Whirligig & Weathervane Festival spreads wings

By TIMOTHY GILLESPIE

For The Coast Guard



One of the mainstays of Shelburne Founders’ Days over the past seven years has been the annual Whirligig and Weathervane Festival.

In fact, the festival, which for six of those years was the only one of its kind in North America, has caught the attention of the Halifax crowd and media, with people traveling to the coast to see the ‘gigs and ‘vanes.

Now, with an enthused and expanded steering committee, the festival is branching off on its own and has scheduled weekend dates for the 2007 event of September 22 and 23.

“Having the Festival on its own weekend seemed like the logical thing to do,� says co-chair and event founder, Herschel Specter.

One of the many considerations by the committee was the added boost it could add to visitor traffic to the town.

“Hundreds of people are already on the waterfront during Founders’ days,� explains co-chair Wayne Blinkhorn. “We thought that by having an expanded festival and separate dates, we would become another distinct and separate attraction.�

Some of the other changes planned for next year’s festival include the addition of corporate sponsors, an increase in prize money to more than $1,000, a series of local workshops for those wanting to learn the whirligig craft, the creation and distribution of “whirligig kits� by high school students to local grade school students and an increased promotional campaign to attract entrants and visitors from farther away.

Each year the festival sees entrants and visitors traveling greater distances and there has already been interest from someone in the United States in entering one or more items in the festival.

“There are so many things we have thought of to boost the interest in and value of the festival, says Wayne Blinkhorn, “but we want to move things along at a reasonable pace.�

The “grand collection of workmanship, whimsy and wind-driven fun� is free to both entrants and visitors. Categories include “best workmanship�, “most creative�, “most whimsical� and “best of show�. A recent addition to the festival is the “People’s Choice� award, which met with unanimous satisfaction by this year’s visitors.

Information about the Festival is online at www.WhirligigFestival.com.">www.WhirligigFestival.com.">www.WhirligigFestival.com.



Timothy Gillespie is a Shelburne-based freelance writer and previous Best of Show winner.