Harvest Celebrations are a time to honor, celebrate and share in the bounty of local agriculture. Throughout the months of September and October, local agricultural groups throughout Washington work with farmers and other community members to host a wide variety of fun and educational events.

The primary goals behind these yearly events are to encourage people to reconnect to the land and the seasons, and to understand the benefits of having local farms and of eating locally grown food. As farmer/writer Wendell Barry says, "healthy community includes an acquaintance and connection between urban and rural people and the loyalty of people in cities and towns to locally-grown food."

The harvest months are also a time for community to have "fun down on the farm," by through farm tours, harvest markets, educational displays, chef demos, corn and hay mazes, pumpkin patches, hay rides, food, music and plenty of good times for all ages.

It's also an opportunity to support local food and farming organizations at one of the many harvest celebration dinners that take place during the season.

This September and October, we invite you to make your way to a harvest celebration close to home or give yourself a "haycation" and travel the scenic backroads of our rural landscape and connect with the agriculture bounty of Puget Sound and Washington state.. Find out what is truly good about local food and farms, and the benefits of having these resources in our communities. There is no better place to learn about local agriculture and how it important they are to the health and well being of our food system than at the farm.

Tips for farm visits - Dress for the weather and for the fields, i.e. sturdy shoes and please, leave the pets at home as working farms are meant for farm animals.

Visit Puget Sound Fresh to find a pumpkin patch or corn maze near you.

CLALLAM COUNTY

13th Annual 100-Mile Friends of the Field Harvest Dinner
September 22, 2012, 5 PM - 8 PM
Friends of the Fields
360-417-1815
The North Olympic Peninsula is one of only a few places in the U.S. that can actually offer a unique dining experience like this 100-Mile Harvest Celebration Dinner.  In the hands of talented local chefs, you will dine on an amazing array of fresh local ingredients, procured from within 100 miles of Sequim,WA which will dazzle your palate in one of the most delicious and unusual dinners ever!  The dinner will also feature a fabulous and elegant dessert auction, live music, local beer and wine, and the warmth and camaraderie that have made the Sequim community famous. 

Tickets are available online through the North Olympic Land Trust. Seating is limited and no tickets will be sold at the door.  All net proceeds go to protect farmland in Clallam County.

Clallam County 16th Annual How-To Farm Tour
October 6, 2012, 10 AM - 4 PM
WSU Clallam County Extension
360-417-2279
Tour local farms throughout Clallam County! See farm animals, taste local foods, listen to live music, and participate in hay rides, corn mazes, veggie guessing games, cabbage tosses and more. $10 per carload gets you into all participating farms.

Cloud Mountain Farm Fruit Festival
October 6 -7, 2012 Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM; Sunday, 11 AM - 4 PM
6906 Goodwin Road, Everson
Delicious for the whole family with over 200 types of fruits and fruit products to enjoy. Live music and U-Pick pumpkin patch round out the fun.

CLARK COUNTY

Clark County Harvest Celebration
September 15, 2012, 10 AM - 3 PM
WSU Clark County Extension
Choose among 14 local farms across Clark County to visit, tour and suppor at the 14th annual Harvest Celebration Day. This family friendly event features kid's activites, farm demonstrations, tours, farm markets and tastings for you to participate in.  Click here for a complete map and descriptions of particpating farms.

GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY

Harvest Celebration Farm Tour
September 29, 2012
WSU Grays Harbor County Extension
360-482-293
WSU Gray's Harobr County Extension, in cooperation with the Montesano Chamber of Commerce will host their annual Harvest Celebration Farm Tour at three extraordinary farms. Featured farms included the Poppy Patch Farm (with a large collection of antique farm machinery), Chapman's Pumpkin Farm and New Moon Alpacas, with an additional stop at the rural Satsop School House.  Cost of the tour is $5 per person or $10 per family. Tour buses will leave the Abel House Bed and Breakfast in Montesano at 8 AM, 9 AM and 1PM.  In addition, a pancake breakfast will be availalbe at the Abel House from 7 AM - 10 AM for $5. Reservations can be made for the bus tour at 360-249-6002.

