Barns, those icons of rural life that have long defined the landscape of the Catskills, will be the focus of the History Tent at the Ninth Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival to be held rain or shine Saturday, Sept. 29 from 10 to 4 in the Village Park, Margaretville.

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will present the results of a three-year photographic survey of 210 standing barns in Middletown and contiguous areas of Roxbury, Hardenburgh, Andes and Halcott.

In “Barn Yesterday,” visitors can view an exhibit, peruse binders containing photos and historic documentation of the barns, and watch a stunning continuous slide show featuring Middletown’s amazing agricultural legacy in all its homespun glory. Tribute will be made to those still farming, and homage will be paid to barns that have disappeared.

Learn about types of barns and their functional elements. See how some have been adapted to new uses. Enjoy the art and geometry of these common but remarkable buildings. And try your hand at timber framing, the traditional method of building a barn.

In keeping with the farm theme, a Tractor Parade will roll around the festival grounds at 11:30, and Lauren Davis and crew will provide a hay baling demonstration on his adjoining farm at 2:30.

Seth and Alisha Finch will bring their mammoth Percheron draft horses to give afternoon wagon rides to festival goers. The Finchs and their children, Wyatt and Emma, use the horses to do traditional farm tasks, from spreading manure to working in the hay fields to logging.

Bushels of cauliflower will be offered for sale, and kids of all ages will have a chance to be photographed as the Watershed Agricultural Council’s “Cauliflower Lady.”

Elsewhere on the festival grounds, 36 artisans, vendors and exhibitors will greet visitors. Festival fare will range from cauliflower soup to barbecue chicken to pickles right out of the barrel! Containers of Chobani yogurt will be given away.

Pickin’, singin’ and dancin’ will make the East Branch Valley ring on Saturday, Sept. 29 when the home-grown Catskill Mountain Boys, and the Blue Ribbon Cloggers are featured at the Ninth Annual Margaretville Cauliflower Festival.

The festival runs from 10 to 4 in the Village Park, Margaretville.

The Catskill Mountain Boys (also known as Aurora North) is a bluegrass band that includes Todd Pascarella, John VanBenschoten, Mike Herman and Henry Hermann.

Catskill Mountain Boys

Todd, who plays bass, performed for several years with a rock band known as “The Lost Beat Heroes” and later as “Cold Memory.” After moving to the Catskills from Long Island in 2001, Todd found his way to the basement of John VanBenschoten’s house , where the band “Aurora North” was conceived late one December night.

John VanBenschoten started playing guitar and banjo at age 17. He has played in bluegrass duets from Prescott, Arizona to Sitka, Alaska and has studied the banjo with legendary banjo picker William Bradford Keith – known to many as ‘Bill Keith.’ He sings lead vocals with the band.

Adding harmony is Henry Hermann, who picked up a violin at the age of six, but did not start fiddlin’ until age 22 when he joined the “Almost Heaven Band” in Miami. He moved back to the Catskills in 1993, hooked up with the “Blue Savannah Band,” and played and recorded with several other bands doing everything from hard rock to Country and Celtic. He teamed with Debra Osherow for a CD titled “FiddleHawk.”

Mike Herman spent 18 years playing, teaching, touring and recording the blues. He and partner John Gillespie comprised the regional acoustic blues duo “The Hell Hounds,” which toured the East Coast and Mid-West, playing festivals with blues greats such as Hubert Sumlin, Roy Bookbinder, Bob Margolin, John Hammond, and others. They recorded three CDs. Today, Mike performs bluegrass with The Boys, and blues as a solo singer/songwriter.

A reception on Tuesday, Sept. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Middletown Town Hall will open a new permanent exhibit of 12 photo collages created by Michael Musante to show the passage of time and the continuity of history.

The public is most welcome to the reception, which precedes a meeting of the Middletown Town Board at the Town Hall, 42339 NYS Route 28, between Margaretville and Arkville.

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