Come See Us at the Fair!

By foscadmin in Events on
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images-300x110Dear Friends,

It has been a year since the last Hardwick Fair. That means it has been one year since Friends of the Stone Church put up a small tent to introduce itself to our community as an organization intent on bringing the Stone Church back to life.

While we have a small tent on the common again this year, we had a BIG TENT kind of year.

  • Our three-year $50,000 challenge grant was matched in just eight months.
  • Our Boiler Bash fundraiser at the Hardwick Winery was full of good cheer and generous patrons.
  • And our two-day organ festival, “Let Joy Resound!”, caught the attention of the Boston Globe – and, much more importantly, made Don Boothman smile from ear to ear.

The stabilization progress on the Stone Church over the past year—made possible by these events and the tremendous support of the whole community—is chronicled nearby at the Hardwick Historical Society. And our work goals for the year between this fair and the next are on view at our tent.

Of course, it has not been a year without loss. With Kaye and this whole community, we mourn the passing of Don Boothman, our co-founder and friend. We will miss his vision, his determination, and his grace; but it has now fallen to us to carry on his work, and we will do so with redoubled dedication.

We thank everyone for their support, and we invite you to join us for another year of progress. This fall we’ll begin a series of informal Saturday breakfast conversations with community members involved with different aspects of our communal life, be it education, religion, youth, seniors, the arts, or tourism. We will host a FOGO concert on October 8th (look for notices soon) in honor of Don Boothman. And we look forward to another dinner party to enliven the early winter.

Most of all, we look forward to continued progress on the stabilization and utilization of the Stone Church, and in our shared discernment as to the many ways in which it will become a center of community life in Hardwick and beyond.

With gratitude,

Judy Edington, President

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