North Salem's Nicholas' Festival - A Family Thing

Nicholas Tersigni was three years old when he accidentally drowned two years ago. His family has decided to remember him and raise some money by sponsoring a charity festival at Nicholas’ favorite place: North Salem’s Outhouse Orchard.

 “He loved to run around here,” said his mother, Lara Tersigni. “He loved the animals.”

 The former Outhouse Orchard, a mile off Exit 8 of 684 on Hardscrabble Road, has changed hands recently and is now known as the Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard. 

“This is our first fundraising event,” said Lynne Hawes, the manager, “But we’re more than happy to donate our facility.”

Entertainment at the festival will include pony rides, face painting, hayrides, jumping castles, Sponge Bob, story time and more. A silent auction will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Auction prizes include a trip to California’s Napa Valley, tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, including a meet-and-greet with the artist,  and donations from several dozen local businesses. 

Liz KIng, who is organizing the festival, said, “We’ve made it a ‘family event’ because the Tersignis are very family-oriented.” Nicholas was the third born of six children. 

“We’re hoping to attract at least 150 families,” she said, “and we hope to raise about $30,000.” The net proceeds of the event will be donated to three charities: The Danbury Hospital Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association. 

The festival gets under way at 11 a.m. on Saturday and ends at 4 p.m. It’s on, rain or shine. Admission is $20 per family.

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