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Festival of Leaves: Front Royal celebration dishes up lively family fun
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By Elizabeth Wilkerson -- ewilkerson@nvdaily.com
FRONT ROYAL -- Locals and visitors alike were soaking in the small town atmosphere -- as well as a little rain -- at the 39th Annual Festival of Leaves Saturday morning.
"The hometown, small town feel, that's what I like about it," said Marie Stanton, of Annapolis, Md. "It's just a special place for me."
Stanton said she came to the festival often when she was young. She and Eric Taylor, also of Annapolis, were enjoying the town and the music Saturday, she said.
"The smell of the food isn't bad, either," she said.
The festival, an annual fundraiser for the Warren Heritage Society, was set to include a parade, children's activities, live entertainment, an estimated 150 food and craft vendors, a 5K race and fun walk, historic demonstrations and tours of the Belle Boyd Cottage and Balthis House.
Amanda Shenk, of Front Royal, said she, her son, Atticus, 4, and her daughter, Chloe, 10, had come to watch the parade.
"We always come," Shenk said, as Atticus showed off a box of candy he caught during the parade. She said Chloe, who was wearing period dress, would be welcoming guests at the Belle Boyd Cottage.
"It's just something about the festival," she said when asked what kept them coming back. "We just like the energy, everybody hanging out in town on our streets that we usually drive on."
And, in spite of the chilly weather, Shenk said, the size of the crowd looked "pretty good."
Garland Price, of Oklahoma City, said he and his wife, Emily, were in the midst of a trip marking their 50th wedding anniversary, which will arrive in February. Mrs. Price said they'd been traveling since August and had been in the area for 13 days.
"We love it," she said. "We love the fall festivals. We've made all of them up and down the coast."
Price said Saturday's festival was "very organized," and offered a lot of different activities. Both said they liked the fact that the money they paid to park their vehicle was going to charity.
Mrs. Price said she enjoyed "the friendliness of the people and the great beauty of the valley," and she'd "definitely" come back.
"We're going to Washington D.C. next week," she said. "We'll tell them to come."
The smiles and spirit of fun extended into the many vendor booths Saturday. At one booth, which bore a sign advising passers by that the wares within were "Extremely Decadent!," several women wore paper crowns and T-shirts that said "Chocolate Queen."
At the booth, people could mix bowls of various goodies, including cookies, fruit, candies, cereals, sprinkles and even pickles, and smother them with molten chocolate.
Jill Williams, program manager of Healthy Families-Warren County, said the booth was a fundraiser for the program, which provides education and support for families to promote healthy births. The buffet was the brainchild of Barb Savidge, a member of the program's board of directors, Williams said.
"I've tried it. It's wonderful," she said. "You can't go wrong with chocolate and goodies."
Several potential customers had stopped by and said they'd be back for dessert, she said, so "we're hoping it will build up." No one had tried the chocolate and pickle combination yet, Williams said.
"I'm sure there are gonna be some teen boys who are gonna have to do it," Savidge said. She was "just trying to think of something different" when she came up with the idea for the fundraiser, she said.
"There's a child in all of us who secretly wishes we could have Fruit Loops with chocolate," she said. "It's just to be fun, and why not?"
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