Annapolis Valley Harvest Festivals

Pumpkins for sale along highway 201

Many communities in the Annapolis Valley hold annual harvest festivals or fall fairs. These festivals were first started as a celebration to honour the bounty of the land and the crops it produced.

After long hours of planting the seeds and months of caring for the produce during the summer, everyone is anxious to see what the fall crops will bring. Many factors determine a good crop from a poor one, soil, sun, rain, seed quality to name just a few. Lives can be drastically changed according to the crop harvested in the fall season.

It was believed long ago that a big feast and celebration held after the harvest not only thanked the Gods for the bountiful crops of that year, but also pleased them to help guarantee another good crop for the next year. This tradition has been kept up over the years for many other reasons also. It was a time when the difficult work was completed and a more relaxed season lay ahead. It is also the time when the fruits and vegetables taste their best. The spectacular fall colors add a beautiful natural backdrop that deserves its own celebration.

Head out to Sheffield Mills in early September for their Annual Harvest Festival held at the Community Hall, 98 Black Hole Road. The events are free of charge starting at 11 am and you will be welcomed into a true country atmosphere.

While there stop into their Country Store which offers a variety of fresh local produce at very reasonable prices. A pantry sale will be going on all day with lots of delicious baking for sale. Attend the Goods and Services Auction to bid on a wide range of fabulous goods and different useful services.

The Children's Parade is always a popular event, especially for the children. After the children's games can include a variety like coin toss, throwing a ring around a duck, bursting balloons, a fish pond, a spin to win and the all-time favorite sucker pull. There will be horse and hay rides along with a petting zoo put on by the local 4-H club.

Competitions include a cow milking competition, an archery shoot and the fire fighter competition. Entertainment is provided during the day and food can be purchased at the Harvest Fair Canteen or at the Barbecued Chicken Supper.

Just follow the Eagle Head signs to the community after taking exit 12 off Highway 101 for this fun for the whole family event. If you would like more information you may visit their website.

Apple Crates Piled Ready For The Apple Harvest

Around the end of September keep watch for the Melvern Square Harvest Festival organized by the Melvern Square and Area community Association. This annual event has grown very popular as the whole community comes out to celebrate their community and the tradition of the fall harvest. There are events for both the young and more experienced contestants.

Head to the front lawn at the Melvern Square Community Hall by 1 pm to watch the weigh-in of the giant pumpkins. Local business help support this contest by providing cash prizes for the winners of both the adult and child's categories. The winning pumpkins from 2006 weighed-in at 688 lbs in the adult category and 425 lbs for the Child's category.

There are also lots of prizes given out for the best decorated pumpkin grinner. Categories in this event include both carved and painted pumpkins and are open to kids of all ages.

Then head out to the back yard for the tractor skills competition. This event is popular with the teenagers and for the adult drivers to. But let's not forget the kids. There will be push peddle John Deere tractors for the younger children. Several businesses in the area have also provided prizes for these events.

There will be raffles and draws going on throughout the afternoon, including a draw for a huge harvest basket filled to the brim. If you feel a little hungry there will be both homemade apple and pumpkin pie available along with coffee and tea. Check out the Melvern Square website for more information and dates for this event.

The eastern end of the Annapolis Valley from Kentville to Windsor have joined together to provide a full month of pumpkin fun and harvest festivals. There will be over thirty pumpkin events going on and twenty-five restaurants will be participating with harvest meals and pumpkin desserts. Farm markets and U-Picks will be going full force with all your favorites. You will also find art displays, concerts, dances, races and games happening in several communities throughout the month.

As part of this festival Kentville will again host their famous Pumpkin People Displays all over town and Windsor will also be holding their very popular Windsor-West Hants Pumpkin Regatta.

Towns included in this Valley-wide Pumpkin Harvest include Kentville; New Minas; Wolfville; Grand Pre; Hantsport; Falmouth and Windsor. Below is an outline of just some of the events happening and the towns and communities where they will be held.

Kentville is Taken Over With Pumpkin People in October

A new and popular event added to the Valley Pumpkin Festival is the Valley Pumpkin Hunt. First you pick up your contest postcard at participating locations. Then you may use the clues given or the geocaching co-ordinates to find at least 4 of the 8 special pumpkins that have been hidden throughout the Annapolis Valley. Each special pumpkin will have a harvest word written on it which after you find it you write it on your postcard. After you have found four special pumpkins you write your name and address on the postcard and send it in by November 1st. There are great prises for the participants of this contest.

