Annisquam Seafair
Books Games and Cotton Candy
By: Charles Giuliano - Jul 31, 2023
During summers long ago the most anticipated annual event was the Annisquam Seafair.
The challenge was to get there when it opened at 10 AM. That meant first dibs on books, furniture, works of art, and white elephant items.
Games went on all day as did lines for food, baked goods, and spun cotton candy.
We visited this past weekend and had a grand time.
In the 1950s our dad, Dr. Charles Giuliano, made a painting of the colorful event.
Astrid came home with two more baskets for her extensive collection.
This proved to be the 178th Seafair which is a benefit for the Annisquam Village Church, Library and Hall.
What makes the event unique is its Wax Works in which locals are posed, freeze frame, in costumes. These have both current and traditional themes. I vividly recall a staging of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
During my teenage years in the 1950s local artist Margaret Fitzhugh Brown had a hand in creating the living sculptures.
It was an honor to be asked to participate. I was miffed and declined, however, when asked to portray Saddam Hussein. It seemed that it was type casting. Had they asked, I would have been more than willing to stand in as Elvis. I even had the right costume, a rhinestone studded Nudie’s of Hollywood cowboy suit. A couple of years ago I donated it to the Museum of Fine Arts.
Another feature from Olden Times was the terrific Punch and Judy Show. The driving force behind it was the renowned Blake scholar Foster Damon. To attract business for the show he drummed it up leading a parade of kids that participated. My friend P.D. Littlefield recalled the thrill of playing Punch. By today’s standards the puppet show would most likely be considered as too violent for children.
My buddy, Timothy Crouse, wrote up the Seafair for the New Yorker (July 30, 1984, p. 60). I ran into his sister, the actress Lindsay Ann Crouse. We chatted about Village life.
It was fun to run into people I haven’t seen in half a lifetime. My niece, Ashleigh, had a box of books, including two by Kafka, light summer reading.
Fortunately there was fair weather. It poured cats and dogs that night.