If you missed the 2012 Festival, you missed a great time!  The weather was perfect...a bit crisp with sun shining through the clouds and a light breeze...and there were lots of things to do and see at the Festival.

Friday night started with the judging of the Village Scarecrow Contest.  There were many great entries!  Four live scarecrows and lots of traditional scarecrows.  (Pictures will be posted soon.)  Then the rain started.  A downpour soaked the Festival grounds but did not dampen our planning!  By Saturday morning, we were greeted by sunny skies and no rain!!!!   
 
The bandstand was filled with entertainment all weekend long starting with our favorites,  Shepard Pi performing bright and early Saturday morning.   The Harvesting Festival Pride Parade kicked off at 10:00 with 14 units participating.    The CCS band marched to the park and performed at the bandstand for the crowd.  Prizes were given for floats with the Hairy Women Wagon taking 3rd place,  the Essential Club Free Library float taking 2nd place, and the Class of 2012 float taking the 1st place prize.  Saturday afternoon brought over 20 talented singers to participate in Canaseraga Idol.  The day was rounded out with  the band Spair Tyme playing until 6 p.m.  The hot air balloon was at the ready but the wind was blowing too hard and the flight had to be cancelled.  At 6, the vendors closed down and the Festival shut down for the evening. 

The Sunday morning Song Service brought a good crowd to start off a gorgeous day at the festival.   The song service was led by the the musicians of the St. Mary's Church.  Non denominational hymns were enjoyed by all in attendance. 

The band Deja Vu entertained from 10-12 at the bandstand while the ball field filled with beautiful vehicles for the Car Show.  A record 160 cars attended the Car Show.  It was a beautiful day and lots of people showed up to admire the vehicles and enjoy the festival. 

The Ossian Rednecks showed up at about noon to reclaim the "Brown Jug" Award that they lost the previous weekend when the Hairy Women of Klipnocky went to the Ossian Hey Days and won the Redneck Olympics.   In the end, the Hairy Women kept the prize.  Those rednecks will  have to win it back fair and square at next year's Hey Days! 

The Hairy Women of Klipnocky Beauty Contest was well attended.  There were 5 competing teams in the Junior category.  Lots of fun was had but in the end, the Klipnocky Marching Band took 1st place.  There was a 2 woman competition for the  Adult Beauties with Leola May Hatfield and Large Marge showing the crowd their best attributes.  Leola May pulled off the win after she found herself a family of Amish men and settled down to open a baked goods stand.  Large Marge took the 2nd place prize with her mesmerizing dance to "It's Raining Men". 

Julie Swain and family sang and played guitar at the bandstand while the Car Show came to a close.  Over 50 trophies were awarded to the Car Show Participants. 

A record 63 vendors participated in the Festival this year.  There were all kinds of items being sold: lighted glass wine bottles, hand crafted wooden bowls, tools, and lawn ornaments, T-shirts, pumpkins, apples, dog and pet supplies, beautiful products from many home party lines like Linen World, Mary Kay, Tupperware, Scentsy, Celebrating Home, and 31. There was a tonof delicious food; French fries, huge italian sausages, burgers, and hot dogs, ice cream, frozen cheesecake and bananas, the best pumpkin bread pudding ever, pumpkins rolls, and lots more!   Plus lots of raffles, flea market items, baked goods, bounce house, BBQ's, pony rides and a petting zoo.

Overall, this was the most successful festival to date with a record amount of cars entering the car show (160) and also a record number of vendors, with 63 being the final total.   

Each year the Festival Staff works hard  to improve  the quality and flow of the festival.   Planning starts in January each year and monthly meetings are held until August when meeting are biweekly and when September comes, we meet weekly.  This is a dedicated staff who works hard to bring this event to our community.  Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.  Feel free to contact any Festival Staff member and share your ideas. 

Canaseraga: Fall Harvest Festival brings the fun this weekend

Canaseraga, N.Y. — Five event highlights

1
 A revamped Scarecrow Contest begins at 5 p.m. Friday. The contest has two categories this year, regular and live scarecrows. Scarecrows will be judged and two $25 prizes will be awarded in each category.

