Town of Exeter Hosts “Fall Equinox Festival”
Gentle strums of country music rang out from a tapestry-draped mainstage, intermittently accompanied by the sound of local vendors calling out to passersby from booths, proudly displaying their handcrafted artwork along Swasey Parkway last Saturday.
Organized by Town of Exeter Arts and Music (TEAM), the fifth annual Fall Equinox Festival welcomed several members of the Exeter community to Swasey Parkway last Saturday. The Festival first started in 2015 when Scott Ruffner, the Executive Director of TEAM, sought to create a platform for local artists to showcase their work and bring more family-friendly events to the town of Exeter. “Rather than start events that require forty to fifty thousand dollars from the community to produce, a bunch of artists and musicians organized it ourselves and we got our friends to play without having to raise a ton of money,” Ruffner said.
English Instructor Todd Hearon, among several musicians at the event, performed original songs as well as a few “old-timey” folk and bluegrass numbers with his band Myrtle. “One of my favorite things is playing music with friends, so I found it very satisfying. A wee bit intimidating, too, knowing all the great musicians out there in the crowd who had just stepped off the stage moments before,” he said.
Other performances featured local groups such as LA Beatz, a Portsmouth-based dance studio training dancers in a multitude of genres spanning ballet to contemporary. LA Beatz co-owner Anthony Bounphakhom described the festival as an opportunity to “show up for the community” through dance. “I am close friends with [the event organizers] and we are huge on the community because this is our town. [For] all talents, all cultures, we want to show up,” Bounphakhom said.
An array of food vendors complemented the performances with creations of their own. “We came to a festival in the spring, and we really enjoyed it … Food is art, and that ties us all together. We love the creative atmosphere, everyone coming together,” said Selena Gearinger, Chef-Owner at Mobile Mussette, adding that she used fall-themed ingredients such as squash and beets for this particular occasion.
Local eateries particularly beloved by Exeter students, such as Laney and Lu, were among the festival’s participants. In addition to sponsoring the festival’s group yoga activity, the organic food cafe brought locally-grown seasonal flavors to share with the town. “We’re here to support community. To us, building community is the center of everything we do,” owner Jennifer Desrosiers said.
To prove their commitment to TEAM, Lexie’s crafted a special one-time burger named after the town of Exeter, consisting of Monterey Jack, lettuce, tomato, melted onion, bacon and herbed aioli. “Because the owner is from Exeter, he loves Exeter,” Lexie’s employee Bella Zione explained.
Service-based vendors also livened the festival through a wide variety of activities. “I came here because I thought that this would be a place where people might want to de-stress,” said local businesswoman Jessica Harwood, who hosted a booth for Acudetox, or ear acupuncture.
Prep Joey Dong attended the festival to observe local art. “I think it is a good time to appreciate art and get to know the local artists,” she said. “Most of the things that we use these days are machine-produced; they don’t have creativity and uniqueness, but here you can see original craft.”
Others sought the festival for some rest and relaxation after a long day of school. “It definitely was a nice break; [it] made me motivated to do another six hours of work,” upper Yona Kruger said, describing the festival as a much-needed escape from history paper-writing.
Ruffner hopes that Exonians will attend future Fall Equinox Festivals and continue to participate in local events. “I think there has been a disconnect for many years [between] the campus and the town… but I hope this event, where there are arts and culture and people, can be an event where PEA and townies can talk and even get to know each other,” he said.
Hearon similarly urged the Exeter community to become more involved in the town of Exeter’s art scene. “There’s such cultural richness in the area, and of course, too, at Exeter. I’m hoping at the spring Equinox Fest in May, we can have some of our student performers up there doing their thing,” he said. “This little pocket of seacoast New Hampshire is a serious cultural hub.”