On Tour and Very Big: Harvest Festival

The multi-city, two-state arts & crafts biggie'll visit Del Mar, Ventura, San Mateo...

A HARVEST FESTIVAL, in many minds, is a fairly cozy small-town-y soiree. You have the baked goods table, the one that is raising money for a new flagpole, and you have the booth with the pumpkin bowling. Maybe there's a caramel apple stand, and perhaps there's a crafter or two on the grounds, selling spicy pot pourri and Christmas ornaments. Many of those same elements exist at the Harvest Festival Original Arts & Crafts Show, of course, but you'll need to multiply the amount of things you see/do/buy at your hometown craft show to reach an estimate of what this touring extravaganza holds. Dozens upon dozens of artisans journey to various destinations around the California and into Nevada, transporting shimmery jewelry and kid-cute tutus and framed nature photographs and specialty mustards and wooden gem boxes and beautiful handmade aprons. There's food to nosh on each time the fest pauses somewhere, and entertainment, too, from music and clowns and the occasional person on stilts. Call it autumn energized, and prepare to see it arrive where you live, or at least a short drive away from where you live, very soon. The Harvest Festival's multi-city, two-state tour kicks off in...

LAS VEGAS... over the second weekend in September. After that it'll visit a caboodle of California cities, from Del Mar to Pomona to Ventura to San Mateo and beyond. It has been around for 43 years, and it shows, both in the breadth of what's offered at the fest and the depth of the crafting roster. A ticket is nine bucks and it covers you for the three days that the fest is at a specific location, so if you buy for Ontario, you're good for three days at the Ontario show. So, will you shop for yourself, or will you get all of the homemade-y sweet treats that you need, to give away or to stuff stockings, during the holiday season? And will you devour any breads or cookies you purchase on the car ride home? Questions, so many questions. We're just happy another herald of fall is on the wind, and, with it, many cute and interesting items that brim with that charming small-town-esque touch. 

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