BURRILLVILLE – With a unique laser light show, more than 150 vendors, food trucks, live entertainment and more, the two day Burrillville Arts & Crafts Festival has brought crowds of visitors to Harrisville over the past several years.
In 2024, the event has been rebranded to reflect a more inclusive, family-friendly, autumn vibe, and when the new, “Burrillville Fall Harvest Festival,” opens on Saturday, Sept. 14, guests can expect more elements geared toward kids and a bit more of that old New England fall charm that makes northern Rhode Island such a popular seasonal destination.
Veronica Huguenin, who revived the event in 2014 after a five year hiatus and ran it through 2021, was asked to return to the demanding role again this year.
Huguenin has maxed out the available space in 2024 with 174 vendors – the largest number in the event’s history – and has planned new activities for the festival’s younger guests.
“We decided to make it a more family-friendly event,” she said.
Burrillville Rocks will join the festival on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with rock decorating and a scavenger hunt for Minion rocks. Saturday’s activities will also include a craft activity for kids, with kits donated by Home Depot from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. while supplies last.
Games will be set up all weekend at Levy Field, where kids can try out challenges such as a ball toss for the chance to win prizes. The volunteer organizers will also set up various photo stations on the grounds, with features such as hay bales and cutouts providing fun spaces for pictures.
On Sunday, there will be pumpkin painting, with exact times yet to be determined.
Vendor booths will stretch from Freedom Park onto the grounds of the Assembly Theatre, the town Annex and First Universalist Church, then occupy even more space on the other side of Harrisville Main Street, with tents along the Town Common and Levy Elementary School. Food will include the usual staples such as Alien Ice Cream and Dinolicious, along with some new options, with CC’s Chips and More offering potato chips homemade on the spot; Griddle Me This selling, “smash burgers,” Sweet B’s bringing along hot, fresh donuts.
“It’s a really big area,” said Huguenin, noting that across the scenic Harrisville Dam, Freedom Park alone will feature 42 vendors plus food trucks parked along the road. “People will make the walk.”
She notes that this time around, her small team will also do some decorating.
“The entire grounds is going to have cornstalks and pumpkins and mums, just to give it a nice fall vibe,” Huguenin said. “We never did that before.”
Tree of Life will offer a chainsaw carving demonstration Saturday morning, with the creation to later serve as one of several festival raffle prizes. A beer garden will be open and as always, Liberty Farms will offer hayrides throughout the two-day event. At the nearby Stillwater Mill Pavilion by Jesse Smith Library, the Burrillville Farmer’s Market will offer it’s own unique set of goods. The Universalist church will have a large yard sale.
A focus of the gathering is always the arts and crafts vendors themselves, with new additions this year to include everything from stained glass goods and face painters, to wooden portraits and balloons on a stick.
But the festival entertainment is also a draw, with two stages featuring a variety of acts throughout. It starts right at 10 a.m. on Saturday at an opening ceremony on the main stage behind the Assembly Theatre, with remarks by longtime Town Councilor Stephen Rawson, followed by Burrillville 7th grader Jada Carpenter signing the National Anthem.
By the town gazebo, Generations Unlimited will play from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Robert Scully from 1 to 3 p.m.
Saturday on the main stage, it’s Sideways Down from 1 to 4 p.m., and Dynamite Rhythm from 5 to 8 p.m., leading up to the laser light show around 8 p.m.
On Sunday, Nolan Leite will be at the gazebo from 1 to 4 p.m. and the Coventry Witches will dance by the main stage at noon, followed by Jesse Desorcy & Co. from 1 to 4 p.m.
Huguenin notes that some of the times for events and activities are subject to change, and advises visitors to check the event Facebook page prior to their visit for the latest information. The page also has a full list of vendors, foods and activities.
The Burrillville Fall Harvest Festival will take place along Harrisville Main Street and East Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 15 from 10 am to 5 p.m.
