Sisters hails fall with Harvest Faire

With leashed dogs in one hand and kettle corn in another, a solid wave of out-of-town visitors and locals converged on the annual Sisters Harvest Faire early Saturday morning, taking full advantage of the bright break in the drippy weather.

The festive weekend event is one of the longest-running traditions in Sisters, dating back over three decades. This year it drew more than 180 unique artisans and craftsmen from throughout the Pacific Northwest. Shoppers sampled a bounty of Western home décor, gourmet food items, handmade jewelry and autumn-themed gift ideas, from orange glass pumpkins and rustic sawblade art to goat's-milk soaps and giant yard mushrooms created from old PVC irrigation pipe.

"We started making these mushrooms about 12 years ago," said Greg Ksiazek, who hauled his magical garden fungi up from southern Oregon. "They're a lot of fun and we love mushrooms. I heat the PVC up to get it soft, then weatherize them in the sun. We call them

'Shroomin' Y'art.'"

A newcomer to the faire, Tammy's Fabulous Fudge was mobbed for hours, with a steady stream of candy-lovers stabbing tiny bits of fudge with their toothpicks from a colorful smorgasbord of sweets. With 50 different flavors, like caramel apple, root beer float and pumpkin pie, it was a popular spot to hang out for a spell, exuding a fun, carnival-like appeal.

"I've been making fudge since I was about 13," said owner Tammy Wolfer, of Drain. "Every Christmas I'd try a different recipe until I got it just right. We're the only company around that figured out how to incorporate virtually any flavor possible into the fudge. Our first one was orange creamsicle, and now we've got about 112 different types."

Wolfer typically brings about 400 pounds of fudge to a big event and often sells out of three or four flavors, dark mocha espresso and almond joy being two of the fan favorites.

"In Drain I'm known as The Fudge Lady," she said. "This is a great weekend and there's lot of people out having a good time. Everybody loves the fudge buffet and we're happy to be here."

No matter where you roamed, the scents of the season followed you down Hood Avenue, with a tempting selection of snacks and comfort foods to choose from, including cotton candy, caramel apples, funnel cakes, Indian tacos and spicy barbecue, all paired with some cool live tunes by Lino.

Sisters' Lin Johnson strolled the street, admiring the eclectic array of goods and goodies, stopping to pet a pair of local pups.

"It's a wonderful, quality show and I'm so glad it's not raining," she said. "It seems really busy and that's so good for Sisters and the town's exposure. There are lots of shopkeepers who have gone out of business with the poor economy and it's nice to give the ones remaining a nice little boost."

As the afternoon wore on and a sudden wind gust shook the white tents, visitor Sheree Bittner hunkered down on the Sisters Coffee Company patio with a warm pumpkin pie latté and her miniature schnauzer, Einzel, relaxing for a quiet moment and doing a little crowd-watching.

"We just drove over from Corvallis, and we were pleasantly surprised there were no showers," she said. "There's a lot to look at and buy and we plan to take it all in. The fact that you can bring your dog is huge. It makes the event even more fun, to see all the animals."