The Greater Ridgewood Historical Society
Annual Harvest Festival Press Release
(Photo: DT Dougherty, 2009) On Sunday, October 11, 2009 the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society will host the annual Harvest Festival at the Onderdonk House, 1820 Flushing Avenue, corner of Flushing and Onderdonk Avenues, Ridgewood, Queens. After a one year respite due to public funding cuts, the Society is grateful for restored funding from the Department of Cultural Affairs, and Diana Reyna and Elizabeth Crowley, Council Members for Ridgewood. Beginning at 12 PM until 4 PM, there will be plenty of food, games and entertainment for families to enjoy. “This year, we are shifting away from Halloween and focusing more on the harvest time of year with our activities, but still including our popular pumpkin patch where our young visitors can pick out their own pumpkin”, commented President, Linda Monte. The first 500 children will receive a pumpkin to decorate and take home. Joe Fuoco Music Center will be rocking in the backyard all afternoon! Nolick the Wizard will be entertaining with his own special magic and there will be rides, face painting, balloons, crafts, plus some traditional colonial activities, including apple pressing and candle making, fresh apple and pumpkin pies to purchase and other traditional harvest items from the Colonial Gift Shop. There will also be tours of the historic Onderdonk House and the current exhibit, “Royal Roots Revisited: Saluting the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau” that highlights the relationship of the Dutch Royal family and America.
This year, both Maspeth Federal Savings and Ridgewood Saving Bank are generously supporting this event and the Kiwanis Clubs of Maspeth and Glendale are also assisting, both financially and with much needed volunteers. This program was also made possible in part by public funding from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. Admission for this event is $3.00 for adults, free for children 12 and under.
The Onderdonk House is a New York City, New York State and National Historic Landmark. Dutch farmers built the house around 1709 and it remained a farmstead through the 1920’s after which, commercial businesses were operated there until the 1970’s when the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society was founded to maintain and operate the Onderdonk House as a historic site and museum.
For information on this and the other programs conducted by the Society, please call 718-456-1776 or visit our Web site: HYPERLINK www.onderdonkhouse.org www.onderdonkhouse.org. The Onderdonk House can be reached by public transportation. Bus: Q-54 passes two blocks away on Metropolitan Avenue. B-57 passes the house on Flushing Avenue. Subway: "L" line to Jefferson St. (Brooklyn) stop; proceed five blocks North (right) along Flushing Ave. On street parking is available, plentiful and free.