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WEST AMWELL: Fulpers hold Harvest Festival to help needy

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   WEST AMWELL — Picture a farm festival. What would you like to see there?
   How about a hayride around the picturesque farm, pumpkin bowling, live music, lots of good things to eat and drink (fresh from the farm), plus pedal tractor races, a straw maze, face-painting and a chance to toss a pie at a local celebrity.
   There will be all that and a lot more at the Fulper Family Farmstead’s Harvest Festival on Nov. 3, from 1-5 p.m.
   The farmstead, a fifth generation family dairy farm, is at 281 Rocktown-Lambertville Road.
   The festival is being held for a good cause. All proceeds will help those in need.
   ”The money raised at the festival will be used to assist people in our area who need help,” said Molly Pfaffenroth, sales and marketing manager for Fulper Farms.
   ”People who have lost their job, who need food or clothing for their family to help them get through a difficult time . . . those are the kinds of problems we want to help people with by having the festival.:
   Activities for all ages will include cow milking, a family photo shoot on the farm by Allure West Studios, pumpkin carving/painting, caramel apple dipping and cookie frosting.
   Visitors will be able to visit the farm’s milking parlor, calf barn and learn about its solar energy system and environmentally friendly compost practices.
   Pastries and hot apple cider to go will be ready to take home.
   Wine from Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Yard Road, Hopewell Township, will be served.
   Entertainment will be provided by a local band, The Lifters.
   ”They play rock, country, music for all ages,” Ms. Pfaffenroth said. “There’ll be an area for those who want to dance to the band’s music.”
   She added: “There’ll be a bean-bag toss and, for the kids, a large sandbox filled with corn kernels. They search through the kernels and find prizes.”
   The hayride around the farm will be a special thing.
   ”We want to show our guests what we do here,” Ms. Pfaffenroth said. “One of the things they’ll see is that our whole dairy farm is solar-powered.”
   Still to be determined is who will be the local celebrity at whom pies will be thrown.
   ”You pay a small fee and get to throw the pie,” Ms. Pfaffenroth said.
   For tickets, email or call: [email protected] or 609-651-5991.
   ACCORDING to the farm’s website, the Fulper story began in 1909 when Mary Fulper moved to Lambertville. She brought one cow with her and the family started growing vegetables. Her son, Norman and his wife, Harriet took over the farm in 1918 and bought their first tractor in 1923.
   They “gradually expanded the farm while milking 20 cows by hand, growing tomatoes for Campbell’s Soup, and hauling vegetables to the Trenton farmer’s market until the late 1940s.”
   Norman’s son, Robert and his wife, Sarah bought the farm and installed a state-of-the-art milking parlor in 1958. Today, Robert’s sons, Robert II and Fred Fulper, own and manage the farm.
   Learn more on the farm’s website: www.fulperfarms.com.