ISLAND COUNTY

Whidbey Island Farm Tour
September 15-16, 10 AM - 4 PM
Whidbey Island Conservation District
360-678-4708

WSU Island County Extension
360-240-5558
A FREE self-guided tour of 18 working farms on beautiful Whidbey Island featuring locally grown food and products. Taste locally made cheese and jam or don a scarf made from alpaca fiber. Many farms will be hosting other farmers, food vendors, and entertainers, so join the kids and go on a scavenger hunt, learn about composting, see raptors close up, or sip some wine and listen to music. There is bound to be something for everyone!  Please check the guide as some farms only open on Saturday.   Click here for more information and printable map of participating farms.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

Jefferson County Harvest Celebration Farm Tour
September 16, 2012, 10 AM - 4 PM
WSU Jefferson County Extension
360-379-5610
The 2012 tour boasts 15 working farms specializing in everything from hard cider to wool to goat's milk and magical soil.  Each farm on this self-guided tour will have an assortment of educational demonstrations, live music and other family-friendly activities available to visitors. Be sure and stop by Farm Tour Central, located at the Chimacum Corner Farmstand, to pick up your Farm Tour Guidebook, a "Tour de Fermbes" biking map, and a ticket to our first ever Farm Tour grand prize drawing! Visit  the farm tour website for a complete list of participating farms, details on activities, and a printable farm tour map!

KING COUNTY

Seattle Tilth Harvest Fair
September 8, 2012, 10 AM  - 4 PM
Seattle Tilth
206-633-0451
Join the fun and celebrate harvest season at Seattle's annual urban farm and local food festival!  Activities and workshops like gardening classes, compost demos, visits with chickens, goats and honey bees, an organic farmers market and a host of community orgnaizations will help you learn how to grow more of your own food, support our local food system and get involved in the community. Plenty of delicious food, live music and special activities for the little ones will be on hand. Click here for details and activities.

Under the Harvest Moon
September 15, 2012, 5 PM - 8 PM
Tilth Producers of Washington
206-632-7506
Gala dinner and auction benefit for Tilth Producers of Washington will showcase the bounty of local farms, ranches and orchards at Seattle's Fremont Abbey Arts Center.  The evening will include a "good food" silent auction, local appetizers, organic beer, wine and cider and a live dessert auction.  Purchase tickets here.

Fall Farm Jubilee
September 15, 2012, 11 AM - 4 PM
PCC Farmland Trust
206-547-9855
This free fall tour at Jublilee Farm in the Snoqualmie Valley celebrates the autumn harvest. Featuring live music, tours, local food, kid's activiites, hayrides, ice cream, live music and more, including the PCC Kids Picks Mobile. Sign up for the tour on the PCC Farmland Trust Facebook page - registration isn't required, but if you let them know you're coming, they'll make sure you have the very latest updates and details, including their music lineup! Bikes are welcome, but please leave pets at home.

Fall Harvest Celebration
September 29, 2012, 10 AM - 4 PM
Trees 'n Bees
253-939-1149
Located just east of Auburn, WA, this family-owned farm operates 25-35 hives of honeybees and offers beekeepign supplies, honey and gifts year-round. Their annual harvest celebation will offer up honey exacting and wreath-making demos, door prizes, make-your-own candles and more.

An Incredible Feast
October 7, 201, 6 PM - 9 PM
Swanson's Nursery, 9701 15th Avenue West, Seattle
Come ye, come all to sample 25 fresh, local gourmet dishes from over two dozen of Seattle's finest chefs in support of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance's low income programs, free community events, local food education, and farmer advocacy. Hosted by local celebrity chef Tamara Murphy, the 8th annual feast pairs chefs with market farmers - the true stars of the evening. In addiition to a cornucopia of local flavors featuring fresh ingredients from farmers, ranchers, fishers and foragers (plus great local wines and beers), mingle with chefs and farmers and bid in their silent auction, play games (with great prizes) and enjoy live music. Click here for details.

