Fall is one of the best times of year to visit Locust Grove, so what better way to see the house and grounds than during the lively festivities of Market Fair! This year’s event was a tremendous success, full of wonderful performances, engaging demonstrations, dozens of vendors of all sorts of foods and goods, and of course, the faces of our friends who came out to the fair! Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.
My favorite part of Market Fair is seeing the site come alive with the stories from the past and the people in the present who interpret those stories. It’s especially fun when Locust Grove plays host to animals! Spinner and Weaver Peggy from Loom Hall borrowed three sheep and brought them with her! I spent a lot of my weekend making friends with Juniper, Llama, and Cotton.
Good morning sheep!
An animated discussion about wool.
Wool at Loom Hall.
Peggy was happy to talk wool, sheep, spinning, and looms to visitors.
Another new addition to Market Fair was an 18th century pony cart! Candy trotted Mattie the pony around the fair, cheering everyone up with the sound of the cart’s bells!
Candy and Mattie pause during artillery demonstrations.
Spot Candy and Mattie in this picture!
Crown Point Bread Company joined us again from New York, and brought along Carver, the resident bread dog. However, Carver was more interested in the wares of His Lordship’s Beef than bread and made every effort to befriend Steve and his team throughout the weekend.
“Come on Steve, just one tiny taste?”
Meat roasts at His Lordship’s Beef
Carver’s human, Yannig, sold delicious rolls, loaves, and cookies, and always had long lines.
The crew of His Lordship’s Beef!
For many people, Market Fair is a kind of family reunion, a time to spend time with friends and fellow reenactors from all over the country. Blacksmith Aubrey Williams came from Terre Haute, Indiana for the weekend, and shared a booth with Jim Carr, from the Hikes Point neighborhood of Louisville. Williams has been coming to Market Fair for about ten years, and enjoys demonstrating his forge to visitors, remarking that “people like you to make things.” Carr works in IT when not in the forge and got hooked on reliving history after visiting Market Fair a few years ago.
Jim and Aubrey are truly talented smiths.
Silas Moore the Rat Catcher brought his apprentice (and grandson) Roscoe to Market Fair this year.
By day, Nathanael Logsdon is the director of Historic Tunnel Mill, and the proprietor of Taylor Rose Historical Outfitters. During Market Fair, he brewed my favorite beverage, coffee, along with tea and chocolate, as Hellringer and Kurtz. (The Kentucky Bourbon Pecan blend was delicious!)
Nathanael was joined by his family and a giant copper coffee pot!
I also met a group of folks with another connection to George Rogers Clark–Barbara Lemmons and Gary, Liz, and Kyra Williams from Evansville, Indiana. Their home historic site is George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes, and they enjoy coming down to Louisville to further celebrate the past and George Rogers Clark. As Gary, a graphic designer, said “George Rogers Clark was a very real person”, and learning more about him and other like him is one of the best part of reenacting. Kyra has been a reenactor her whole life–24 years, one month, and three weeks as of Market Fair!–and along with her mom, Liz, counts the shopping and the people as her favorite part of the event. My favorite part? Barbara’s ginger cookies.
Gary, Kyra, Barbara, and Liz are Market Fair veterans!
Joining us once again all the way from Wisconsin were the Amazing Budabi Brother, Nick and Erik. According to Erik, they grew up as Amish gypsies, and were raised as ninjas. Put differently by Nick, they were born into reenacting and trained horses and oxen until they learned to juggle as teenagers to help them get girls. They quickly learned that jokes and fire make for a better show, and audiences seem to agree! What should we expect from the Budabis at next year’s Market Fair? “Elephants.”
Erik often gets called Aladdin. Someone once told Nick he looked like the Hamburglar.
We also had some wonderful musical performances by Jonathan Hagee the balladeer and Jack Salt and the Captain’s Daughter! You can go to our YouTube channel and check out some song snippets from these talented performers.
Market Fair wasn’t always pleasant, however. Some Patriot gentlemen began declaiming anti-British sentiments and reading aloud from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, and brought out a dummy of the King. Two Loyalist gentlemen overheard, and the next thing anyone knew, the Regulars were on the move, and the Patriots were on the run.
Mr. Paine has some interesting ideas.
However, this Loyalist gentleman didn’t seem to appreciate them.
Searching for those radical gentlemen.
Market Fair wouldn’t be complete without reenacting a few military drills and engagements.
So, for one weekend, this old house rang with the sounds of forges and pony cart bells, cannon fire, sea chanteys, and good friends meeting old friends. What a lovely end to October–we can’t wait until next year! We love knowing what you thought of your historical experiences, so please share your stories and pictures with us, here on the blog in the comments section, or on Facebook. We certainly hope to see you again soon–for Christmastide! Thank you for spending time with us this autumn!
With sincere good wishes,
Hannah
P.S. Check out even more photos from Market Fair below!
Additional photographs provided by Jeannie Vezeau, Gail Thompson, and Bob Boone.Â
Historic Locust Grove 
I was stopped by some British Regulars who asked to see my papers. Flustered, I showed them the only papers I had (the sheet you get when you pay your admission that shows the times of the events). The officer said, “Mam, these are not your papers, this is a schedule. Where are your papers?” Then, fearing imprisonment, I said, “Well, I don’t have any papers with me but I do have my badge (showing them my Locust Grove volunteer badge).” The officer said, “That will do, Mam, but next year be sure to have the proper papers”. So, somebody make a note that next year the volunteers need “papers”.
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