EVENTS:

Free Admission: Thanks to our generous sponsors and a growing list of Fiddlehead Friends, admission to all daytime events is FREE.  Advance tickets are available for the Banjo Dan & the Mid-Nite Plowboys concert directly from the Chandler Music Hall box office.

Children's Parade: New this year is a children's parade, on foot, on bikes, pulling wagons, in costume and marching before the VTC reviewing area. Gathering begins at the Randolph Center Church at 9:00-9:15 and the parade marches across campus at 9:30 am. All children are welcome to participate!

Tractor Cavalcade & May Pole Ceremony: Starting at 9:00 am, tractor owners from the four corners of Central Vermont will start their journey to the Fiddlehead Festival. Tractors of all ages and sizes will reach Randolph Center at 9:45 am, and assemble in an arc at the campus center around the new May Pole erected there. Ceremonies of celebration and blessings for the season will be part of the festivities. Everyone is invited to gather around the new Fiddlehead Festival May Pole for music, dancing, entwining of the colored ribbons, and remarks from Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Roger Albee.


Music: Fiddlers and other music makers will be an important part of the Fiddlehead Festival. You’ll have an opportunity to hear music of many kinds by performers young and old at the many events of the day.

Education & Demonstrations: During the day, educational sessions will introduce you to a variety of regional crafts. Learn about preparing wild edibles. See the sheep dog demonstrations conducted by Steve Wetmore. John Howe will talk about Peak Oil and his conversion of a tractor to solar power. Local poets will present their compositions

Kid's Tent: A special activity area for children is being added to this year's Fiddlehead Festival. From 10:45-12:30 pm there will be a large variety of children's activities in progress, from finding pennies in a haystack to face painting. Live animals will also be close by.

Farmers Market & Good Food: A variety of vendors will bring their tasty foods to the Fiddlehead Festival. We've invited folks who attend local farmers markets to come to a new local foods tent at the Festival. At 1:00 pm, a Farmer’s Lunch will be served in the main Judd Auditorium gathering space. You’ll be able to purchase lunch tickets and join our guests-of-honor, the active farmers of Central Vermont.

Tractor Obstacle Course: Last year this event was a hit! — a Tractor Obstacle Course competition will begin at 11:00 am. Four teams will show their skills on the Fiddlehead Festival obstacle course. The team with the best scores will be awarded prizes. Other awards and door prizes will be announced and awarded during the Farmer’s Lunch period which begins at 12:30 pm.

Agriculture Arts: At the Fiddlehead Festival you will find hand crafts, paintings, and beautiful objects — all celebrating agriculture and the arts. And don't miss the current art exhibit at the Chandler Gallery in downtown Randolph which will open at 4:00 pm.

Demonstrations: See vintage farm engines in operation. You’ll see beautiful alpacas from the Walden Mountain Alpaca Farm, a young pair of oxen being trained, and a variety of other interesting farm animals.

Floodplain Forest Walk: At 3:30 pm, in downtown Randolph, you are invited to participate in a floodplain forest walk. What to some will look like ordinary woodlands will come alive with the knowledgeable explanation of an experienced naturalist guide.

Gala Evening Concert:   From 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys will present a concert at the Chandler Music Hall in downtown Randolph, Vermont.

Since the 1970s, Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys have consistently delivered some of the finest, most dynamic and original bluegrass music ever heard in this corner of the country. Come and hear New England bluegrass at its best.