Duvall Heritage Festival
September 29, 2012, 10 AM - 4 PM
Duvall Historical Society & Duvall Cultural Commission
Celebrate the "good old days" by bringing the whole family to Duvall for a day of fun, learning, and reminiscing at the historic Dougherty House and Farmstand. Learn how the pioneers lived and work; watch a blacksmith at work and a field being plowed the old fashioned way (with mules). Look at antique tractors, shell some corn, make cider, braid rope, churn butter, and wash clothes the old-fashioned way!  Antique quilts from the late 19th century will also be on display along with guided tours including the farmhouse, a restored logging bunk house, milk house and old tool display. Kick up your heels and dance to the square dance music of Tinker's Dram or relax and liten to folk music and stories.

Country Village Harvest Festival
October 13-14, 2012, 11 AM - 5 PM
23718 Bothell-Everett Highway, Bothell
Stroll around the grounds decorated with cornstalks and pumpkins while you enjoy live musica and performances, fall-themed craft projects, pumpkin painting, shopping form 40+ local artists and vendors, pony rides, corn on the cob, face painting, train rides and for the grown ups, a beer and wine garden.

KITSAP COUNTY

Kitsap Grown Harvest Dinner
September 14, 2012, 5 PM - 8 PM
Kitsap Community Agriculture Alliance
360-355-9413
The 4th annual Kitsap Grown Harvest Dinner at Olympic College in Bremerton, will bring together some of the best locally produced food and ten of Kitsap's top chefs for an evening of culinary delights.  You can expect spectacular flavors and displays of our locally farmed produce and livestock. Don't miss out on this opportunity to celebrate and support local farmers and culinary masters in Ktisap County. Purchase tickets here.

Friends of the Farms Harvest Fair
Sunday, September 30, 2012, 11 AM -5 PM
Johnson Farm, Bainbridge Island
This educational and fun event brings community together to celebrate, appreciate and nuture local farming. Not just for the kids, Harvest Fair encourages everyone to take a day and spend it on the farm. bring your own apples and learn to make cider in the Fair Orchard, meet local farmers, enjoy yummy local food, talk with master gardeners, snuggle with 4-H petting zoo critters, sample local beverages at the beer and wine garden, take a tractor or horse-drawn wagon ride, enter the biggest zucchini and/or pie contest. Or, simply take in seven hours of sumptious local food and music while sitting on a hay bale, enjoying a beautiful day in the country. Coming from Seattle? No problem, free park and ride shuttles with pick up at the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal for each ferry arrival from Seattle. See website for more details.

OKANOGAN COUNTY

2nd Annual Feast of Field and Stream Dinner
September 2, 2012, 6 PM
509-881-7690
Join Trout Unlimited in celebrating the best of the Methow Valley. In conjunction with the Washington Water Project and Trout Unlimited's dynamic work with private land owners, the group will host a dinner showcasing farms participating in TU's rapidly expanding Inland Northwest Salmon-Safe Project. The night will begin with wine and appetizers followed by a farm to table dinner. All food and wine will be locally sourced. Look forward to a scrumptious menu and lots of fun for a great cause. Purchase tickets here.

PIERCE COUNTY

Fife Harvest Festival
October 6, 2012, 7 AM - 8:30 PM
This free festival at Dacca Park has brown in size since its inception in 2005 and has a ton of activities, rain or shine. Highlights include Council Corn on the Cob, hay rides, petting zoo, pumpkin bowling, pony rides, "hoppin" horses, a prize hay pile, cow milking, stuff a scarecrow, plenty of live music and to top things off, fireworks.

Banquet of Bounty: A Farm to Fork Fundraising Celebration at the Hotel Murano
for the Tacoma Farmers Market
October 19, 2012, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
An inagural fundraiser presented by the Tacoma Farmers Market Board, this event will feature a locally sourced meal by Chef Matt Stickle of the BITE restaurant at the Hotel Murano.  There will be a local dessert dash and wine wall.  Proceeds from the event go towards keeping vendor fees affordable for market farmers and producers and for market capacity building.  Tickets are $75 and available at Brown Paper Tickets.

SKAGIT COUNTY

Burlington Harvest Festival & Pumpkin Patch
September 29, 2012, 10 AM - 3 PM
Burlington Chamber of Commmerce
360-757-0994
Picture this..medieval type machines hurling pumpkins through the air, zucchini car races, pumpkin pating contests and lots of kids activities, all for free!Located in scenic Skagit County, Burlington is a spectacular place to bring the family for harvest fun. Festivities include pumpkin patch, pie eating contest, make your own pumpkin cookies, zucchini car races, pumpkin painting and more.

