News from Roses Hill

Cherry Valley to host Kite Festival this weekend.

Every other year, in a small village just 15 minutes north of Cooperstown, there is held a weekend long series of events that are presented in conjunction with the Cherry Valley Kite Festival.  This event, which runs this year from Sept. 23 through Sept. 25,  is sponsored by Cherry Valley Artworks, a small but impactful cultural organization. This year’s Kite Festival runs Friday evening through Sunday morning.

The weekend activities kick off with Kite Building workshops, and an indoor Kite Fly and then expand into an all day Kite Flying event on Saturday from 10am to 5pm.  The event winds down with a pancake breakfast on Sunday morning from 7am-11am at the Cherry Valley Firehouse.

There are several kite clubs that attend who participate in kite festivals around the world and perform some fun features for Festivalgoers – flying kites in formation to music, kite battles where participants try to knock down each other’s kites and running races with kites strapped to the backs of participants.

The festival will also feature hay rides, live music and food from local restaurants, churches and nonprofits.  Overall, it makes for yet another great weekend for visiting the Cooperstown region!  We hope you will make the trip and stay with us at Fieldstone Farm Resort – a perfect getaway for your Fall vacation.

Moving on from the summer season is always a bit difficult  – the hot days of the summer months dissipate into an upstate NY Fall where the temperatures begin to fluctuate from warm to cool and back again.  Youth baseball visitors depart from the region as children all over the country return to school for the year and adult visitors and leaf-peeper family weekend trips take their place as our region’s top audience during the upcoming fall months.

For many people, Fall is a favorite time of year – and one that is experienced most noticeably in the Northeastern US. We will have warm days, cool evenings and Indian Summer – about a week of hot weather following our first frost  (which can come at anytime – usually between the beginning of September and the end of October).  Our region’s primary floral decorations will change to the ubiquitous hay bales, mums and asters, and dried corn stalks. We will witness the changes in restaurant fare – with apple cider drinks as a featured beverage and pumpkin and squash soups returning to appetizer lists.

In our area, the leaves have already begun to show signs of change.  There has been a shift in the color through through the month of August to an older, darker green and even now in early September, they are beginning to show yellow in spots – holding off on the brighter oranges and reds for another few weeks when they will display their peak – usually during the last week of September and the first week or so in October (if a heavy fall rain doesn’t bring them off the trees first).

As much as we enjoy the summer each year, we appreciate the special things about Fall.  It is a season for exploring the outdoors comfortably before the long winter settles in.  It is a season of long holiday weekends and fun times with family (Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving) .  Pumpkins, hayrides, fall festivals, and more – all make it an unforgettable time of year to visit and to live in the Cooperstown Region.

If you find yourself considering a trip during the fall months, contact us at Fieldstone Farm Resort for a great base of operations during your stay!

The official end to the summer season in the Cooperstown region is just a few short weeks away and it culminates with some great events that take place during the Labor Day Weekend.  Typically the area is a bit more sedate than during the month of July and the early part of August.  Students in the northeast are preparing to head back to school and many of the college student employees have already departed after a busy summer working in tourism-related customer support and services jobs.  There is an air of calm as the season begins it’s transition to the fall months.

Labor Day Weekend is a great time of year for a visit to our region – a bit on the quiet side (comparatively), nice weather to walk around our various quaint upstate villages and towns, and lots of things to see and do.  In addition to special weekend activities hosted by our famous area museums including the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Farmers’ Museum and the Fenimore Art Museum, there are some great events including the following:

• Fine Arts on the Lawn with the Cooperstown Art Association – This special artist showcase is held outdoors at 22 Main Street on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6 from 10am-5pm each day.  The works displayed by participating artists are samples of fine art are one-of-a-kind originals, executed and signed by the artist.
• Susquehanna Balloon Festival in Neahwa Park, Oneonta – This one is a great event for family fun with a full array of entertainment throughout the weekend, beginning on Friday, August 29 (5:30-8:30pm) and running through the weekend until 6pm on Sunday, August 31.  If you enjoy classic cars, food concessions, puppets, live music and balloon rides – this is an event you don’t want to miss.  Detailed information is available at WZOZ FM.

If you are looking for a great way to end your summer season, please consider visiting the Cooperstown area, and give us a call at 888-353-3276 to stay with us at Fieldstone Farm Resort!

These are indeed the dog days of summer – literally!  Coming up this month, August 19-21 will be the 21st annual Leatherstocking Sheepdog Trials, an annual event that displays ‘the workmanship between dog and handler, and the ever unpredictable sheep’!  The event is held on the Robert F. Clark field off Beaver Meadow Road in Cooperstown, NY beginning each day at 8am and typically ending around 5 or 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.  

The event is a sanctioned trial by both the North East Border Collie Association and the United State Border Collie Handler’s Association and is held as an honorary event in memory of Otego resident Chalmers Edward Means, an expert in sheepherding and trialing with the Border Collie Dog.  Means was also one of the original founders of the event.  Dogs participating in the trials work with their handlers to accomplish several required tasks during each phase of the event.

There is a one-time admission fee for the weekend of events at $5.00 per person with free admission for children under 12 years.  (Your program permit’s re-entry, so make sure to hang on to it!)  Binoculars are encouraged along with blankets and chairs.  Food concessions will be available on site.  The event will be held rain or shine.

A note from the organizers: Not all working dogs like to have their picture taken or to be petted.  Please ask the handler before engaging with a working dog.

Complete information can be found at http://leatherstockingsheepdogtrials.com