Take off your shoes: it’s finally Friday and it’s time to get down and dirty with the beautiful weather this weekend. The forecast is for sunshine and temperatures hovering around seventy degrees, so whatever you do this weekend, get outside! Roll around on Foss Hill, get in on some intramural games, jump in Miller’s Pond, or if you’re like me, pine away for a good old New England Country Fair. I always get nostalgic this time of year for the Fall Carny scene: antique tractor pulls, fried dough, harness racing, piglet raffles, pumpkin pie. One of my friends is going up to Vermont’s Tunbridge World’s Fair this weekend and I almost wish I was going with him.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of harvest-time fixes to be had around here, starting with a suggestion from our Farmers’ Market vendor, Glen, of Three Sisters Farm, who recommends going to the ‘Taste! Organic Connecticut’ Festival this Sunday. It’s only 30 minutes away in Manchester, Connecticut and will feature ArtFarm as well as a smorgasbord of activities and foodie fun. Check it at ctnofa.org. Closer to campus there’s always Lyman Orchards, which I called this morning for a preview of their weekend picking conditions.The burly voice leaving the automated message on the Pick-Your-Own Hotline (860-349-6015) informed me of all the delectable produce available for perusing. Yellow and white flesh peaches, apples, pears, and squash are all in season, and the man behind the phone reassured me that the peach supply is “very good” and said peaches are “juicy and very flavorful.” I think this is an appropriate goal for this weekend. Let’s make sure all our respective peach supplies are good and our fruit is juicy and very flavorful. Whether this means getting in tune with your au natural at Lyman or exploring your sexual appetite at Eclectic Saturday night, I wish you all happy, healthy weekend adventures.