Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals
Intro Harvest FestivalsWe’re dreaming of pumpkin patches and apple orchards, but harvest seasons – and their accompanying festivals – happen everywhere all year long. Here are some of the best…
[Photo: Stefania Spadoni]0/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Ludwigsburg PumpkinsLudwigsburg Pumpkin Festival in Ludwigsburg, Germany (September to November) – Each year in spring, more than 800 types of pumpkin and squash from around the world are planted in the fields surrounding this southern German city. Come September, hordes of gourds are ready to be cooked up, carved up and celebrated with events like the Pumpkin Canoe Regatta, in which canoes are replaced by gigantic hollowed-out gourds; the Giant Pumpkin Carving Festival, led by honest-to-god professional pumpkin carvers; and the Pumpkin Weigh-Off Championship. Between gourd-related challenges, visitors can sample specialties like pumpkin popcorn and pumpkin burgers, while taking in live music performances and shopping for gourd-tastic souvenirs. kuerbisausstellung-ludwigsburg.de
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The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Trailing of the Sheep FestivalTrailing of the Sheep Festival, Sun Valley, Ketchum, and Hailey, Idaho (October 4-8, 2017) This town has turned its annual relocation of livestock from the mountains to their winter pasture into a reason to celebrate. Of course, the festivities are centred around the sheep with the highlight being the sheep parade through town, but there’s more to it than that. Classes and workshops on using wool are offered, the amazing street food is worth a taste and the folklife fair includes everything from dance performances to sheep sheering demonstrations.
http://www.trailingofthesheep.org/2/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Slide Nr 4Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Sonoma, California (October 6-8, 2017) If you call yourself a wine connoisseur, this is the festival for you. People from all over the country (and the world) gather in Sonoma to sample wines from over 100 wineries in the county every year. Though the wines and food pairing are obviously the focal point here, there is also an impressive assortment of beer and cider for those that can’t tell a good wine from a cheap one. Still not convinced? The best part is quite possibly the World Championship Grape Stomp, where teams of two squish the juice out of grapes with their feet to try to win the 1,500 dollar prize. http://harvestfair.org/
3/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Apple HarvestNational Apple Harvest Festival in Biglerville, Pennsylvania, USA (October) – As American as apple pie, Biglerville has been hosting one of the country’s top apple-centric events for over half a century. Attractions include everything from a petting zoo to tractor square dancing, hay rides and an antique car show – not to mention apple specialties galore, including cider, pancakes and candied apples. appleharvest.com
4/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Bala CranberryBala Cranberry Festival in Bala, Canada (October) – Celebrate these little red berries in all their tart, tangy glory at this Ontario cran-fest, where visitors are invited to experience the entire cranberry life cycle, from touring the bogs and marshes where they begin their lives, to tasting them in crepes, jams, sauces and even wines. Also not to be missed are Rubber Duck Races, Snowmobile Watercross Racing, live music and the Cran-Anne Look-A-Like Contest, where a lucky local is crowned this year’s Anne of Green Gables doppelgänger. balacranberryfestival.on.ca
5/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
North Carolina PecanNorth Carolina Pecan Harvest Festival in Whiteville, North Carolina, USA (October/November) – Nutty Southern favourites like pecan pralines, pecan pie and candied yams with pecan crumble have to start somewhere. For the residents of Whiteville, pecan season means classic car shows, parades, concerts, a 5K Pecan Run and a cooking contest where the most delicious pecan-appropriate recipes take home a prize. ncpecanfestival.com [Photo: Jimmy Emerson/Flickr]
6/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Truffle FestivalAlba International White Truffle Fair in Alba, Italy (October/November) – Over 5 autumn weekends, the city of Alba sort of smells like one big white truffle. That’s a good thing for the connoisseurs who arrive in droves to taste them in pastas and soups, on pizzas and bruschetta, with wines and cheeses and all manner of delicacies. When they’re not tasting, visitors can scour the Alba White Truffle Market, join truffle hunts, chef workshops and wine-tastings, watch medieval parades and even see a time-honoured donkey race – this festival does its best to put the “fun” in “fungus”. fieradeltartufo.org [Photo: Stefania Spadoni]
7/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
OlivagandoOlivagando in Magione, Perugia, Italy (November) – You’d be hard-pressed (no pun intended) to find better olive oil than that which comes out of the Lake Trasimeno area of Perugia. Or, we should say, doesn’t come out. The fine oil made from local dolce agogia olives is not exported out of the country, making the annual Olivagando festival that much more of a must-visit event for foodies. The occasion brings together all branches of the olive oil production process, from the growers to the oil mills and processing companies, to feast on the fruits of their efforts. There’s also olive oil tastings, workshops, activities for kids, an antique market and tours of the countryside on horseback, all culminating in a grand medieval banquet (held at a 12th-century castle, no less) attended by the Magione Theatrical Company who entertain guests with song, dance and folklore. magionecultura.it
