JIGGIN’ IN THE VALLEY FOR A QUARTER CENTURY
By: Ruthie Laroche
The Jig in the Valley will celebrate 25 years of marvelous music, excellent food, and small town festivities this summer. The Fairfield Community Center and The Meeting House on the Green welcome folks of all ages to join them for the ‘best Jig yet’ on Sunday, July 30th.
The Jig will commence on the Village Green in East Fairfield at noontime on Sunday. Guests are invited to come for the entire eight hour celebration that will include lots of music, kid’s activities, the famous Wood Fired Pizza, a Silent Auction, raffles galore, and a parade by the Black Creek Adventure Circus!
The entertainment for the day is based around a host of bands including Dale and Darcy, the Missisquoi River Band, Brian Curry, West Virginia’s acclaimed Rush Run Philharmonic, Carol Ann Jones and the Superchargers, and the Ole Romeos. Special guests will also be in attendance as the Jig welcomes George Lewis, Joe Moore, and New Orleans trumpeter Al Zanzler.
This year’s Silent Auction will be an extra special one according to Nancy Shaw, Interim Director of the Center, as they have acquired some wonderful items.
Over forty items ranging from an overnight stay at the Omni Parker hotel in Boston, gondola rides at Stowe, a Bash Badge from Smugg’s will all be available as well as beautiful and unique hand crafted items and dinners at excellent restaurants.
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There will also be a raffle for a new gas grill.
The music will be a highlight of the day, but Shaw was quick to say that the Black Creek Adventure Circus Parade was an event that everyone would enjoy.
Kids attending the Black Creek Adventure Camp spend time making costumes and learning various entertainment skills. They learn to walk on stilts, juggle, and practice the art of clowning. The Jig gives them an opportunity to entertain the crowds with their newly acquired skills.
The handmade, wood fired pizza is a delight that Jig goers will have the opportunity to enjoy. Five years ago the Black Creek Adventure Campers built the oven for cooking the pizza, and the pizza cooked in that oven is famous around the area.
Shaw shared the story of the Community Center and encouraged folks to get out and enjoy the food and music. She also made sure to remind attendees that all the money from The Jig goes to support a community wide effort in East Fairfield that reaches young and old alike.
The Jig is a home grown event, and the founders are no strangers to getting things done for the betterment of the community they live in.
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In 1991 a group of East Fairfield residents heard the news that the Community Center was going up for sale.
“The town was going to sell it, but we wanted to save it for a public space,” said Shaw, “about sixty people from the town got together to work to save it. We applied for grants and eventually bought the Center and completely renovated it.”
Today the Community Center hosts The Black Creek Adventure Camp for 5-12 year olds. This camp runs for eight weeks during the summer months. Children who participate learn something new each week, with a focus on healthy lifestyles and building life skills.
The building also houses a preschool, a food shelf, wellness clinics, and a free meal for the area’s seniors.
Shaw said that the Senior Meal, served on Tuesdays, usually has twenty to forty in attendance each week. The staff is made up of volunteers, some seniors themselves.
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All the proceeds of The Jig go directly into the funding of the Community Center and “Meeting House on the Green.”
Four years ago the residents of the town purchased the old white church in East Fairfield. The building serves as the rain day site for The Jig as well as an area to host enrichment programs, music events, memorial services, weddings, puppet shows, and the preschool graduation for the Community Center.
“The buildings are really just bringing a lot to this community. The Jig in the Valley is the celebration piece. We are celebrating our community,” said Nance.
Admission to the Jig is $10 per person or $25 per family. Bring yourself, your family, your friends, and some lawn chairs and blankets. Get ready for a fun afternoon with plenty of food and entertainment, and remember The Jig in the Valley takes place rain or shine!
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