Celebrate Harvest Season!

It’s time to celebrate! The farmer’s markets are overflowing with colorful, fresh foods and our gardens are busting out all over. Take an hour or a full day to soak up the amazing seasonal bounty at Seattle's local organic food and urban farming festival. The Harvest Fair is on Saturday, September 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Meridian Park (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N, Seattle 98103).

This is a lively hands-on event with workshops, demonstrations, activities, live music and tasty local food. Meet friendly mini-dairy goats, fluffy chickens and the amazing honeybee hive. Workshops include cider pressing, choosing the right goat, how to make fermented foods and a seed swap (bring seeds!). The park will be filled with organic farmers vending the best local fruits and vegetables, local honey and jams. This is a great place to buy bulk quantities of local organic produce for freezing, drying, canning or major cooking - while the harvest is abundant and the experts are on hand! Find native and edible plants, local books, garden supplies, crafts and sustainable goods.

Fun activities for the family include make-your-own herb crown, crafts in the children’s garden, a puppet show and a kids' parade. Local authors will be signing books, including Lisa Taylor, the author of Seattle Tilth’s “Your Farm in the City” and James Beard Award winner Chef Tamara Murphy, author of “Tender.” There are dozens of fabulous organizations and vendors participating, including guests on tour from Brazil who will be discussing food sovereignty. There will be a raffle to win a Chicken Coop Package or Urban Farm Starter Kit. Food donations are collected for the food bank at the BEET Hunger booth. Volunteers from the community are welcome and it's a fun event to participate in. Admission is free but donations are welcome to support the event.

Don’t miss Seattle's festival of urban farm education and celebration! Find out more: http://seattletilth.org/special_events/harvestfair2011.

Thanks to our sponsors for supporting the Harvest Fair: Bastyr Natural Health Clinic, Cascade Harvest Coalition, EnviroStars, Green Cleaning Seattle, KIND Snacks, New Roots Organics, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union and media sponsors KUOW and Chinook Book.

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About Seattle Tilth: Begun in 1978, Seattle Tilth is a regional organization with community learning gardens in north, central and south Seattle, and in the City of Issaquah, offering classes and programs that serve adults and children throughout King County. Seattle Tilth’s mission is to inspire and educate people to grow food organically, conserve natural resources, and support local food systems in order to cultivate a healthy urban environment and community. Find out more at www.seattletilth.org.