COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Come celebrate the beginning of the fall season at the 31^st annual Harvest Festival at The Farmers' Museum taking place Saturday, September 12th and Sunday, September 13th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  This popular event brings together a wide array of performers, exhibitors, delicious foods, artisans and animals in an alluring 19^th-century setting.

This year, the Museum welcomes members of the Southern Tier Alpaca Association.  Dozens of alpaca will be on site taking part in parades, shearing demonstrations and even an obstacle course!  These adorable, domesticated animals will be accessible to visitors throughout the weekend.  There will also be fiber arts and alpaca-related products for sale.

Harvest Festival guests will enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides; historic games and craft activities for the whole family; artisan demonstrations; and delicious foods from the season's harvest including samples of McCadam Cheese, roasted corn, and ice cream.  Regional cuisine features baked goods, local produce, and maple products.

Returning are festival favorites Jim Kimball and Dick Bolt, presenting live, traditional music of New York State; and Dickens the Clown, entertaining children with his juggling feats. In addition, visitors can cheer on the dog agility demonstrations, take in a band organ concert at The Empire State Carousel and watch the Junior Livestock Show's Parade of Champions.

Please visit our website at www.FarmersMuseum.org for a complete schedule of Harvest Festival activities.

Visitors can also enjoy the museum's classic attractions as well - including favorites such as the Empire State Carousel, the Historic Village, Lippitt Farmstead, the Cardiff Giant, and all the animals!

Sponsored by KeyBank. Supported in part by the Southern Tier Alpaca Association and McCadam Cheese. This event is sponsored through the Pure Catskills Buy Local campaign, an economic initiative of the Watershed Agricultural Council.  Funding is provided by the WAC, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and other sources.  This event is made possible with funding by the Otsego County Bed Tax Event Grant Program, Otsego County Tourism (800-843-3394), thisisccooperstown.com, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Admission to the event: $11 adults (13+), $9.50 seniors (65+), $5 children (7-12), children 6 and under and members of the New York State Historical Association are free. On Harvest Festival weekend only, visitors who sign up for a new membership in the New York State Historical Association will receive a 20% discount on the annual membership fee.

Across the road, visitors to the Fenimore Art Museum can view several outstanding exhibitions including America's Rome: Artists in the Eternal City, 1800 - 1900; Walker Evans: Carbon and Silver; and American Landscapes from the Permanent Collection.

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About The Farmers' Museum

As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibitions. The Museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, a late 19th-century Country Fair featuring The Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, The Museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers' Museum's outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows. The Museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

The Farmers' Museum is located on 5775 State Hwy. 80, in Cooperstown, NY. Museum admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for visitors age 65 and over, and $5 for children age 7 to 12; children 6 and under and members are admitted free. From April 1 through May 11 and October 13 through October 31, admission prices are reduced to $9 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, and $4 for children age 7 to 12. AAA discounts offered. Reduced price combination admission tickets that include the Fenimore Art Museum and The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also available. For museum hours or general information, please call 1-888-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org.

For more information or images, please contact:

Todd Kenyon, Public Relations

New York State Historical Association

Fenimore Art Museum/The Farmers' Museum

Phone: (607) 547-1472 / E-mail: t.kenyon@nysha.org