8/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Noche de RabanosNoche de Rabanos in Oaxaca, Mexico (December) – Unlike most harvest festivals, the “Night of the Radishes” isn’t dedicated to cooking a crop, but rather to carving it. Wood carving has been a tradition in Oaxaca for centuries, and when the Spanish brought radishes to the New World, Oaxaqueño farmers began carving them into intricate figures to draw in customers at the annual Christmas market. The art soon developed into a competition, and today certain radishes are grown specially for the event, heavily fertilised and left in the ground until long after the harvest in order to reach mammoth sizes perfect for creating impressive sculptures. Timeliness is key in this event – the radishes wilt quickly, and thus are only on display for a few hours one day a year (23 December). [Photo: Alejandro Linares Garcia/Wikimedia Commons]
9/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
VendimiaVendimia in Mendoza, Argentina (February/March) – From the time the Archbishop of Mendoza anoints the first grapes of the season with holy water, until a newest Harvest Queen is crowned, the people of Mendoza hardly stop to catch their breath. This celebration of the region’s viticulture, which has become synonymous with the Malbec grape, is a no-expense-spared blowout featuring street parades and grand spectacles in which hundreds of entertainers regale audiences with folkloric tales. welcomeargentina.com/fiesta-vendimia [Photo: JuninMendoza/Flickr]
10/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Canberra District Wine HarvestCanberra District Wine Harvest Festival in Canberra, Australia (April) – Still thirsty? Head over to Canberra, where more than 33 wineries – served by 140 vineyards – call the surrounding countryside home. There’s no better time to taste the temptation than April, when the wine-growing hills are alive with tastings, tours and talks, along with music, grape-stomping and harvest feasts featuring local products. canberrawines.com.au [Photo: Canberra Wine District]
11/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Fresh HopFresh Hop Beer Festival in Launceston, Tasmania (April) – Join Tasmania’s top breweries for a weekend of revelry, including live music, Tassie eats, brewer Q&As, hops education sessions and more, in celebration of a successful hop harvest and a brew-tiful bounty. For the real connoisseurs of suds, there will be limited release beers on tap, as well as beer-inspired specialties like hop brownies, back by popular demand. freshhopfestival.com.au
12/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Durian FestivalDurian Fruit Festival in Chanthaburi, Thailand (May) – It may be banned from the Singapore railways for being stinkier than a month-old gym sock, but Southeast Asia’s most pungent produce is also among its most popular. Each year, Chanthaburi throws a 10-day party in honour of durian, inviting other tropical fruits – like mangosteen, jackfruit, rambutan and dragon fruit – to share in the festivities. Exotic fruit enthusiasts, raw food fans and curious passers-by are invited to browse through market stalls, sit in on educational sessions, catch traditional Thai music and dance performances, and check out the lake floats intricately festooned with all manner of fruit. festivalsofthailand.com [Photo: Robert P. Menasian]
13/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Rice Harvest FestivalRice Harvest Festival in Bali (May) – One of the world’s most important staple crops, it’s only fair that rice get its turn in the spotlight, and in Bali, the festivities take on a spiritual tone. Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice, is the guest of honour; bamboo temples constructed in the sacred corners of rice fields are dedicated to her, while dolls made of rice stalks in her likeness are placed as offerings in granaries, and the aroma of traditional dishes – prepared in homage of her – wafts from every kitchen. Not to miss are the traditional Balinese bull races, run by water buffaloes in ornate headdresses. [Photo: stokes rx/Flickr]
14/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Mango FestivalInternational Mango Festival in Delhi, India (June) – Moving on from Chanthaburi in May, tropical fruit fans can make a beeline for Delhi’s mango extravaganza in June. If it can be done with a mango, it’s done here: think mango carving, mango-eating competitions, mango slogan-writing contests, mango folk performances and mango-related quizzes. And of course, visitors should prepare themselves to savour more than 1,100 varieties of mangoes in all their iterations, from pickles to chutney, jams, juice, jelly and aam papad fruit leather. timeout.com
15/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Crop OverCrop Over in Bridgetown, Barbados (July) – Back when sugar was the economic crutch of the island, Crop Over was a way to celebrate the end of a sweaty summer of sugar cane harvesting. Even though that’s no longer the case, Barbadians aren’t ones to cancel a party, and today’s version of the event is as calypso-filled and rum-soaked as ever. Music has become the highlight – heavy on the soca and steel drums, and also featuring local tuk bands comprised of a tin whistle, banjo and drum – with the Bridgetown Market Street Fair coming in at a close second. Expect street parades with over-the-top costumes reminiscent of the Trinidad Carnival (bystander participation is encouraged), fireworks displays and wild all-night parties – especially on the last weekend. [Photo: Meg Stewart/Flickr]
16/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
Isle Of Wight Garlic FestivalIsle of Wight Garlic Festival in Newchurch, Isle of Wight, UK (August) – Surprisingly, summer’s biggest shindig on the Isle of Wight is more turf than surf: a carnival held in honour of the world’s most loved (and loathed) bulbous food. Activities and attractions include cooking demonstrations, theatre kitchens (featuring TV chef Rachel Khoo and Great British Bake-Off winner Nadiya Hussain), children’s entertainment and a massive fun fair, plus market stalls, live music and a big beer tent. garlicfestival.co.uk
17/18
Events
The World’s 15 Most Delectable Harvest Festivals.
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