Geneva Festival of the Vine features crafts, cooking info

It's Festival of the Vine, not Festival of the Wine, in Geneva this weekend.

That means you can have fun and celebrate harvest-time without taking a single sip of syrah.

On Saturday, people flocked to the demonstration stage at the Fall Harvest Market at Fourth and James streets. Audiences of 50 or more learned how to add spice to their menus, how to cook with local produce, and how to make their homes beautiful.

Debbie Phillips, owner of Scentimental Gardens store and design business, had the crowd laughing throughout her presentation on making arrangements in containers, starting when she decided to prop the hand-held microphone in her shirt so she could talk and work at the same time.

"Has anyone grown this in your garden?" she asked, holding up a bunch of tansy, featuring tiny yellow flowers. "DON'T!" It spreads and spreads, she said. But it looked nice paired with hydrangea blooms cut from her yard, some purple aster she found on a roadside, some unspecified silvery-green-leaved branches and some fake orange-colored berries.

"It's getting to be a pretty big arrangement," she said, even as a branch knocked her in the face when she turned the vase to show all sides.

"It's been better than expected," said Jennifer Sawtell of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce about the demonstrations, a new thing this year. "It think it is a real keeper."

Not far away, more than one mother was taking pictures of their children in front of a gourd-and-haystack pile made by the Great Pumpkin Patch of downstate Arthur. It stood at least 10 feet tall and featured hundreds of gourds. Some were familiar, such as the acorn squash and the miniature pumpkins; but there were also Yugoslavian finger squash, a pumpkin with brown growths called Mangy Dog, and green Big Apple gourds.

"I've never tasted that one," said Wally Kistler, of Arthur, who works for the business. He explained the business raises more than 200 varieties of gourds; it was also selling cinnamon rolls and other baked goods, made by Amish women, nearby.

The festival continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today in downtown Geneva. There is one scheduling change: Town and Country Gardens will do its demonstration at 11 a.m., and the Olive Mill will do its at 3 p.m., both at the Fall Harvest Market.

For a schedule of events and a menu for the Flavor Fare portion, turn to the Neighbor section, or visit genevachamber.com.