendance was closer to 5,000.
“We had four lovely October chestnut roasts from 2003 to 2006,” said Michael Gold, associate director at the MU Center for Agroforestry. “For 2007, the forecasted 20 percent chance of rain turned into a complete deluge that lasted from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 pm.”
Gold knew that some people would come to the festival regardless of weather because the festival offered a lot of things to do.
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| Ernest Hilderbrand demonstrates wood turning. He started turning bowls from wood when he retired and has been a vendor at the festival for two years. “It’s a fun thing to do,” Hilderbrand said about the festival. |
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“We were, in spite of the very wet day, delighted that this number of people ventured out into inclement weather to enjoy the festivities,” Gold said.
Gold said some people get to know vendors who return every year and come to the festival just to purchase the vendors’ products.
One vendor, returning for her fifth year at the festival, was Debbie NovoGradac with Chestnut Charlie’s in Lawrence, Kan.
“We usually have mobs of people here,” NovoGradac said. “Actually, I’m surprised by the number of people who have come.”
Chestnut Charlie’s was located in the chestnut roasting tent with the MU Center for Agroforestry’s grill set up to roast chestnuts.
Other vendors offered free tastes and sold local cheeses, wines, jellies and jams, meats and other nuts such as almonds and pecans.
Overall, the rain did not dampen the spirits of vendors or attendees.
It was the third year Jeanne Trujillo and her husband from Harrisonville, Mo., visited the festival. They did not let the rain stop them from making the two-hour drive to New Franklin, Mo.
“I love it,” Trujillo said. “We come all the way out here to get to the chestnuts.”
