And, as the crowds have grown bigger and bigger, the event has outgrown its location. So this year’s festival will be held Saturday at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey.

The Richmond Blueberry Fiddle Festival first came into existence as a fundraiser for the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Richmond.

“There were no local blueberry festivals — and lots of local blueberries,” said festival organizer Sister Maria Philomena. In addition, students at the school were learning to play the fiddle and Richmond town officials had approached the school hoping to collaborate on a family-friendly community event.

The first festival in 2003 drew about 200 visitors. Last year the festival drew more than 1,000.

With the hope of staying in Richmond, Sister Maria Philomena and others searched for an area that was not too far off the beaten path and had ample room. Parking was the biggest issue.

“There is really no off-site parking anywhere in town,” Sister Maria Philomena said.

But with the Cheshire Fair concluding last Sunday — meaning the Swanzey fairgrounds were available — the decision was made to move the fair there.

“Someday, once we have a larger base of regular attendees, we would like to move back to Richmond,” Sister Maria Philomena said.

Baked goods, specifically homemade desserts with blueberries, should be brought to the Richmond Veterans Hall today between 4 and 6 p.m. Judges will all be Richmond town officials, including selectmen, firemen and planning board members.

The festival will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. and run through 9 p.m. From 1 to 2 p.m. there will be a live performance of a “Blueberry Melodrama,” winners of the blueberry baked goods competition will be awarded, and baked goods will be auctioned off.

Throughout the day there will be live old-time American, Celtic or bluegrass fiddle music continuously playing.

“We deliberately wanted older styles,” Sister Maria Philomena said.

Scheduled performers include: The Well Tuned Trio; Captain Fiddle; 3rd Sunday Fiddlers; The Goodtime Charlies; and The Bryan Family and Co. And children and adults alike are invited to participate when the festivities culminate with a jamboree and contra dance.

In addition to the music there will be old-fashioned carnival-style attractions including a dunk tank, rubber-band shooting, a ping-pong ball toss, tugs-of-war, sack races and relay races.

This year, thanks to the new location, Sister Maria Philomena predicts the festival will at least double in size.

New additions to the festival this year include an antique car cruise with the winner determined by attendees, and more vendors, including popcorn, sno-cones, cotton candy, fried dough and Walpole Creamery gourmet ice-cream.

In order to keep costs to a minimum the festival does not charge a per-person fee. Instead there is a flat $9-per-car for parking.

“That means a large family could come in one car and essentially pay $1 each to listen to free music and play free games,” Sister Maria Philomena said.

She said she would love to see the festival continue to grow. In the future the school hopes to invite historical re-enactors and host booths where local museums and historical societies can display educational information.

“But, most importantly, we want to keep the identity as a rural and old-fashioned festival,” Sister Maria Philomena said.

The Richmond Blueberry Fiddle Festival will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Cheshire Fairgrounds on Route 12 in Swanzey. For more information, visit on the Web: http://blueberryfiddlefestival.com/.