Niagara-on-the-Lake’s first ever Harvest Festival is coming to Market Square in Old Town this Saturday, October 26.
Sponsored by the NOTL Chamber of Commerce and Anchor Niagara, a local events company, the festival will showcase live music, food and beverage vendors, and shops from Queen Street and beyond.
Maria Mavridis, owner of Anchor Niagara, has thought for years that NOTL should host a fall harvest festival. Calling herself a “big hallmark movie person,” she said this is the time of year that NOTL should invite locals and tourists to enjoy the fruits of our collective, local labour.
In that vein, the free event will be decorated with hay from Minor Brothers and 60 pumpkins purchased from 11-year-old Ianto’s Pumpkin Patch grown on Watson’s Farm.
The Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake will pour 23 different wines, and The Exchange Brewery and Brunch Beverages will also offer libations. Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery is donating a generator for the event.
Corks Winery and Eatery and B-Y’s Honey Farm will also have a spot in the Market Square, which is located behind the LCBO and next to Cheese Secrets. Cool-As-A-Moose and Must Boutique will display their wares. The St. Davids Lions Club will be setting up a stage for multiple award-winning musician, Cory Cruise.
Proceeds will benefit the NOTL Museum, said Mavridis. Museum staff will be available to answer questions or direct people to walk a few short steps to visit the collections at the museum.
When Mavridis approached Chamber staff with the idea to host a harvest festival, they said “teach us, show us and we will do it together this year, and then we will run with it after,” Mavridis said. “The vision is to have it on Queen Street, like we do all the other community festivals, but with the restoration of the cenotaph, we shifted it and we're just going to take over Market Square.”
The event runs from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will offer some some activities for children.
There is no parking at the Market Square on Saturday, Mavridis said, but “it is off season, so there's still plenty of parking around.”
