It was perfect Fair weather!  The rain ended very early Friday morning, and we had blue skies and pleasantly cool temperatures for all three days of the Fair, three ideal days for strolling through the village and enjoying the atmosphere, the homes on tour, the entertainment, and the shopping. 

 Thanks to Fran Holmbraker and the rest of our staff and to the volunteers whose teamwork makes the Fair such a spectacular event year after year.  Thanks to the crafts-people who mesmerize the children with their demonstrations and help us to display and support our American cultural heritage. 

Welcome to the many new members of the Foundation who signed up during or after the Fair. Our members are essential to our mission. 

 Proceeds from the Fair, along with membership dues and donations, provide funding for our mission: offering the Second Street School living history program and other educational activities and preserving properties like the Mill, the Old School and the Phillips Farm. (Fundraising for rebuilding the Old School auditorium is a separate initiative.) 

See you at the Fair next year!

Best regards,

Bonnie Getty

President

The sixty-seventh Waterford Fair really began on Thursday, when 159 craftspeople, multiple food vendors, and three water trucks converged in pouring rain to set up booths for the weekend. Only the promise of three beautiful and dry weekend days sustained vendors and volunteers alike as they contended with water and mud in all the major areas. Each vehicle, loaded with wares and tents, added to the collection of ruts and pits in the soggy conditions.

Loads of mulch were delivered to deal with mud puddles, and three truckloads of gravel arrived at 8 a.m. Friday to ensure firm access at fair parking areas.

The Fair Committee is so very grateful to the Area Chairmen, volunteers all, for their amazing ability to manage this difficult and critical part of the Fair that is not seen by visitors. Tamara White, Phil Paschall, Nick Ratcliffe, Ken Dunne, Hilary Cooley, Susan Sutter, Don Nicolson, Jackie Gosses and Paul Rose deserve to be recognized for hard physical labor, resourcefulness and, most importantly, good humor. We have had notes and emails of thanks from many of the craftspeople for the caring and help given them on that soggy day.

And the next three days were glorious.

Most artisans reported a very good year, which is rewarding to all of us in these tough economic times. The quality of the hand work presented was excellent.

New performance groups, as well as our tradional entertainers, added that dimension that makes the Fair come alive. We welcomed storyteller, Baba Jamal Koram, with a unique style of interaction with the audience, in the John Wesley Community Church. His stories contrast with those of Ray Owen, storyteller, in overalls and straw hat, sitting on a hay bale at the Schooley Mill Barn. Both men have a strong interest in preservation and Mr. Koram discovered roots in the African-American community of Waterford.

New stories from participants, volunteers, and visitors were added to our collection of Fair memories.

--Fran Holmbraker, Fair Chair

Your opinions can equal cash for our cause! For your participation in a brief online survey, the Piedmont Community Foundation (PCF) will make awards of $1,000, $700 and $300 to the three local community organizations with the most respondents. Waterford could be one of these.

Simply visit the PCF website and click on the survey link. Be sure to choose Waterford Foundation in the last question. Your time and thoughts can help!

The Piedmont Community Foundation--through which some contributors direct annual donations to Waterford and which has awarded us a number of grants--hopes to learn more about what folks think or know about community foundations, and PCF in particular, so they can better serve the Piedmont nonprofit community. Survey lasts until November 15.