With the traditional harvest time around the corner, the City of Richmond wants to celebrate.
Richmond’s first Harvest Fest will be unveiled this Saturday (Sept. 30) on the Garden City Lands to celebrate one of the city’s founding industries — agriculture.
“Agriculture is one of the reasons why people first moved to Richmond and immigrated here, and one of the industries built the community,” said Ted Townsend, the city’s spokesperson.
“Our community is growing a lot and is much more diverse … (but) people have returned to the importance of growing food locally, and sustainable lifestyles are becoming even more important today.”
Events will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., when the best of locally grown and produced food, beer and wine will be available for purchase and sampling.
Five local chefs will be cooking dishes featuring local delicacies on the Culinary Stage. Three chefs will prepare dishes featuring cranberries – Richmond’s top crop; the other two chefs will focus on edible plants and cooking up a Harvest Brunch.
In the marketplace, festival-goers will find local produce including home-grown baked goods, local honey, and artisanal ice cream.
Those who want to skip the prep can visit vendors offering an internationally-flavoured variety of foods.
B.C. artists will give live performances on the festival’s Main Stage including a headline performance by popular Canadian rock band Jon and Roy from Victoria.
Fun countryside activities will be provided to children, such as a straw bale slide, wagon ride, interactive agricultural displays and roving performers, for them to better understand the roots and origin of their home.
“It’s also a great opportunity to celebrate the spectacular Garden City Lands,” said Townsend.
He noted that this will be the first major community event that’s being held on the lands in over a century.
The 136.5-acre Garden City Lands, located near Garden City Road and Westminster Highway, is currently at the very early stage of being developed into a major new park in the heart of Richmond.
Townsend reminded that no onsite parking will be available; attendees can park at Lansdowne Centre and take a shuttle bus to the park, or lock their bikes in a securely guarded area near the festival entrance.
For more information, check RichmondHarvestFest.com.
