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10th Annual Blueberry Festival declared a success
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| Those who attended Austerlitz Historical Society’s 10th Annual Blueberry Festival early enough Sunday morning, July 26 were able to enjoy the annual pancake breakfast. (Photo contributed) |
By Francesca Olsen
AUSTERLITZ — The Austerlitz Blueberry Festival was a success again this year, which officially makes it a success 10 years running.
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Old Austerlitz on Route 22, blueberries and history were the focus of visitors in the thousands. Around 150 volunteers turned out to man tables, serve food and do whatever else they could to benefit the Austerlitz Historical Society.
“Everything we do is all volunteer,” said Carl Quinn, treasurer of the historical society. “We really have a group of dedicated volunteers who put it on together.”
Quinn reported that 660 adults and 117 children came out early for the pancake breakfast from 9 to 11:30 a.m., “almost exactly the same as last year’s numbers.” Thirty gallons of orange juice was served, 30 dozen eggs were used to make the pancake batter and 120 pints of blueberries were used in the pancakes.
Blueberries, ice cream with blueberry sauce, blueberry bushes and more were for sale, the historic buildings at Old Austerlitz were open and arts and crafts vendors demonstrated historical weaving and forging skills. Baked goods were also a hot item as Quinn reported that volunteer bakers made nearly 150 pies, 24 dozen muffins, 120 croissants and two dozen coffee cakes.
Instead of a recipe contest this year, there was a coloring cookbook compiled of recipes from the last 10 years, which was “very well received,” said Quinn.
The Austerlitz Blueberry Festival was conceived from observing a 1920s photo of women in Austerlitz who picked wild blueberries on Harvey Mountain in order to pay for their school taxes. “They had aprons on and they were holding pails,” said Barbara Willner, a former president of the historical society. “I said, ‘well, we have to have a blueberry festival.’”
The idea was proposed as a way to raise money for the historical society. Since the first festival in 2000, the event has expanded into an extremely successful venture and has paid for the restoration and construction of several historic buildings on the site of Old Austerlitz.
Robert Herron, whose family has been in the area for seven generations, originally envisioned the idea of a farmstead on the grounds — “what would have been here in about 1820,” according to Willner. Herron donated the land to the historical society.
Last year, between 1,500 and 2,000 people came to the Blueberry Festival. “I’m hoping it’s that good this time,” said Willner. “It’s been the most important fundraiser for our society.”
“I think we’ll surpass that number this year,” said Quinn. “Year by year, it’s the advertising and word of mouth.”
According to Quinn, by day’s end, they had admitted 1,750 adults, up 280 from last year, and many children (12 and under are free and not counted).
As for the money raised, he said the historical society grossed nearly $38,000, but won’t know the exact profit until after bills are paid. He said it’s their largest fundraiser of the year.
Over the years, the Blueberry Festival has been mentioned in many publications, including Martha Stewart Living, which named it among the best fruit festivals in the nation, and the New York Daily News, which named it one of the top 10 New York summer festivals.
The Austerlitz Volunteer Fire Department also volunteered at the festival, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers for visitors and providing fire trucks to the festival background. “We’re thrilled to have them — it means security,” said Willner.
Quinn noted that throughout the day the Northern Columbia County Rotary Club handed out free water to all the volunteers. The water was donated to the Rotary Club by Frank Genovese at Chatham Hardware.
“We couldn’t do what we do at these festivals without our volunteers,” said Quinn. And in three weeks, “they’ll do it all over again for our next festival in August.”
Last year, the historical society was recognized by the Columbia County Historical Society with their Columbia County Heritage Award, which noted that “although the Society has no paid staff, we continuously offer consistently high-quality programs and that we have set some very high goals; goals that we are well suited to meet entirely on volunteer support.”
Upcoming events to benefit the Austerlitz Historical Society include a re-enactment of the Battle of Austerlitz — “the one that Napoleon won as opposed to Waterloo,” according to Willner.
A group of Napoleon re-enactors from Montreal Googled “Austerlitz” and found out about the town in Columbia County. “They came down to see us and they saw how rural we are here,” said Willner.
The re-enactors will be at Old Austerlitz 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Aug. 15 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, where they’ll be camping and living like an army would have done under Napoleon, with horses, cavalry and full dress uniforms. Willner made children’s shirts that say “Vive le Emperor at the other Austerlitz.”
