Saturday was a picturesque day for the 34th Annual Walden Harvest Fest at Bradley Park. Clear skies and sunny weather gave way to a day Walden residents treasure every year.

The event was hosted by the Village of Walden and the Walden Community Council. People were especially happy to celebrate this year’s festivities, as Walden Harvest Fest was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees were treated to a variety of events throughout the day.

Numerous vendors set up tables devoted to many different causes. Community staples such as Walden Savings Bank, the Trinity Lutheran Church and Orange County Transit were all in attendance. Food trucks offered a variety of treats from Philly Cheesesteaks to ribbon fries. Lauren DiGangi, owner and brand ambassador of The Cheese Guy, was happy to promote her business at Walden Harvest Fest.

“I’m happy to be a part of something that’s a little bit more local because this company is out of Westchester,” she said. “We’re happy to get a bigger footprint here and be able to come in and sample out a bunch of different cheeses when we’re really only sold in Adams [Fairacre Farms] in Orange County.”

Marty Grabstein, the actor best known as the voice of Courage from the animated series “Courage the Cowardly Dog”, also appeared at Walden Harvest Fest. He took photographs and signed autographs for fans throughout the day.

Brian Barker, owner of Roamin Reptile Educational Lectures, showed off many of his scaly friends during a reptile show. People enjoyed seeing all the reptiles he had to offer, which included snakes, lizards and turtles.

Frogs were in short supply this year, which caused the Walden Rotary Club to amend their annual frog jumping competition. Instead of having live frogs compete to see which one can jump the farthest, harvest fest attendees used a mallet to launch a toy frog into a bucket for a prize.

Throughout the day, children enjoyed themselves on the moon bounce as well as the slide. Meanwhile, the Walden Community Council hosted a fundraising jail. Participants sent a person of their choice to jail, who could be bailed out for an additional donation.

The Dan Brother Band provided music throughout the day’s festivities. Members of Fat Cat Jiu Jitsu demonstrated their moves for all to see. Children flocked to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office table to get their photographs taken for an ID. Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher remarked on how Walden Harvest Fest brings the whole town together.

“Walden Harvest Fest is an important event to the Town of Montgomery because it highlights one of our three beautiful, historic villages,” he said. “The Town of Montgomery is something we’ve been trying to bring together over the last 18 months, especially during the pandemic and events like this just highlight how dynamic our town is with this community event that brings out thousands of folks.”

Walden Mayor John Ramos noted that this event is held to bring people together.

“This is a gathering of people saying hi, relaxing and enjoying this beautiful sunny day,” he said.