Pumpkin festival

Editor: Why do I enjoy volunteering at the farmers’ market?
It is watching our beloved farmers’ market appear from thin air!
Saturday, October 31, 2009…at 7:30 a.m., I walk onto the deserted
parking lot behind the Hotel Healdsburg…the empty rough surface is
nestled partially in fog…the sun gently peeks through the
clouds…there is an absolute peacefulness in the space…moments pass
and the symphony of activity begins…Alan Foppiano, a cheerful,
strong man backs his big, white Foppiano Ranch truck into the space
and begins unloading golden straw bales …colorful signs and old
straw baskets tumble out of Market Manager Mary Kelley’s green
market truck…tables are assembled…red-orange cinderella pumpkins
are casually placed on them…people arrive with cups of steaming
coffee…everyone wants to pitch in and help to set up the annual
Pumpkin Festival!
Meanwhile, farmers drift into the aisles to set up their tables
of harvest bounty…neighbors greet each other in grand anticipation
of seeing the children’s gleeful faces when they will each select a
pumpkin to carve or bring their own creations to race…the sun
strikes out on its own and it is a sea of straw dotted with
scarecrows crafted by the schoolchildren, golden pumpkins, and
harvested corn stalks coming together to create an astonishing
Autumn painting of joyful beauty…it is less than 90 minutes and I
feel deep gratitude to live in this blessed community.”
Barbara Wollner
Healdsburg