And the historical society has already set a date for next year’s Blueberry Festival, July 25. For more information about the Austerlitz Historical Society, visit www.oldausterlitz.org.
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Old Austerlitz on Route 22, blueberries and history were the focus of visitors in the thousands. Around 150 volunteers turned out to man tables, serve food and do whatever else they could to benefit the Austerlitz Historical Society.
“Everything we do is all volunteer,” said Carl Quinn, treasurer of the historical society. “We really have a group of dedicated volunteers who put it on together.”
Quinn reported that 660 adults and 117 children came out early for the pancake breakfast from 9 to 11:30 a.m., “almost exactly the same as last year’s numbers.” Thirty gallons of orange juice was served, 30 dozen eggs were used to make the pancake batter and 120 pints of blueberries were used in the pancakes.
Blueberries, ice cream with blueberry sauce, blueberry bushes and more were for sale, the historic buildings at Old Austerlitz were open and arts and crafts vendors demonstrated historical weaving and forging skills. Baked goods were also a hot item as Quinn reported that volunteer bakers made nearly 150 pies, 24 dozen muffins, 120 croissants and two dozen coffee cakes.
Instead of a recipe contest this year, there was a coloring cookbook compiled of recipes from the last 10 years, which was “very well received,” said Quinn.
The Austerlitz Blueberry Festival was conceived from observing a 1920s photo of women in Austerlitz who picked wild blueberries on Harvey Mountain in order to pay for their school taxes. “They had aprons on and they were holding pails,” said Barbara Willner, a former president of the historical society. “I said, ‘well, we have to have a blueberry festival.’”
The idea was proposed as a way to raise money for the historical society. Since the first festival in 2000, the event has expanded into an extremely successful venture and has paid for the restoration and construction of several historic buildings on the site of Old Austerlitz.
Robert Herron, whose family has been in the area for seven generations, originally envisioned the idea of a farmstead on the grounds — “what would have been here in about 1820,” according to Willner. Herron donated the land to the historical society.
Last year, between 1,500 and 2,000 people came to the Blueberry Festival. “I’m hoping it’s that good this time,” said Willner. “It’s been the most important fundraiser for our society.”
“I think we’ll surpass that number this year,” said Quinn. “Year by year, it’s the advertising and word of mouth.”
According to Quinn, by day’s end, they had admitted 1,750 adults, up 280 from last year, and many children (12 and under are free and not counted).
As for the money raised, he said the historical society grossed nearly $38,000, but won’t know the exact profit until after bills are paid. He said it’s their largest fundraiser of the year.
Over the years, the Blueberry Festival has been mentioned in many publications, including Martha Stewart Living, which named it among the best fruit festivals in the nation, and the New York Daily News, which named it one of the top 10 New York summer festivals.
The Austerlitz Volunteer Fire Department also volunteered at the festival, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers for visitors and providing fire trucks to the festival background. “We’re thrilled to have them — it means security,” said Willner.
Quinn noted that throughout the day the Northern Columbia County Rotary Club handed out free water to all the volunteers. The water was donated to the Rotary Club by Frank Genovese at Chatham Hardware.
“We couldn’t do what we do at these festivals without our volunteers,” said Quinn. And in three weeks, “they’ll do it all over again for our next festival in August.”
Last year, the historical society was recognized by the Columbia County Historical Society with their Columbia County Heritage Award, which noted that “although the Society has no paid staff, we continuously offer consistently high-quality programs and that we have set some very high goals; goals that we are well suited to meet entirely on volunteer support.”
Upcoming events to benefit the Austerlitz Historical Society include a re-enactment of the Battle of Austerlitz — “the one that Napoleon won as opposed to Waterloo,” according to Willner.
A group of Napoleon re-enactors from Montreal Googled “Austerlitz” and found out about the town in Columbia County. “They came down to see us and they saw how rural we are here,” said Willner.
The re-enactors will be at Old Austerlitz 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Aug. 15 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, where they’ll be camping and living like an army would have done under Napoleon, with horses, cavalry and full dress uniforms. Willner made children’s shirts that say “Vive le Emperor at the other Austerlitz.”
And the historical society has already set a date for next year’s Blueberry Festival, July 25. For more information about the Austerlitz Historical Society, visit www.oldausterlitz.org.
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