2
 The parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and will include floats, cars, the Canaseraga Central School Marching Band, fire trucks and more. Cash prizes will be given to the top three floats.

3
Canaseraga Idol will take the stage Saturday at noon. All participants must sign in by 11 a.m. Age categories range from 0-6, 7-11, 12-13, 14-18 and adults. Winners receive prizes and the satisfaction they're the best... until next year's festival.

4
The Hairy Women of Kilpnocky Beauty Contest is set to begin at 1p.m. Sunday. Hosted by the self-appointed mayor of Klipnocky, keep an eye out for the talent competition in the fan-favorite event.

5
The festival is bigger than ever this year, committee president Sherri Reed said. A record 62 vendors will be featured. Organizers are hoping to build on a strong turnout last year, Reed said.

About the event

WHEN The festival officially begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and runs through 4 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE The Village of Canaseraga
INFO www.canaseragafestival.com

2012 Canaseraga fall fest the best yet

Canaseraga, N.Y. — This year's Canaseraga Fall Harvest Festival may have been the most successful one yet.

That is according to Valorie Shay, festival volunteer, who said that Sunday alone drew 1,000 people. That represents the biggest single-day attendance figure in the festival's history.

"Our parking lots were packed and the Hairy Woman (of Klipnocky beauty pageant) was a big hit," she said. "We had 156 cars at the car show, which is our biggest ever. We had between 700-800 people yesterday (Saturday)."

The festival dates back to 1999, when a group of residents interested in economic development in the Canaseraga area started it. Though this year's event featured a record 62 vendors, some of them sold out of their food Sunday.

Shay said this year's festival had no problems at all.

"Everything went smoothly," she said.

Some of the most outstanding events this year, according to Shay, were the car show, Canaseraga Idol, the antique tractor show and, of course, the Hairy Women of Klipnocky beauty contest.

"The Hairy Woman is just a huge hit for the area. People dress up as hairy women and they do a little skit and they get the whole crowd involved. It's always a big hit," Shay said.

The Canaseraga Fall Harvest Festival Committee will have a meeting next week to discuss plans for next year's festival. Organizers are hoping that will be even bigger and better than this year's, which Shay described as a great weekend.

"The weather was good and everybody had fun," she said.

The following is a writing about the legend of the Hairy Women of Klipnocky.
Submitted by Ruth Bancroft


 Around 75 years ago, a young couple lived up in Klipnocky with their 3 daughters. They were simple people. No simple minded, mind you. They just lived a very simple life on their little farm with none of the amenities that we all take for granted these days, so they did not have a telephone. One day, the parents decided to go to Arkport. They felt their daughters were old enough to stay home on their own for the day. Before they left, they gave the girls instructions on what to do in case someone came to rob the place or something bad happened. They told the girls they were to run right out the back door and stay hidden in the woods in a certain place they all knew until either their Mom or Dad came to get them. 


When the parents were about half way to Arkport, there was a terrible accident and they were both killed. At the same time, a chimney fire had set their home ablaze. The 3 girls did just as they had been told-they ran out the back door and hid in the woods. The house had burned right down by the time anyone showed up and everyone thought the girls had died in the fire.


 It wasn't too much time after that all happened when farmers would leave their lunch in a cool, shady spot on the edge of the woods while they were doing hay and when they went to eat it at noon, it would be gone. Then clothing started disappearing from clothes lines. 


There is still an old timer in Canaseraga who can tell you how, when he was a kid, he had ridden along with his dad when he had to drive up through Klipnocky to check the roads in late Spring to see what would need to be repaired after the winter snow and spring rains. They ate lunch in the truck. He says he never liked the crust on a sandwich and if he had been at home with his mother, she would have made him eat it, but his dad said "What Mother doesn't know won't bother her." He threw the crust out the window. He said that no sooner had that crust hit the ground than some crazy looking girl with long, tangled hair that had leaves and burrs all knotted up in it came out of the woods, snatched up the crust and was gone, all in the blink of an eye. 


Are those 3 poor girls still waiting in the woods for their parents to come for them? I don't know. But I have been hiking and camping in Klipnocky and I have heard other people talk about the woods up in Klipnocky. It's enough to make you wonder...