Franklin Square Historical Society Fall Festival boasts unique vendors

The annual Franklin Square Fall Festival at the Franklin Square Historical Museum fostered unique vendors, engaged visitors and served as a successful fundraiser for the Franklin Square Historical Society’s planned classroom at the museum.

According to the historical society president Nancy Youngfert, there were more than 300 visitors at the event. For some, it was their first time vending at any festival. For others, it was a tradition continued. The historical society raised roughly $2,000 during the event hosted on Sept. 21.

Candido Crespo is a long-time vendor, but this was the first time his son was the vendor. The Crespo family spent the summer turning his son’s artwork into block prints and stickers to sell.

“I think I like how intimate it is,” Crespo said. “We get a chance to speak with customers and familiarize ourselves with community members.”

Crespo and his son participate in “daddy and me” workshops and realized this was a way to push that initiative. Their vending booth is called Little Crespo Press.

Another first-timer was Richard Kilian who sold painted terracotta planters that he repurposes from his Pretty Planters booth.

“The vendors were very different,” Kilian said. “The clientele were very nice, they wanted to come. It was for the right reason. It’s a nice cause, nice people running it.”

Meanwhile, Erica Pormigiano and her family were selling her daughter’s knitted wares. Her daughter has selective mutism, so the vending booth is called Silent Stitches, and it’s a way to promote awareness of her condition. This wasn’t their first vend, but they mainly stay in Franklin Square to do so.

“We’re still sort of new to it, about two years in,” Pormigiano said. “So, we’re still kind of new on the scene.”

Lisa Iacovetti has been vending for a long time. She has a small online presence, but says she prefers in-person sales.

“Franklin Square is friendly, family-oriented, clean, home,” Iacovetti said.

The visitors had plenty of fun interactions as well. Christina Matteo teaches at Polk Street School and bumped into one of her students at this festival. Having lived here for her whole life, she has been to this festival before.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to learn about different organizations and fundraisers and events that are going on too,” Matteo said.

Pat Kelly, aunt to a historical society volunteer, and her aide Cynthia McDonald attended the festival and enjoyed the many choices she had.

“(Other fairs) are different,” McDonald said. “There are trampolines. It was bigger and different. But I enjoy this one better, because I get my choice of necklace and stuff that I needed. (The other fair) didn’t have stuff like that.”

Youngfert said it takes more than a dozen volunteers to make the event successful. She and her team started organizing next year’s festival the day after this one ended.

The historical society was the only food vendor at this year’s festival, because it requires an expensive permit that they get at a discount as a non-profit.

“The bratwurst comes from the Plattduetsche,” Youngfert said. “Which, if you’re going to eat bratwurst, it might as well come from the Plattduetsche. The hotdogs, everybody exclaimed over them last year, they were from Kirkland from Costco, so I bought them again this year.”

The goal of this year’s fundraiser was to raise money to add a classroom onto the back of the museum for public humanities education.

“I’m very excited about that,” Youngfert said. “I’m giving us a three-year timeline to do it. We’re just at the end of year one. We’re looking for donations in any amount: one dollar, $10,000. Two hundred thousand and I’ll put your name on the thing.”