October 11, 2005 > Ardenwood Harvest Festival

by Ceri Hitchcock-Hodgson

The transition from summer to fall begins with the autumn equinox (when day and night are equal length), occurring anywhere from September 22 to 24 depending upon the year. As turning leaves and shorter days signal the arrival of the season in the northern hemisphere, those south of the equator are beginning spring.

Most ancient cultures featured autumnal celebrations of the harvest, often the most important on their calendars. The vestiges of these celebrations can be found in Thanksgiving; the Jewish holiday of Sukkot with its roots as a full moon harvest festival of "tabernacles" (huts wherein the harvest was processed and which later gained religious significance); the many North American Indian festivals tied to harvest of autumnally ripe foods gathered in the wild; Chinese Mid-Autumn or Moon festival; and numerous others.

Share in the excitement of a bountiful crop at Ardenwood Historical Farm's annual Harvest Festival. Indian corn planted last April is ripe for the picking and help is needed to fill the farm's corncribs. You will even get to take home some of the colorful corn for your holiday table. There are apples to be pressed for fresh cider and walnuts to be hulled. Old-time music will play, crafts will be available, the blacksmith will be forging, the horse-drawn train running and the historic Patterson House open for tours. Fee: $8/adults (18+ years), $6/seniors (62+ year), $5/children (4-17 years).

Ardenwood Harvest Festival
Saturday-Sunday, October 15 and16
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ardenwood Historic Farm
34600 Ardenwood Blvd, Fremont
(510) 796-0663