The Tenth Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival will bring food, fun, history and a hip new dance craze – square dancing! — to the Village Park in Margaretville this Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 to 4.

The Catskill Mountain Boys and guest caller John Jacobson will lead experienced and newbie do-si-doers through their paces in as many dance squares as can fit under the pavilion at 3 p.m. This traditional form of down-home entertainment is making a comeback, as evidenced by the hundreds of people who turn out in New York’s Central Park every week to clap, sing and dance to the rhythm of fiddle, guitar and bass.

The Catskill Mountain Boys – John VanBenschoten, Mike Herman and Todd Pascarella – will also perform at 1 p.m. with a set of country blues and folk.

At Noon and 2, Jason Starr will share songs and ballads, from Woody Guthrie to Pete Seeger.

Saturday’s celebration of all things country includes a Tractor Parade that gives current and former farmers a chance to step into the limelight. The parade takes a couple of spins around the festival grounds at 11:30 a.m.

Tractor-drawn hay rides on the Davis farm along the East Branch of the Delaware River will be offered during the day, and, weather permitting, a hay baling demonstration will take place at 2:30 p.m.

Cauliflower, a product for which Catskill Mountain farms were noted through much of the 20th century, will be offered to modern-day fans of this versatile vegetable. Buy a recipe book to help you prepare it, and add “When Cauliflower Was King in the Catskills” to your home or video library. Sales benefit the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, sponsors of the Festival.

In the History Tent, the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will mount its exhibit on cauliflower industry history, as well as a display of farm photos from its collection. Anthony and Lynette Liberatore will be in the tent to sign and sell their new photographic history book, “Around Roxbury,” along with a display of images from the legendary Ron Ballard’s collection.

Students from Margaretville Central School’s Media Class, and from the Catskill Mountain Christian Academy, will set up shop at the Margaretville Cauliflower Festival Saturday, Sept. 28 to record memories and reflections of the 2011 flood that changed so many lives.

All those who would like to share their experiences during the flood, and their observations of how the community and the region might move forward, are invited to be videotaped for a short film to be developed by the students this year.

Students will be speaking with visitors at the NY Rising Tent, where you can also take a survey about flood recovery, examine maps of the village and offer your ideas for resolving recurring flood damage.

MARGARETVILLE, Sept. 9, 2013 — The Tenth Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival will be held rain or shine Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 to 4 in the Village Park, Margaretville.

Space is still available for vendors, community organizations and artisans. Visit www.cauliflowerfestival.com to find forms, or call 845-586-3300 for information.

This free festival, sponsored by the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, celebrates farm, home and community with agricultural displays, kids activities, history and art exhibits, music and, of course, food, glorious food!

Bushels of cauliflower and other locally produced items will be for sale. Festival fare will range from cauliflower soup to pulled pork. Highlighting the entertainment offerings this year will be the popular Catskill Mountain Boys, and afternoon square dancing in the pavilion.

Civil War letters bearing descriptions of horrific battles, amusing observations of camp life and lonesome yearnings for home will be read to musical accompaniment at the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) Thursday evening, Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m..

“Letters Home,” will feature excerpts of letters written by and to seven Middletown area soldiers. They will be read by Open Eye Theater players, interspersed with Civil War tunes performed by the Delaware Dulcimores at the HSM hall, 778 Cemetery Rd., Margaretville. Admission is $4 ($2 for HSM members).

The program complements HSM’s summer exhibit, “Middletown in the Civil War,” which is on view every Saturday from 11 to 2 through Labor Day.

The letters offer an intimate glimpse into the hearts and minds of local farmers turned soldiers. Sometimes angry, occasionally funny, always homesick, they are all the more poignant with the knowledge that five of the seven writers did not return to their families who lovingly copied and preserved these cherished letters for 150 years.

The soldiers were Abram Delameter of Millbrook, Daniel W. Gavette of Arena, Edward Easton of New Kingston, Marcus Marks of Millbrook, Cyrus Hasbrouck of Ulster County, and James and Thomas Elliott of New Kingston. All but Delameter and Easton died far from home.