Fairytale Hayride

WEST NEWBURY — Grab your favorite kiddo and head on down to Long Hill Farm, it’s time once again for the Fairytale Hayride. Hosted by the Pentucket Arts Foundation (www.pentucketarts.org), the annual event offers an afternoon of low-cost, creative fun for the community.
Part of the non-profit organization’s Arts and Agriculture initiative, this public art event is held at Long Hill Orchard and Farm, from 1 to 4 p.m., on Saturday, April 29 (rain date April 30)
Fairytale Hayride is geared to families of preschoolers and younger elementary students, but everyone is welcome to participate, says Julie Malchow, a member of the Pentucket Arts Foundation’s Board of Directors who has organized the event for the past 4 years. Participants hop aboard a hay wagon for a leisurely ride through enchanted meadows where local actors perform classic fairytale vignettes along the way. It’s a great way to introduce youngsters to live theatre, Malchow says, noting that it’s a unique and affordable way for grandparents to spend time with the grandkids. In past years versions of popular fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Goldilocks and Three Bears –among others –were performed.
Director Brooke Snow, a Pentucket Middle School educator and 2012 Pentucket alumnus leads the afternoon theatrical production. Snow, who earned a B.A. in Secondary Education in Theatre from the University of New Hampshire and an M.A. in Educational Theatre from New York University, most recently directed a production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport. She is also directing and currently in rehearsals for Pentucket Regional High School’s spring play “Lost Girl” and Pentucket Regional Middle School’s spring musical “The Addams Family”.
Rides start at 1:15 p.m. and each ride should take around 30 minutes. Free face painting, pony rides, and a bubble stand are also part of the fun and help to pass the time while waiting for a seat on the next hayride. Anyone wishing to get into the spirit by wearing a fairytale costume or farmer’s outfit is welcome to do so.
Tickets are $5 and can only be purchased at the event. Children under 2 years old may ride on an adult’s lap for free. Food and cold beverages from Long Hill Orchard will be available for purchase.
Located at 520 Main St and in operation since 1896, Long Hill Orchard is a family-run farm with seasonal pick-your-own apples, peaches, and pears, as well as baked goods, ice cream, and a popular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with a large variety of vegetables. It also offers picnic tables, hiking trails with panoramic views of the Merrimack River, tours for school children, and facilities for birthday parties, business meetings, or social functions. For more information contact Cindy Adams, 978 363-2170 or longhillorchard@gmail.com
Celebrating its 20th year, the Pentucket Arts Foundation is on a mission to use the transformative power of the fine and performing arts to help make the tri-town Pentucket region a more creative and vibrant place in which to live, work, learn, and be inspired. Its Arts and Agriculture initiatives are designed to promote performance art; to enhance awareness of a local farm; and to help revitalize, strengthen, and enrich the communities. Each October for the past several years, the Foundation has hosted Terror Trail, an Arts and Agriculture initiative in partnership with Maple Crest Farm. Farmers in the tri-town Pentucket Region seeking to partner with the Foundation on a community arts project at their farm should contact pentucketarts@gmail.com
Fairytale Hayride is sponsored through the generosity of the Groveland, Merrimac, and West Newbury Cultural Councils, three local agencies supported by the state Mass Cultural Council.