GRANBY — Instead of the traditional fall fair festivities, Granby will celebrate the turning of the season with the Pioneer Valley’s Jurassic claim-to-fame.
Dinosaurs will once again roam the Earth to dance and dash at the 11th annual DinoFest on Saturday. Each year, roughly 500 to 600 people take to the dance floor at Church of Christ Congregational, 235 State St. After a quick boogie in prehistoric attire, attendees run down Common Street with Zippy the Dinosaur in toe.
“Its a family-oriented event that doesn’t really cost a lot,” DinoFest organizer Dennis Doucette said. “Parking is free, admission is free. We’re trying to give back to Granby to invite them to relax and enjoy themselves.”
Families are welcome to build their own costumes before the dance at 12:30 p.m. by visiting a booth run by the Down Syndrome Resource Group of Western MA and the Mulder family. Rhythm and blues band Soular Eclipse will accompany the celebration.
DinoFest has roots dating to the 1980s. Originally titled the Granby Arts, Crafts and Music Festival, the event began as a craft show with agricultural fair activities sprinkled throughout. Each new organizer added different activities to entertain children while shoppers perused craft offerings.
In the 2010s, Doucette pulled the festival out of its dormancy, added new events, and changed the name for the fourth time.
“I picked it up and said this had a chance to be really big,” he said. “My son took a look at it and, ‘Dad, it’s a festival. Call it DinoFest,’ And the name stuck.”
The event maintains its craft fair core, with more than 40 vendors offering everything from lemonade to candles. But now, it’s much more than a shopping show.
“I added the ‘Flintstone’ touch,” Doucette said. “People come in costume and as Fred [Flintstone] and Barney [Rubble] and Wilma [Flintstone] and Betty [Rubble]. One year, I had a Bam Bam. I plan to come as Fred this year.”
There are plenty of other activities for those uninterested in the paleontology. A selection of antique cars, tractors and trucks will be on display. Children and adults young-at-heart can test their strength in a tug-of-war contest, and Smokey the Bear will accompany the state’s wildfire firefighter crew on “the beast,” a truck designed to fight forest fires.
Hamburgers, hot dogs and baked goods will also be on sale to raise money for the Church of Christ Congregational. Doucette started the food booth long before he took the helm. On a whim, he brought a small George Foreman grill and small generator to cook hot dogs. The food offerings expanded from there.
Children with even bigger appetites can devour a chocolate pie in a Chocolate Pie Eating Contest, with pies donated by Breezy Acres Farm.
Grandmothers can enter their famous apple pie recipes against their granddaughters in an apple pie baking contest, and the Fire Department organizes a scavenger hunt each year that includes all the vendors. There is also face and pumpkin painting and raffles.
Most of the entertainment is provided by jugglers, yo-yo champions, comedians, magicians, dancers and singers at an open mic. However, the Granby Rams School Band will also perform.
Most of all, Doucette said, DinoFest is about joy. Following the motto “hugs and smiles,” the event is a chance for the small community to gather and reconnect with their neighbors.
“I try to run it like a family reunion,” Doucette said. “People who haven’t seen each other all year give each other a huge and have a good time.”
