Mother Nature smiles on woods, wildlife, water fest

Hannah Vachon, 4, of Wolfeboro waits to feed some friends. Below Dan Brigandi and wife Alyssa with Roman and Sophia; Ryan Ouellette, 5, of Milton Mills feeds a chicken; and Wendy and Greg Facteau, and Nicole Owens, all of Wakefield, cook burgers. (HT)

MILTON MILLS - The Woods, Water and Wildlife festival just keeps getting better and better and better.

And so do the crowds.

Saturday was the event’s 11th celebration, and families young and old poured in from all over the Seacoast and Lakes Region to walk through the corn maze, watch New Hampshire craftsmen and get up close and personal with native wildlife that live all around us but we don’t often see.

Animals from the Squam Lake Science Center, including an osprey, were on hand for eventgoers to see and admire and is one of the event’s most popular attractions.

There was also fishing, hayrides, goats and sheep to feed and pet and an assortment of vendors including a Tree Cookie Craft Corner for kids, a loon educational kiosk and a display on Beetles, Bats and Birdhouses, nearly 20 different activities in all.

Virginia Long, executive director of Moose Mountain Regional Greenways, for whom the festival is a major fund-raiser, said she was thrilled with the turnout, which was estimated to be more than 650 for the all-day event.

Long said last year’s attendance was about 400.

“We’re thrilled with the turnout and the weather,” Long said as she helped eventgoers find parking spots in a field across the street. “This is a great chance to outreach to the public.”

The event is billed as a family friendly celebration of the natural world featuring fun and educational outdoor activities.

There were the constant squeals of delight as youngsters fed goats, ran through the corn maze and played old-fashioned yard games such as ring toss.

“This is our first time in a corn maze,” said Dan Brigandi of Dover, N.H., who was there with his family. “It’s great.”

Cynthia Wyatt, manager of the nonprofit Branch Hill Farm where the festival is held, said constructing the corn maze is definitely the “most labor intensive” part of the festival.

“I’m very happy with the crowd,” she said.

There were also bee demonstrations and a wood-cutting display where kids got a chance to use a two-man saw.