Celebrate Skagit Harvest, 14th Annual Dinner and Auction
September 29, 2012
Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland
360-336-3974
Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland presents "An Evening of Diamonds and Denim" to in support of SPF's critical work to protech Skagit County's agriculture and celebrate the fall bounty.  Wear your bling and your blue jeans!

Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms Tour
October 6-7, 2012, 10 am - 4 pm
Festival of Family Farms
360-421-4729
Acres of fun for everyone! This annual hands-on-experience will show you what it takes to run a farm, from growing crops to feeding animals.  It's also an opportunity to talk to your farmers and follow your food from the fields to the table.  Participating farms offer fun-filled festival activities for everyone including: educational exhibits, farm tours, harvest markets, free samples, kids activities, corn and hay mazes, animal exhibits, pumpkin patches, shopping, scenic tours, and more. Click here for downloadable tour map.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY

Snohomish Pumpkin Hurl
September 15-16, 2012, 10 AM - 4 PM
Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins
Eye-popping! Outrageous trebuchets hurl farm-fresh pumpkins over 1800 feet! Conestant teams build and bring their own machines and battle for the title "Champion of the Northwest Pumpkin Hurl." It's also the most action packed pumpkin event you've ever seen! Event details here.

Harvest Jubilee Festival and Farm Tour
September 22-23, 2012 10 AM - 5 PM
360-629-0562
Now in its fifth year, the Harvest Jubilee Festival and Farm Tours is a free, family-friendly event with exhibits, demonstrations, and presentaions to inspire future famers and food entreprenurs while entertaining everyone who attends!  Discover the agricultural richness and fantastic food of this northwest corner of Snohomish County and Camano Island. The farms and festivals are many, the people are friendly, and you'll find an abundance of activities for all ages. Click here for a listing of participating farms and schedule.

Sky Valley Farm Festival
October 13, 2012, 10 AM - 5 PM
360-793-0983
The Sky Valley Farm Festival in Sultan is a beloved tradition - celebrating our hard working agricultural commuity and heritage.  You'll explore three farms and the joys of farm life, from rope swings and hayloft climbing, to pony rides, wagon rides, pumpkins, corn mazes and fresh food. Local chefs will be presenting demos all day on how to transform fresh produce into a fabulous feast. All ages will find their inner cowboy at this festival.

WHATCOM COUNTY

Ferndale Harvest Festival
October 13, 2012, 10 AM - 3:00 PM
Centennial River Walk Park, Ferndale
Celebrate the closing day of the Public Market with pumpkin painting, pumpkin carving, lots of activities for the kids, market vendors and more. Bring the family and friendly dogs in cosume (a prize for best dressed!). See website for details.

Lynden Corn Maze
Opens August 31, 2012 (weather permitting)  through end of September
Lynden FFA Corn Maze
360-354-4401

Whatcom County Farm Tour
September 8, 2012 10 AM - 5 PM
Sustainable Connections
360-647-7093 ext. 114
A free, self-guided tour of the all the bounty Whatcom Cunty has to offer! Tour goers have a chance to explore the county's diverse, family-owned farms and rich agricultural history, all with a stunning backdrop of Mount Baker. Visitors will find exciting educatonal and interactive activities at each tour stop and a chance to win prizes. This year, "Go Green" and take part in a guided bike ride from Everbody Bike: A 20-mile Farm Tour loop to a winery and U-Pick vegetable farm. See here for more details and how to pick up Farm Tour maps.

Whatcom Harvest Dinner
September 23, 2012, 4 PM - 7 PM
Fourth Corner Slow Food Chapter
The popular Whatcom Harvest Dinner at BelleWood Acres celebrates the abundant harvest season, talented farmers and amazing food artisans of Whatcom County farms, fisheries and this year, a special highlight on school and community gardens. The event will support four local organizatons: Explorations Academy Gardening and Cooking Program, Sustainable Connections Food to Bank On, Common Threads Farm School Garden Collective, and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, Students for Salmon Program. Slding scale tickets available here.

For information on local Harvest Celebrations in North Central Washington:

Cascade Foothills Farmland Association
509-548-6784