Garlic and Arts

On Saturday we headed north to attend one of our very favorite annual happenings: The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival. The festival's mission statement:

The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival is a celebration of the artistic, agricultural and cultural bounty of the region. The purpose of the festival is to unite North Quabbin people whose livelihoods are connected to the land and the arts, and to invite both local residents and those who do not live in the region to experience the richness of an area that is often overlooked. The festival emphasizes what is homegrown and high quality, as well as what helps preserve and support the environment.

We experience the event as a large gathering of fun people, all enjoying yummy food (much of it cooked with garlic) and appreciating the work of local artists. There's also lots of laying around on the grass, listening to music and hula-hooping. The timing of the festival coincides with the fall equinox, and so we incorporate it into our Mabon celebration (a celebration of the harvest and a thanksgiving for all that is beautiful around us (food, art, people, the land)).

One of the kids' favorite parts about the festival is the farm animals. Zeb, especially, would have been happy to hang out watching the ducks, sheep, goats, and bunnies for the entire length of our stay.

burying their hands in the softest angora rabbits

The hula hoops (huge quantities of handmade hoops spread out on a large section of field) are another festival highlight.

Jaz learned to hula hoop for the first time at the festival

Lena showing off her crazy hula hooping skills

Zeb got his first taste of hooping on Nama's shoulders

I really love getting to check out all of the artists' booths. Lots of inspiration. I hope that next year I can be there with my own little booth of handmade things. Lukas fell in love with this beautiful gnome puppet, and he (now named "Nugget") came home with us.

Being surrounded by such invigorated energy felt amazing. I never wanted to leave. I wish we could go "garlic and artsing" once a month. To remind ourselves what life is all about. I'll have to work on figuring out how to have more of that kind of experience worked into our life.

Three boys loving up their Nama at the end of the festival