Memories from our 2004 Tea and Yesteryear Village Festival

This was such a special fall fair...different than any other...so we have left photos online for your to admire.  Busy workers behind the scenes...elegant table settings...teapots...teacups...scones...clotted cream and strawberry jam...mandarin salad...five kinds of tea sandwiches...miniature pastries...assorted fresh-baked desserts...roses in pitchers...a chest and chairs filled with dress-up items (shawls, gloves, beads, feathery boas, handbags)...hats and a dress from the era...handmade quilts...and more...our Vestry was transformed for our 80 guests! What a success our first tea was! Thanks to all who helped and who donated items to make this such a memorable event!

As the Tea Room closed, the Bedford Inn opened with the Yankee Pot Roast Dinner and Sing-a-Long. Upper Fellowship Hall was festively decorated with green and yellow streamers and 130 guests ate...and ate...and ate some more. Tender roast beef, fluffy potatoes, mouth-watering pies—yum! After belts were loosened, we enjoyed an enthusiastic sing-along, led by Norm Sutherland and Bob McClatchey.

The Festival weekend itself was an amazing experience. The Decorations Committee outdid themselves, and the church was transformed by the Bedford flag, wagon wheels, quilts, red and white awnings, bunting, street signs, shop windows, trellises, an ice wagon filled with ice and cool drinks, and throughout the building there were vintage items of all kinds. Cheerful “shopkeepers” greeted customers and sold white elephants, books, toys, candy, popcorn, lighted garlands, Yuletide Treasures and every imaginable craft, and baked goods. The food and the handiwork in our shops was just extraordinary, and lent to a festive and warm visit to 1900s Bedford.

The Festival Steering Committee extends a heartfelt thanks to each and every volunteer, each donor of time, talent and treasure. We needed support for this kind of event, and did we ever get it! We gratefully acknowledge the creativity and dedication of our congregation, and look forward to another great fair in 2005.

The initial count for the Fair profit is $10,700.

More funds continue to come in, more expenses have to be deducted, and we still have our December After Fair Sale before the final totals are tabulated. Photos are on this page and the next one.