Waterford Harvest Festival 2018
A family-fun, festive & food filled weekend
Sept. 7th to Sept. 9th
The Waterford Harvest Festival 2018 not only showcases some of the region’s best food producers, it also adds a big dollop of festive, family-friendly fun events to the Waterford calendar for three days in September.
Winding its way from Arundel Square to John Roberts Square, through the city’s Cultural Quarter and upwards to Ballybricken Green and beyond, Waterford Harvest Festival 2018 has a whole host of family entertainment lined up!
Plot your course through the Festival markets armed with your appetite, as Arundel Square is transformed into a giant market stall, brimming with hot food, artisan producers and musical accompaniment form the Se2 Music Stage. Keep a little room for some sweet treats as O’Connell Street and Gladstone Street will be home to dozens more producers serving scrumptious savouries, dessert delicacies and artisan produce to take home.
Here’s a look back on Waterford Harvest Festival 2017
In City Square Shopping Centre, Caroline Stafford of Cocoa Cookhouse reveals the process of chocolate making, from bean to bar! This workshop is a must for all budding Willy Wonkas!
In George’s Street, WIT’s Calmast returns with a host of free workshops and fun demonstrations exploring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) through exciting experiments, technical talks and science showcases.
A packed programme of events take place at Garter Lane Arts Centre including Dublin poet and playwright Stephen James Smith, a fun, messy hands-on workshop Play with your Food, and the screening of the heart-warming French film Back to Burgundy, along with the thought-provoking production of “What good is looking well when you’re rotten on the inside?”
Ballybricken, which was traditionally the hub of Waterford’s livestock and bacon curing industries, will be buzzing with a whole host of fun, interactive Harvest events including the Agri Aware Mobile Farm and The National Reptile Zoo – Ireland’s only dedicated reptile zoo on tour. You’ll have the unique opportunity to come face to face with some of the world’s most amazing reptiles, from scorpions and tarantulas to different and unique species of snakes, lizards and tortoises.
Get up close and personal with amazing birds of prey as Mayfield Birds of Prey showcase the ancient art of falconry. Learn how to groom and maybe even take a ride on a majestic shire horse as Four Shires Horses will show the care that goes into these magnificent beasts. The East Waterford Bee Keepers Association will also be there to talk about all things bees. The Junior HQ Tent has interactive fun and creative workshops aplenty for the little ones. So, if you fancy turning your hand to Play-doh making and pasta jewellery making workshops, drop in with your little one and prepare to get your hands dirty.
Following on from the huge sell-out success of the ‘LiveWell’ Day at Harvest 2017, Team LiveWell has partnered again with Waterford Harvest Festival 2018 and is offering a day of free classes and talks for Mums, Dads, caregivers, babies and children. Enjoy pilates and dance collaborative classes, baby massage, Mum & Baby exercise classes, dance for children, health talks and much more throughout Harvest Friday!
Sharing a 10th birthday with Waterford Harvest Festival is GIY. To celebrate there’s a bumper line-up for Food Matters 2018 at GROW HQ, the home of the GIY movement. A very special 7 course tasting menu from GROW HQ Head Chef JB Dubois, workshops in apple/cider making and food styling; a Cottage Market collective, kids’ fun with RTE Junior’s Muireann Ní Chíobháin, and a behind-the-scenes event with GROW COOK EAT’s Mick Kelly and Karen O’Donohoe. The festival, called GIY Food Matters, which is part of Waterford’s Harvest weekend features a programme of talks, garden walks, demos workshops as well as a very special ticketed evening event.
If foraging is for you, join the Sea Gardener, Marie Power on Kilfarrassy beach to learn how to identify and sustainably forage for seaweed and get some great tips for healthy seaweed dishes.
With events taking place all weekend long there’s something for everyone, from the tiny taste buds to those truly seeking gastronomic delights!
To find out more about the Waterford Harvest Festival,
to book or to download a brochure visit www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie to download a brochure or keep up to date on all things Harvest Fest by checking out #waterfordharvest on Facebook and Twitter.