Becoming more popular every year the corn maze is a fun family event. Have you tried one yet? There is something to say about walking through a tall maze of corn stalks when you are only able to see ahead, behind and straight up! Have you been here before? It is hard to say, it all looks the same, but no worries, even the children seem to be able to run through without too much trouble.

During the Harvest Festival there are a few different corn mazes to try. The Davison's Corn Maze, 112 Dyke Road in Falmouth is open on weekends and holidays from 10 am to 6 pm during September and October.

During the month of October you can head over to Noggins Corner Farm Ltd in Greenwich for their popular corn maze. The maze is open daily from 11 am to 6 pm and on weekends and holidays from 10 am to 6 pm. They even offer special corn maze events like the flashlight Maze or the Red Cross Haunted Maze. Make sure to check out their Barnyard Adventure Area while you are there.

Don't look now but the town of Kentville sure has some funny looking residents who only seem to come out during the month of October! They are everywhere! They are on people's lawns, on the top of their houses, in front of businesses, on top of the hill and below the hill. Some may even be riding down the hills! These funny looking beings are all different, but then they all seem to be the same to, they all have orange heads!

They are pumpkin people and they are everywhere in Kentville during their annual Pumpkin People Festival. The festival goes on from the first of October until about a week before Halloween. People come from near and far to see the over 300 different pumpkin people and what activities they are engaged in this year.

Pumpkin People Band in Kentville, Nova Scotia

The Fall Wine Festival promotes Nova Scotia’s amazing wines and wineries and celebrates the harvest of the grapes. Several of the local wineries plan special events for this festival and tie them into the Valley Pumpkin Festival. More events are added or changed every year, but here is a list of some of the winery events:

• Wine & Harvest Festival Gala Dinner held at Luckett Vineyards, 1293 Grand Pre Road, Wolfville around the first of October.

• Harvest Wine Fest & Grape Stomp held at Sainte-Famille Wines, Dyke Road, Falmouth on the first weekend of October. They hold a Charity stomp; a children’s stomp and a pumpkin carving contest. There will be entertainment and local foods to try.
• Harvest Wine Festival held at Grand Pre Wines, Grand Pre around the first weekend of October. There will be Great wine, food and more. On Saturday and Sunday there will be Free tours every hour 11 am -5 pm. Their winemaker will be available to answer your wine questions. Enjoy live music on Sunday.
• The Extreme Pumpkin held mid-October at Muir Murray Estate Winery, 90 Dyke Road, Wolfville. There will be food/wine pairing seminars with three different pumpkin dishes and locally produced wines.
• Organic Week Celebration held for a week during mid-October at L'Acadie Vineyards, 310 Slayter Road, Gaspereau. They will offer free tours and tastings of their certified organic wines.

Fast becoming very popular in the Annapolis Valley these creepy walks are always best around Halloween time. Here are a few going on during the Harvest Festivals:

• Wolfville's Gravely Ghost Walk starting at 8:20 pm at the Clock Tower in Wolfville. This is a historical production of the area's most intriguing people & unexplained events. This event is held several times throughout the month.
• Cemetery Tour at the Riverbank Cemetery, Hantsport starting at 7 pm around mid-October. Bring a Flashlight.
• Moonlight Tour & Ghost Writing Contest held about mid-October starting at 8:30 pm at Churchill House, Hantsport. This just gets even better and spookier all the time. Following the tour winners of the writing contest will be read!
• Trick or Trees is held at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, Wolfville. This is a free family-friendly night hike of the Woodland Trails. Bring your own flashlight. Help us light up the woods by entering your pumpkin in our Pumpkin Carving Contest.

Early in October is the Tim Horton's Valley Harvest Marathon. This is made up of several different runs. All races start at the Acadia University track, Main Street, Wolfville at 8:30 am.

These are just a few of the events happening in these harvest festivals. Every town, village and community has their own events planned to celebrate the Valley Pumpkin Fest. Below are some of those towns and villages and a small write=up on what you will find going on there. For a complete list of the events and the dates for this year check out the Valley Pumpkin Fest website.

Kentville celebrates the season with a huge Harvest Festival Kick-Off held the first of October in Centre Square. The day starts off at 9:30 am with greetings and the proclamation from the Town Crier. Then the entertainment starts with performances by several local groups and performers. At 10 am the many vendors open up with food, produce, crafts and much more. This is a great opportunity for you to buy local fresh produce or get a head start on some of your Christmas shopping.

There is a Pumpkin People workshop you may attend to get some hints on making your own display. The kids can enjoy the Inflatable Children's Game and Bouncer, Children's Art, Barrel Train Rides, Pony Rides and Hay Rides during the afternoon free of charge all being held in Centre Square.

