Harvest Day, an arts and crafts fair in Yardley, Pa., draws thousands of visitors annually.
By: Jodi Thompson
Yardley is a borough of 2,200 people, yet every fall, its streets are filled with nearly 10,000 visitors celebrating Harvest Day, to be held this year Sept. 22.
Canal and Main streets will be lined with 89 crafters selling their wares. There will be enough items to jump-start any holiday shopping list, from wooden salad bowls to photographic art; pen-and-ink drawings to metal sculptures. Order a custom wooden model of your family home or pore over hand-crafted jewelry.
Lower Makefield residents Jonas and Joyce Green, owners of J&J Toy Crafters, have been showing their wooden creations in Yardley for the last 10 years. This physically fit version of Santa and Mrs. Claus may retire from their toy workshop within the next year, but in the meantime they offer puzzles, trains, tops and push-and-pull toys.
"We have about 55 different varieties of toys," Ms. Green says. "I make baby quilts and quilted potholders, too."
The Yardley Duck is their best seller in a town famous for its web-footed friends. The yellow duck’s feet flap as a child pushes it along.
"We make everything but the whistles and the guns," Mr. Green says.
The designs, however, are not theirs. The Greens copy or adapt designs they or relatives see elsewhere.
"The Jacob’s Ladder (design) is at least 5,000 years old," Mr. Green says. "We didn’t design that."
The Greens are proud of the variety they are able to offer. They both contribute their talents.
"There aren’t many toymakers out there," Ms. Green says. "Nobody has most of what we have."
On Harvest Day, you can find the Greens set up in their usual spot on Canal Street, in the parking lot of the New York Hair Co.
This year, the children’s area will be in the newly rededicated Buttonwood Park, off Main Street. Youngsters will be entertained by Green Bean the clown from 10 a.m.-noon, Bill Diamond the magician at 1:30 p.m., and Otto the balloon man from 2-3 p.m. Children can try their hand at Spin Art or Yo-Yo Balls and jump in the Moonbounce all day.
The food court is near the children’s area.
The Yardley Recreation Board sponsors an area for non-profit organizations in the Borough Hall parking lot. Representatives from groups as diverse as the Boy Scouts, Pennsbury hockey team and Unitarian Universalists will be on hand to raise awareness and funds.
Langhorne resident Stephanie Nerges has coordinated the table for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lower Bucks. The group will sell entertainment books, afghan raffle tickets and fudge slices as part of the day’s fund-raising activities.
Harvest Day is about more than purchasing handmade items and having fun. It’s about raising funds for charity. Yardley resident Rose Bradley is the Makefield Women’s Association chairwoman. The MWA, along with the Yardley Business Association, sponsors the event.
MWA raises funds to assist 11 organizations, giving away more than $7,000 so far this year.
"Our mission is to raise money for charities," Ms. Bradley says, "mainly those concerning women and children."
Among the groups helped by MWA are A Woman’s Place, a shelter for abused women and their children in Doylestown, and the Red Cross Homeless Shelter in Levittown. MWA also helps the Bucks County Housing Group, Contact, a social services agency, and the Peace Center, a group dedicated to conflict resolution and violence prevention.
"We gave two scholarships to two senior girls in Pennsbury High School. We support the Yardley-Makefield branch of the Bucks County Free Library, the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company and Emergency Unit," Ms. Bradley says. "We’ve given money to Buttonwood Park and also to Boy Scout Troop 230."
Their charity work has inspired their vendors to assist in the efforts, too.
"We’re doing a raffle this year to get more money for our charities, so we asked the vendors if they wouldn’t mind contributing a hand-crafted item," Ms. Bradley says. "Sue Dengler very generously donated a beautiful, beautiful necklace and earrings. Silver with gemstones on it. Really, really pretty."
Ms. Dengler, a Yardley resident, is new to Harvest Day this year.
Another new aspect of the event will be a live broadcast on WBBC 1490 AM, from the Borough Hall parking lot.
The radio broadcast, new vendors and non-profits and Buttonwood Park are all cause for Ms. Bradley to be excited about this year’s Harvest Day. She hopes the day is not only fun, but helps the community support those in need.
"We’re always looking for new members," Ms. Bradley says of the women’s community group. "We’re inviting any of the women in the area who’d like to join to come down and have a cup of coffee with us, sit in on our meeting and meet our members."
Last year, the event had weather appropriate for ducks. Despite the rain, everyone declared it a success. Ms. Bradley says the weather doesn’t seem to matter.
"It’s going to be a beautiful day," she says. "We’re going to have all kinds of people there."
Harvest Day is held on Canal and Main streets, and in Buttonwood Park, Yardley, Sept. 22, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The Makefield Women’s Association donates the proceeds to local charities. For information, call (215) 493-8753.

