St. James Episcopal Church, Amesbury, Mass. (web photo courtesy of St. James Church on Facebook)
Rosemary and I enjoyed the 24th annual Village of Church Fairs celebration in downtown Amesbury, Mass., today. Hundreds of people, maybe thousands by the end of the afternoon, walked the trail of holiday fairs at All Saints Anglican Church, Holy Family Catholic Church, St. James Episcopal Church, the Main Street Congregational Church and the Union Congregational Church (set up at City Hall), and the Market Street Baptist Church. We made the loop of about two miles between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., browsing in the church basements and halls where vendors had tables overflowing with every kind of item, holiday or not, from Christmas crafts and handmade wreaths to countless sewn and knitted items, rows of cellophane-wrapped baskets of goods for the various drawings people bought tickets for, and treasures brought down from attics and up from cellars to be sold for bargain prices. Every stop had food, whether hot chowder from the parish kitchen or neatly packaged cupcakes made by volunteers.
Main Street Congregational Church (web photo courtesy of Main St. Congregational)
I love this local-yokel community culture. The day was bright and mild, perfect New England fall weather. Everybody we met and spoke to was nice. A young minister-in-training gave us an unscheduled tour of the Anglican church. We found a back staircase leading to the sanctuary of St. James, a small stone building across from the public library. We learned that All Saints has fewer than 100 members, which made us wonder how they can keep the medium-sized church heated and maintained. At Main Street Congregational, the fair filled an old residence of many tight rooms next to the classic white-steepled church where the last of its pumpkins from the big October sale spotted the long lawn. A flyer at Main Street Congregational promoted “Hymns and Hops,” pub-style singing of songs of hope at the popular Flatbread Company in the Mill Yard downtown. The Baptist Church, not far from our home atop the former ski hill in town, is another classic New England tall white structure set close to Market Street.
We sampled the food at a couple of locations, the homemade, hometown treats adding to the familiar and friendly Americana atmosphere.
Here’s the combined menu from six locations:
Village of Church Fairs Menu
Black bean soup, baked macaroni and cheese, vegan chili, pizza,
apple crisp, fish chowder, tomato soup, turkey ‘n stuffing wraps,
hot dogs and burgers, chili and chili dogs, pulled pork sandwiches,
chicken-noodle soup, meatball subs, nachos with cheese, cupcakes,
bacon-egg-cheese on grilled English muffins, cornbread, taco salad,
pastries, corn chowder, coffee, tea, and assorted cold beverages.