The official opening of the New Minas Family Fun Fall Harvest Fest kicks off at twelve o'clock noon the first weekend of October in the Lockhart & Ryan Memorial Park. After the opening remarks the whole afternoon is full of fun events for the whole family.

There will be Old Fashioned Wagon Rides, Pony Rides, and a Magic Show for the kids. If you are hungry try out the corn Boil or the BBQs going on. Try your hand at the many contests like the Corn Shucking contest, Corn on the Cob Eating Contest, Apple Bobbing Contest, an Apple Pie Baking Contest and a Pumpkin Carving Contest.

There will be entertainment going on throughout the day and several vendors will be set up. The kids will love the special guest that will be making appearances during the day. It all sounds like a fun day for the whole family to get out and enjoy the Fall Harvest Festival.

Wolfville joins into the Valley Pumpkin Festival with several Fall Festival events going on there. In nearby Greenwich, The Hennigar's Farm Market will be having their Farmersgolf at their Farmersgolf Farm Park & Trail. This has become quite popular with the locals and visitors to the area. While there check out their petting zoo, trike track and nature trail.

The town of Wolfville will be hosting a Pumpkin Carving Showcase and a Pumpkin Art Mosaic by the Alliance of Kings Artist. This will be unveiled at the Clocktober Fest which is a Celebration of Food and Fun in Wolfville, a showcase of the Culinary Passport participants.

The Pumpkin Palooza held at the Wolfville Farmer's Market.

There will also be several performances fit for the season put on by the Acadia Performing Arts Series, W.A.C.K.Y. Films and Fundy Film Society. While in town make sure to stop into one of the local restaurants for some local fall harvest food or stop by Paddy's Pub for their Paddy's Pumpkin Ale.

Local Roadside Fruit Stand
Many Like This One Is Run On Trust Of Payment

Hantsport has several harvest festival events going on for the Valley Pumpkin Festival. Churchill House seems to be the main location for many of these events like the Halloween Harvest Supper, the Spooktachlar Challenge, the exciting Moonlight Tour, the delicious Pumpkin Dessert Contest, the Little Miss Harvest Fest Contest, the Smallest Pumpkin Contest and the Gallery of Gourds for UNICEF.

The pumpkin Carving Contest and the Movie with a Little Magic Show will be held at the Legion Center. Make your way over to the Riverbank Cemetery for the popular Candlelight Cemetery Tour, if you dare to. And don't miss the Grand Pumpkin Parade going down Main Street. Check your local paper for the timings for these events.

You will just have to go visit Windsor during the Pumpkin Festival; they have so many events running throughout the month of October. The young and the young at heart won't want to miss the Miniature Train Rides held at the Trecothic Creek & Windsor Railway. Of course they will have their annual Pumpkin Weigh Off held at the Exhibition Grounds. Remember this is the "Land of the Big Pumpkins", made famous by the Howard Dill record breaking pumpkins. Many of the Giant Pumpkin Growers in the valley still use his famous seeds.

There are many Bazaars, Harvest Dinners, Farmer's Markets, Auctions, Harvest Craft and Bake Sales happening throughout the month. The Haliburton House is holding the Mod Gourd Scavenger Hunt. At Victoria Park they will be holding a Pumpkin Idol contest. The Children's Wish Foundation Parade of Pumpkin Paddlers goes from the Exhibition Grounds to the Waterfront where the very popular Annual Windsor - West Hants Pumpkin Regatta will take place. This regatta has become famous right across Canada and the United States. There will be a Perfect Pumpkin Painting Contest and it all winds up with a Halloween Dance held at the Community Centre.

The Pumpkins Are Picked Ready To Become Pumpkin Grinners

There are many more Fall Harvest events being held throughout the valley in many of the smaller communities. Many of the community halls will be busy with harvest dinners where delicious meals are served made from the produce harvested in the local area. These are always delicious home cooked meals topped off with either apple or pumpkin pies. Check out my Annapolis Dinners Page for a list of some of these that are annual events.

As I hear of any other Fall Festivals I will add them to this page so come back often to check it out.

If your organization has an annual Harvest Festival you would like included on this page please let me know about it. You do that by filling in my Annapolis Events Contact Form. It's easy to do but please remember to include as much information as you can. When I receive your submission I will go over it and I may have to contact you for more information before I list the event.

Remember I am only adding annual events to this page, but still send in other events as I will post them on my Annapolis Valley Vacation Facebook Page.

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