Mountain Harvest Festival is Here!

Sep 23, 2015 by Sarah Bishop    No Comments    Posted under: Community, Highlight

2015 MHF Poster courtesy of Seth Weber

2015 Mountain Harvest Festival: September 24 – 27, Paonia Colorado

If summer is coming to a close, can Mountain Harvest Festival be far behind?  We at Mountain Harvest Creative (the new name of the organization that brings you the Festival) are busy preparing for our 15^th annual festival, September 24 – 27 this year.  That is right before Cedaredge’s Applefest and after a summer full of festival events in Paonia, Crawford, Delta, and Hotchkiss.  My, but our valley and elsewhere in the county are becoming a hotbed of wonderful activities!

But back to Paonia’s Mountain Harvest Festival.  The Entertainment Guide that describes everything about the Festival is available at numerous places throughout the valley.  Here is a preview of some of the new events you can expect along with your favorites, like the chili cook-off on Friday, the grape stomp on Saturday, the Sunday brunch and Farmers’ Market, and the ever popular kids area on Saturday and Sunday.

Every year the Thursday night Harvest of Voices – local writers reading their most recent poetry and prose – is “sold out”.  Try to get your reserved seat tickets in advance.  But don’t worry, in order to accommodate all eager literary fans, a live radio link will be broadcast to the Paradise Theatre across the street from the Blue Sage Center where the event takes place.  No longer will the overflow crowd have to crane their necks around the door to the Blue Sage hall.

Photo courtesy of Mountain Harvest Festival website

There is so much going on Friday evening, we have stretched things out to allow folks to participate in everything.  To that end, the Final Friday Art Walk among the many galleries and other establishments, which display art, will take place from noon to 4:00 pm.  Having worked up an appetite, art afficionados may wander over to Town Park to sample the great variety of chilies, cooked up by local chefs.  Then if you still are hungry, some of the Festival food vendors will be happy to fill you up between the hours of 5:00 and 7:00.

Also new this year is Cow Pie Bingo on Saturday afternoon.  The Flight of the Eagle project will bring a cow to an area of Town Park that has been fenced off and divided into squares.  They will take bets on where the cow will make a deposit.  Hilarious!

The Hellecksons are preparing a winemakers dinner at their vineyard Saturday night, featuring local foods prepared in exquisite dishes and paired with, of course, local wines.  Entertainment by the Scones.  For more information, check their website info@stonecottagecellars.com or call 527-3444.

Photo courtesy of Teya Cranson

Saturday evening, 10 bands will perform for the price of one $30 ticket in four venues down town.  By popular demand, each band will have an hour and one half set – much longer than in previous years.  Come meet band members at the Eccentric Artist, a new ticketed event this year.

The final event on Sunday in the park will be a Disco Soup dinner brought to you by Slow Food Western Slope.  The menu will feature dishes made with locally grown fresh food that is “less than perfect.”  Factory farms can make perfect looking food.  We, who live here, are more interested in how good it tastes.  So come sample OUR food.

The best way to prepare for the 15^th annual Mountain Harvest Festival is to read the Entertainment Guide from cover to cover. Now that you have read the entire E-Guide, it is time to start planning your weekend. If you can’t find something of interest in this full color tabloid style newspaper, you are just not trying!  See you in September.

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