Local foodies and gardeners will be knocked out by the South Carolina Botanical Garden’s Harvest Festival.
Local foodies and gardeners will be knocked out by the South Carolina Botanical Garden’s Harvest Festival. Scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 13, this festival is the perfect time to take advantage of early fall’s bounty and celebrate Clemson University founder Thomas Green Clemson’s 200th birthday.
Events will be held throughout the day, from a 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a major draw at lunchtime. A fall BBQ luncheon will be served on a first-come first-served basis.
“If people want to eat that food, they need to get there early,” said Christine.
If you’re an early riser, head out at 9 a.m. to the Heirloom Vegetable Garden, near the back of the gardens by the Hanover House. This morning session will focus on traditional harvesting practices set to ever-appropriate bluegrass music. Don’t miss out on the tasting session. Heirloom vegetables are never commercially processed, and usually grown on a small scale to ensure the best textures and flavors.
Heirloom vegetables are growing in popularity because of these tasty characteristics. In the recent past, the market was driving farms to mass-produce huge, blemish-free, uniform vegetables. Heirloom vegetables cater to a somewhat different market. These vegetables are closer to what was farmed possibly when “I Love Lucy” aired, when the pilgrims came over on the Mayflower and possibly even when dinosaurs roamed the earth. You’ll be surprised at the variety of sizes and colors you’ll see in what you may think are familiar vegetables.
Be sure to make time to check out the sessions about traditional canning and preserving. You’ve just got a little while longer to get those summer vegetables, and just enough time to learn how to enjoy them all winter long.
Native American storytellers and dancers will help dedicate the Cherokee Garden. Visit the Bob Campbell Geology Museum for another new exhibit. To celebrate good old Thomas Green’s passion for mining, there will be t-shirt painting and jewelry making.
The perfect wrap up to the day is an open-air concert held in the outdoor amphitheater. Come out to hear Celtic band Six Chickens and a Beer, and also catch the other bluegrass, mountain, gospel and blues.
