A Civil War reenactment dubbed Living History will be among features at the two-day festival along Main Street.
Mullica Hill’s Farm House Design will be among several Main Street businesses to host the township’s annual fall festival on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12.
The event along Main will not only celebrate the arrival of fall, but also focus on some of the town’s history. Farm House Design owner Hazel Dilsaver is coordinating the event, as she has done for the past 25 years.
“It’s a labor of love to be sure,” she commented. “I first opened my business during the fall festival, so it holds a special place in my heart.”
The festival will include a pumpkin-carving contest in three categories: adults, teens and children. Attendees will decide the winners, and the top carvers in each category will get a $200 Visa gift card. Several businesses on Main will offer special deals. Bella Grace Coffee & Cafe, an event sponsor, will have a grand opening on the event’s first day.
Also taking place that Saturday is the Ghastley Tales Historic Ghost Walk, a 45-minute walking tour that will feature horror tales and other historical facts about Mullica Hill. Multiple tours will be held on Saturday night. That portion of the event requires a ticket that can be had in advance at ticketleap.com.
The rest of the festival, save for purchases from businesses, is free. Proceeds from the walking tours will go toward the living history portion of the event.
A Civil War reenactment will coincide with a discussion on Mullica Hill’s contribution to the conflict and the community’s connection to it. It will take place on Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. and on Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. Guests will be able to explore Union and Confederate “camps” and witness an amputation reenactment. The units involved are the 28th Pennsylvania, 69th Pennsylvania, Texas Cavalry and an artillery unit.
“I always look forward to the guys camping,” Dilsaver noted. “It’s just a whole atmosphere. The groups that are formed are based on the heritage of each soldier, as well as where they’re from.”
The festival will also include a fall baking contest, photo spot, free pumpkin painting, free bounce houses, more than 50 crafters, a juggler, live music, food trucks and a boba tea truck. Other sponsors are Virtua West Jersey Health System, J. Downs Law and J & D’s Paving.
Call Dilsaver at (609) 685-6915 for more information.
“I look forward to all of it, especially bringing the community together” she noted. “I get told by people that they visited this festival when they were kids, and now they’re their kids to the festival.”
