The theme of this year’s Harvest Party & Music Fest is “Cultivating Community”. If you click on the above poster you can view a slide show of last years event. This is the second annual Harvest Party and Music Fest and it will take place this weekend on Saturday September 11th at the Bayview site.

Good Cheer believes in stressing the importance of understanding and strengthening our connection with food. We encourage healthy food choices and earth friendly cultivating techniques and the word is getting out! Organic farming is growing in response to the demand and that is a good thing for the community and the world.

Hunger in America touches more people than you can possibly imagine; hunger can be so close to home. It’s not easy to admit that you are in need. I did a post awhile back that had a short video on Hunger in America. Perhaps this is a good time to bring it forward once again. I can imagine that many of our clients at the food bank would like to convey their appreciation for helping them in their time of need.

Without your support we would find it difficult to be your steward in the fight against hunger in the community.

Thank you for being there. Just click on the thank you below to view the video.

Before I talk about the Harvest Festival it is important to give thanks to the community support that we recently received through Whidbey Island Bank’s Community Challenge in August.  The total funds received, when added to the $5,000 matching grant from Whidbey Island Bank, plus an additional $5,000 match from an anonymous donor, will allow us to keep the Food Bank shelves stocked for the next three months!

Food is an ongoing need, though, so we are mindful that our upcoming holiday appeal is what will keep us going through the lean winter months of January through March. Let’s hope that the economy improves to the point that our record-number of clients begins to decline.

The Harvest Party and Music Fest is a time to celebrate the harvest; a time for the people in the community to gather and celebrate life! You’ll find garden workshops, local music, great food, a cook-off competition, raffles for the garden shed from Bob Bowling Rustics and the garden quilt created by the Trinity Lutheran Church Quilters. You can click on the links to find out more if you haven’t had a chance to read the past posts.

The Harvest Party and Music Fest is having a scarecrow contest and you’ll all have a chance to vote for the winner. Bunny was voted the top scarecrow in the staff scarecrow contest!

These types of events are special for the kids. Children can take part in Garden Bingo and win gift certificates, try their skill at a penny toss for glassware and crystal, and enjoy a crafts and reading tent with a garden story-time at 1 p.m. sponsored by the Sno-Isle Libraries.

Free Community Gardening Workshops:

9:00 a.m to 10:30 a.m.:  Top Tips for Fall Planting (by Cary Peterson)

1:00 to 2:00 p.m.:  Composting How-To Class

2:00 to 3 p.m.:  How to Build & Maintain a Worm Bin (by JaNoah Spratt)

Local musicians (organized by Julie Pigott and emceed by South Whidbey’s “conductor of fun” Jim Freeman) will play sets between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Drawings will be held at 3 p.m. for the greenhouse/garden shed built and donated by Bob Bowling, and the garden quilt donated by the Trinity Lutheran Quilters. (Raffle tickets are available at all Good Cheer Thrift Stores and the Bayview site, with proceeds to benefit the garden).

Cooking teams from three local nonprofits will choose ingredients from the garden and the food bank (plus a surprise ingredient), then in a competition resembling “Iron Chef” and “Chopped!” create two out of three choices of an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert to be judged by the public for a dollar a vote. Cooking starts at 11 a.m. with judging beginning at noon.

This year’s festival artwork, created by local artist Kathy Marshall, will be auctioned off at noon.

You can view a complete schedule of events and musicians by clicking here.

Thank you to our Festival Sponsors!

Major Sponsors: Island Athletic Club • Nichols Bros. Boat Builders • Porter-Whidbey Insurance • The Star Store • Whidbey Marketplace and News •

Additional Sponsors: Music for the Eyes

Have a Happy Harvest Festival!

Good Cheer!