WESTPORT, NY - Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Adirondack Harvest Festival at the Essex County Fairgrounds in Westport, NY. Enjoy the harvest season and learn about Adirondack agriculture on Saturday, September 19th from 12 PM to 5 PM.
The Adirondack Harvest Festival saw over 3,500 attendees in 2025, and this year the festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The event will be hosted rain or shine! Read about the “Bees & Honey” theme and all the planned activities at adirondackharvest.com/adirondack-harvest-festival/.
The 2026 festival hands-on workshops include DIY Herbal Skincare with Mary Godnick of Creative Kitchen Garden, Beeswax Candle Dipping with Nichole Gerding with Thankful Sage Farm School, Cooking with Honey: Whipped Honey Butter Boards with Chef Robert Dumas of Paul Smith’s College, and Wild Fermented Mead Making with Zach Clemans of Landscape Paintings.
The Young Farmers’ Circle will have all-day kids’ activities such as rolling beeswax candles, giant mural painting, beeswax lip balm pouring, face painting, wagon and pony rides, and much more!
In recognition of Hunger Action Month, a nationwide campaign held each September to raise awareness about hunger and inspire action to end food insecurity, Adirondack Community Action Programs, Inc. (ACAP) will host a community food drive. Festival-goers are encouraged to bring non-perishable, shelf-stable food items to the ACAP vehicles, located near the entrances of the Adirondack Harvest Festival. To learn more about the food drive or ACAP’s year-round hunger relief work, visit www.acapinc.org. If you are participating in the food drive, please arrive no earlier than 12 PM to donate your items, as you will not be permitted entry to the fairgrounds before that. For more information on food that is accepted for donation, please visit adirondackharvest.com/adirondack-harvest-festival/.
All-day entertainment will include live music by The Big Takeover, Annie in the Water, and Ploughman’s Lunch; live demonstrations like loom weaving by Kirsten Liebl of Wollecru and bee keeping by Linda Gilliland of Ben Wever Farm; a lecture on beekeeping with Tim McGarry; hula hoop performances by Vestopia Hoops; stilt walking by Pete and Amy Nelson; Caricatures by Joe Ferries; and a petting zoo with various farm animals.
If you would like to become a vendor or have a table at the Adirondack Harvest Festival, please fill out the application here. Vending is free for Adirondack Harvest members. Tablers are encouraged to make a small donation or offer volunteer services for day-of logistics. To find out about festival volunteer opportunities, please visit our volunteer portal or reach out to the Adirondack Harvest Program Lead at ihs27@cornell.edu.
The Adirondack Harvest Festival is organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County’s Adirondack Harvest program. The Adirondack Harvest Festival is generously supported by the Essex County Board of Supervisors, Sylvamo, Adirondack Land Trust, Chazy Westport Communications, Champlain Area Trails, The Town of Westport, Regional Food Bank, Champlain National Bank, and many more that are highlighted on the festival webpage.
Festival goers are reminded that parking is free, that dogs are not permitted on the fairgrounds due to farm animal presence, that they need to bring a reusable water bottle to refill, cash for the farmers’ market, and chairs or blankets to sit on to enjoy music. We welcome everyone to have a wonderful time celebrating Adirondack agriculture.
Photos courtesy of Katie Kearney
About Adirondack Harvest
Adirondack Harvest is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County working to increase opportunities for profitable, sustainable production and sale of high-quality food and agricultural products, and expand consumer choices for locally produced healthy food. Its work covers the greater Adirondack region and northeastern New York State. Learn more at adirondackharvest.com.
