If it's fall, it must be time for country fairs. With only two months worth of primetime weekends available to schedule fall festivals and fairs, Pohick Church and Gunston Hall Plantation took advantage of the final Saturday in September to hold their fairs.
The Country Fair at Pohick Church featured games, barbecue and performances by the Pohick Pickers. There were booths selling used books, plants and baked goods. Hodge Podge had a large variety of White Elephant items and there was plenty of apple butter.
Fair-goers enjoyed visiting with reenactors from the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment Co. A Montpelier Guard, 1859 era. They also enjoyed having pictures taken with costumed 18th-century gentry from the Living History Foundation.
Back in the woods, there was a steady line of people waiting for their turn to test their skills at target shooting, where several turkeys were awarded to the winners.
GUNSTON HALL Plantation welcomed visitors to its annual Harvest Festival on Saturday afternoon. Farm Manager Buck Jarusek, spent all morning setting up the grounds for the fair; he was helped by volunteers Batch Elder and Al Jewett.
"We started at 6 a.m. and set up tents, the hayride, the barn, animals and the grounds," said Jarusek. "Batch and I, in particular, set up the grounds."
Batch said that they tested the hayride to make sure that the ground wasn't too muddy. "It's a beautiful day for it," he said.
Up by the main house, members of the docent association, Joanna Holcomb, Ruthanne Lucey, Diane Attenburg and Caroline Quintarelli, were setting up the baked goods table for the Harvest Festival. Volunteers Glenda and Tom Decker had sandwiches and chips for sale at another table.
In the kitchen, Mary Kay Ruwe and Bob Magee were getting ready to do some cooking for the guests. Ruwe had just come from the grocery store, where she had purchased some red snapper. She said that she was looking for rockfish, but couldn't find any. She and Magee, along with two other cooks, were going to prepare stewed cucumber on toast points, roast chicken, poached snapper, sliced peach and apple pudding and baked apple.
Guests also toured the home, trying their hand at apple cider pressing, visiting the animals, watching the 18th century dancing, dipping candles, watching basket-making demonstrations and taking an archaeological tour.