| SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 -- A barbecue chicken dinner caps the annual the Granby Grange fair Sept. 8 starting at 9 a.m. at 212 North Granby Road ( Route 189) at Sakrison Road.
The day starts with contestants bringing their quilts, canned goods, baked goods or fresh produce for judging between 9 and 10 am. Judging begins at noon, and the hall opens at 3 p.m. to reveal the winners, exhibits by 4-H members and families, and a plant and bake sale.
All afternoon the barbecue crew prepares for the fundraiser dinner: a plate of half a chicken, corn on the cob and potato salad. Pie for dessert, of course. The crew begins serving dinner at 4:30 p.m.
Fans of barbecue who want to be sure of a share can reserve a dinner by buying a ticket from any Grange member or by contacting the barbecue organizer, Bob Brockett, at 860-653-6740. Otherwise the dinners are sold first come, first served for $18 till the 140 meals are gone. The proceeds go to support the programs of the Grange, a venerable rural community organization that performs community-service and conservation projects, sponsors social activities, and offers scholarships annually.
If you have a knack for preserves, pies or pickles, or if your squash, eggplant, pears or sunflowers look amazing this year, check out a copy of the contest rules, called a premium list in the traditional lingo, and enter them for judging. There’s no fee to enter the contests, which are open to anyone. Cooks, farmers, gardeners, quilters and photographers don’t have to be members of the Grange to enter. By tradition, most of the entered items are sold by auction to benefit the Grange at the end of the day; photos, quilts, kids’ entries, and family booth exhibits excepted.
To enter items for judging, contestants must file an entry form by Sept. 6. The forms are available online at the Grange’s web site and can be sent to R. I. Brockett, 235 N. Granby Road, Granby, CT 06035, or by scanning and emailing the form to rib0080@sbcglobal.net.
For a diversion during the morning drop-offs and to celebrate the agricultural heritage of Granby and the Grange, Bernie Merli will display a few of his shiny red restored Farmall tractors in the field just north of the Grange hall.
The Granby Grange Fair is just one of dozens of events in Granby at a dozen stops on the Open Farm Day farm-hopping tour Sept. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more info about other activities at the open farms Sept. 8, go to GranbyAg.org on the web.
For more info about the Grange and its 2012 fair, visit www.GranbyGrange.org or call RoseAnna Smith at 860-651-5485.
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