Harvest festival to celebrate autumn
by Ruairi O'Shea · Otago Daily Times Online NewsThe beauty of autumn will be celebrated as the first edition of the Alpine Harvest Festival takes place in Hāwea Flat this Sunday.
The festival is hosted in by a partnership of the Your Garden Coach podcast — a monthly podcast providing practical gardening advice — and Alpine Blooms Farm, where the festival will take place.
Alpine Blooms Farm owner Vera Yakzhik said that the festival aims to fill a gap in the the area’s festive calendar at a beautiful time of year.
"We don’t really have a Harvest Festival per se in the area where it’s just celebrating the autumn and the autumn colours and the bounty of it.
"We decided that we would like to organise one and it came to be from there.
"We would just like people to celebrate autumn because it’s absolutely stunning," Ms Yakzhik said.
Ms Yakzhik said that the event is designed to be a fun day out for families on Mother’s Day, with a range of stalls and autumnal activities designed to celebrate harvest.
"We’ve got about 15 stalls that have local produce, as well as things that are made from produce, like linen, beeswax and things.
In addition to stalls selling produce, the event will also have a bouncy castle and face painting for children, as well as live music and food stalls.
For those looking for an autumnal family photo, Ms Yakzhik said there would also be a photographer to take family photos in front of hay bales and pumpkins.
Alpine Harvest Festival, Sunday, 10am to 3pm at Alpine Blooms Farm, Hāwea Flat. Adult tickets $10, children free.