The annual Harvest Festival in Waterford is back for the 14th year and announcing details of the festival programme with a focus on food sustainability and a celebration of the Irish Apple to the fore for 2023.
The festival takes place in the historic streets and squares of Waterford City centre from 8 to 10 September.
The festival is funded by Waterford City & County Council and organised by GIY who are bringing sustainability right to the heart of the festivities with ‘Food Matters’ food sustainability talks where some of the country’s most esteemed food writers, chefs, activists, journalists and business people.
In addition the festival will be run on HVO (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil), with a bio-digester onsite, a complete plastics ban and all traders using compostable materials, refill water stations plus a wash up station for reusables.
Commenting on the upcoming festival, Michael Kelly,GIY Founder, said, “The festival is centred on sustainability in every area, from the delivery of the festival to the talks, the traders and indeed to celebrating Irish food, the focal point of which this year is the humble Irish Apple. It will be the theme running through there festival and it is the central theme of the Harvest Festival Dinner menu at GROW HQ too.
The Harvest weekend is a very special weekend in Waterford, it is one that closes out our summer festival season and it is certainly a food occasion that is not to be missed for visitors and locals alike.”
Taste Waterford Kitchen Stage
On the Taste Waterford Kitchen Stage sponsored by Waterford’s Local Enterprise Office, there will be a host of Waterford’s very own food producers and chefs who will all be sharing their best recipes and food tips. The stage will be located in the courtyard of Garter Lane Theatre and visitors will enjoy meeting chefs and food producers from all across Waterford with cookery demos on offer each day.
In the Junior GIYer’s zone which will take over O’Connell Street families will enjoy the Wooly Farm where children can learn more about our furry and feathered friends.
Artist Aga Krym will create a new living art installation with Slí Waterford based on the UN sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger.
In addition Cool Food School and GIY will be hosting workshops on seed sowing, growing and cooking food and Monty Potts will be on hand to help out plus there will be art workshops, Fun Drums and at Waterford City Library there will be story-telling, colouring sessions and more.
Special events will also be on offer including a restaurants trail, not one but two live music stages programmed by WAMA’s Trevor Darmody and Waterford will also be home to the World Honey Championships where visitors can meet the best honey producers and learn all about the process as they have a chance to meet with the makers, and vote to decide the festivals best tasting honey.
For further information click here.
