News & Features
May 2005

Stalk Report:
Festival celebrates spring greens

Asparagus! The word is enough to cause a look of utmost disgust to every red-blooded American child, along with broccoli and spinach. But not to members of the Asparagus & Flower Heritage Festival Committee, which has been meeting since fall to plan the spring festival on the West Brookfield Common for Saturday, May 21.

This third unique celebration of the asparagus plant, as the spirit of spring, was first conceived and organized in 2001 by Dave Cameron of the Historical Commission. Commission archives revealed references in an old New England cookbook to the first importation of the plant in the 1790s by Dederik Leertouwer to what is now West Brookfield. At that time, Herr Leertouwer was Dutch Consul to the new states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He settled in West Brookfield, which at the time was vying to be the county seat of Worcester.

Not native to North America, the plant had a modest reception at first but soon grew in popularity and became a mainstay of some agricultural communities such as Hadley, which had favorable growing conditions.

While other historic references are meager, the Town of West Brookfield had adopted the legend and is making it a tradition. This has captured the attention of a documentary filmmaker and the county of Oceana, Michigan. Alternately, the towns of Hart and Shelby, Michigan, annually hold a three-day National Asparagus Festival and celebrate the 20,000 acres under cultivation with parades, music, the serving of hundreds of asparagus recipes, much imaginative costumerie and the crowning of a Mrs. Asparagus. The festival attracts thousands of spectators and participants. At its 2004 celebration, Deiderik Leertouwer was invited to lead one of its parades, and West Brookfield enthusiastically provided its emissary.

This year, the Quaboag Historical Society and West Brookfield Historical Commission sponsor the Asparagus & Flower Heritage Festival on the West Brookfield Town Common from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. (Rain date is Sunday May 22.) The festival is free to the public.
Please join your neighbors, local growers, artisans, businesses and organizations in celebrating spring, Mother Nature and our heritage. Meet local asparagus growers, enjoy live music, have lunch at the Aparagus Alley Café. Be here for the kids’ costume parade. Oh yes, don’t forget to say hello to Deiderik Leertouwer; he’ll be strolling the Common.