Gilfeather Turnip Festival

Fall is filled with many festivals. From foliage to pumpkin festivals, there aren't a shortage of New England towns to visit in  October. This past weekend was no exception as the 25th Annual New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival was held in Laconia on Saturday and the Mondadnock Pumpkin Festival was held at the Cheshire County Fairgrounds. Both were trying to replace the pumpkin fest, traditionally held in Keene, but not permitted by the City this year due to rioting that occurred during the 2014 event. Instead of celebrating the common pumpkin, I instead drove to Wardsboro Vermont to attend the 13th annual Gilfeather Turnip Festival. Since my first attempt at planting turnips this summer was so successful I wanted to gather ideas on how to make use of this tuber vegetable.

A very cool sign for the Baker Violin Shop

Although foliage was past its peak, and some trees were even bare, the trip through Keene and through south-central Vermont was gorgeous, which meant that I had to stop several times to take a few snapshots.

Dummerston Covered Bridge over the West River

Nothing says New England like a covered bridge and the long Dummerston Bridge in West Dummerston is am authentic example. There is a good sized parking area on the West Side of the bridge with steps leading down to the water.

Steps that take you underneath the Dummerston Bridge

One of the towns I drove through was Newfane. I challenge anyone who was not traveled this route before to drive past this town without stopping to admire this historic village. The village, settled in the middle of the 18th century, is the county seat for the county of Windham and is listed on the National Register of Historic places. The architecture of the buildings and its geographic setting surrounded by hills is designed for a storybook.

Just before making the turn onto Route 100 from Route 30 is the Townshend Dam and Flood Control project.  At the time, the entrance to the state recreation area was closed (open from Memorial Day to Labor Day), but it is still an interesting area to walk around.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Townshend Lake Flood Control Project

I finally turned on Maine Street in the Town of Wardsboro and was greeted by a traffic jam, and with parking on both sides, the now single lane road was a bit of a challenge to maneuver through in order to find a parking spot. The Gilfeather Turnip Festival has certainly come into its own. I saw cars from New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. I was the only car from New Hampshire.

The "Turnip Cafe" and Entertainment were held inside the Town Hall, and an outside farmer's market and craft fair was held in the tent next to the building. From what I gathered, this was the best turn-out the festival organizers have seen. Unfortunately, this was apparent when the soup had already sold out at the cafe. I was able to sample some turnip slaw though.

I also missed the turnip judging, but heard that the winner of the largest turnip was 40 pounds!

Gilfeather Turnips (aka rutabaga)

Truck Bed of Turnips

The Gilfeather turnip was originally grown by Wardsboro resident John Gilfeather, sometime around the turn of the 20th century, but it did not become trademarked until the early 1980s by MaryLou and Bill Schmidt. This year, a bill was presented to the state legislature to designate the Gilfeather Turnip as the state vegetable. The seeds, once a highly guarded commodity, can now be purchased locally and through heirloom seed catalogs. Although I missed out on the soup, I did buy some Gilfeather turnip bread and the official Gilfeather Turnip Cookbook so that I can experiment with my own turnip dishes.