Limited-edition crocks to be auctioned at Strawberry Festival
Bob Smith
The Bolivar Main Street Association will auction a limited edition of numbered crocks on Friday, June 6 during the Strawberry Festival. According to Bob Smith, president of BMSA, the crocks, which will commemorate the Bolivar bicentennial this year, will be auctioned off by Don Wallick at 7:30 p.m. in the brew tent.
“There are 10 crocks, and that is all that will ever be made,” Smith said. “There will be no extras to sell like we did with the commemorative plate series.”
The crocks are being handmade by Jane Donohue, owner of Bluebird Pottery in Gnadenhutten.
“She made two prototypes which I showed to the festival committee, and we chose the old-fashioned-looking clay version featuring the bicentennial logo,” Smith said. “Each crock is sponsored by a local business, so every penny of the proceeds will go to BMSA for improvements around town and to support the events we sponsor.”
In addition to the Strawberry Festival, BMSA also sponsors the Canal Street Cruise-In and Christmas on the Canal.
Creating the crocks
Donahue said she looked at several types of clay before settling on one called Speckled Puff, made by Laguna Clay in Cambridge. She described the process of making the hand-thrown stoneware crocks.
“I throw the clay on the wheel and make a cylinder shape, which at that stage is called greenware. Then I let it air dry before firing it in the kiln at about 1,900 degrees.”
Donahue said the brown rim at the top of the crock is an underglaze she sponges on before firing the pot. After that, the pot gets a clear glaze and another firing.
“Because they wanted two specific decals, which had to be fired at different temperatures, the crocks are fired four times,” she said.
The two decals are the bicentennial logo on the front of the crock and the name of the sponsor on the back.
Donahue said she is very particular about her work. She tosses or reforms a lot of crocks in the process.
“They say clay has a memory, and you don’t see mistakes until whatever you’re making dries. Every time I make something, I see the flaws, which is probably not a good thing, but most people who create things are the same way,” she said.
The Bolivar bicentennial logo on the crocks was designed by Holly Thouvenin of Zoar with input from former Bolivar Mayor Rebecca Hubble.
“We tried to capture 200 years of history in one graphic, so I think Holly did a great job,” Hubble said.
“I started thinking about the history of Bolivar, and of course the first thing that came to mind was Simon Bolivar,” Thouvenin said.
Simon Bolivar was the first president of Colombia and the inspirational figure after whom the village was named.
“Then we had to feature a canalboat, of course, and I knew there were Indians here at one point, so there are some tepees,” said Thouvenin, who also incorporated a small village, Fort Laurens, and strawberries.
Here are the 10 local crock sponsors in order:
—Bolivar Metalworks.
—The Canal Street Diner.
—Lebold-Smith Funeral Home.
—Mary Locy & Associates.
—Towpath Tavern.
—Oberlin Antiques.
—Ackerman Services.
—Bolivar Army Navy Club.
—Commercial & Savings Bank.
—Eleet Cryogenics.
The rest of the fest
This year the festival dates and hours are Thursday, June 5 from 4-7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The event will feature live music, plenty of food, games and amusement rides, the Bolivar Idol competition, a strawberry pie eating contest, the crowning of a Strawberry Festival queen and princesses, and a parade, which this year will be held Saturday at 2 p.m.
Bicentennial Homecoming Sunday, June 8
Hubble said the Strawberry Festival tents will be held over an extra day for a Bicentennial Homecoming Sunday, June 8, beginning at 11 a.m.
According to Hubble, many of the festival food vendors will be on-site, along with most of the vendor booths, but the rides and games will not be there, and there will be no beer sales.
“It will be reminiscent of the old homecomings that used to take place,” Hubble said.
A nondenominational church gathering will be held at noon in the main tent featuring several area pastors.
“One of the more exciting things happening Sunday is an old-fashioned carriage display being arranged by Dale Duerr,” Hubble said. “People will be invited to put on period clothing and have a photo taken in the carriage.”
The featured music artist for Sunday is Ren, and children’s activities will take place in the south tent from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information on the Strawberry Festival including a schedule of events, visit the Bolivar Main Street Association Facebook page or www.bolivarmainstreet.com. Additional information on the Bolivar bicentennial can be found on Facebook and www.villageofbolivar.com.