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30th arts and craft show a smaller version of busier Blueberry/Art
It’s not the same old Harvest Moon Festival.
The 30th rendition of the early-fall event, set to begin Sept. 6 at Whiteside Park, has an assortment of new arts, crafts and food vendors.
“We have about 20 new vendors,” said Kristen Switajewski, festival coordinator for the Ely Chamber of Commerce. “There are wide variety of new vendors who are coming. Some that were in Blueberry and some new ones coming straight for Harvest Moon.”
Vendors selling jewelry, leather works and knives are among those new to the festival, and those sampling cuisine for the three-day event have some new options.
“We have a new food truck,” said Switajewski. “There’s Up the Road Cottage Bakery from Cook, and she’s bringing some exciting new baked goods and sandwiches. There’s also Grilled Cheese Galore from Biwabik, and who can’t pass up a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich? Those are some of our new food trucks.”
Like the Blueberry/Art Festival in July, the three-day Harvest Moon Festival is sponsored by the Ely Chamber and in some ways is a more laid-back, smaller-scale version of the immensely popular summer event.
The lineup this year includes many returning vendors along with the 20 new ones among the roughly 100 exhibitors who set up shop.
Entertainment was once a staple at the Harvest Moon but was discontinued for budget reasons, but thousands are still expected to attend the event.
Those who come will also see the Forging Community doing live demonstrations of blacksmithing.
Arts and crafts are a major part of the festival and the park is usually filled with booths offering photographs, rustic furniture, pottery, paintings and more.
Also for the second consecutive year, fans of the Harvest Moon can vote to give it national acclaim.
The Ely event is up against top fall events from other parts of the country in a survey being conducted by USA Today.
Voting is now underway as USA Today looks for online votes to narrow a list of 20 fall festivals down to 10 in its “Best Fall Festival” poll.
As of Wednesday, Ely was rated 14th overall but the survey continues through the Harvest Moon and Chamber officials hope that visitors log on to show support.
“There will be QR codes at the entrances of the park for people to scan and vote for the Harvest Moon,” said Switajewski.
Fans can log in to any of the Ely Chamber Facebook pages including The Ely Chamber of Commerce, Harvest Moon Festival, Blueberry Art Festival and Ely MN Events, to find the link to vote. Voting continues through Monday, Sept. 9, at 1 p.m. Winners will be announced the following week.
Festival hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Friday, Sept. 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 8.
In conjunction with the festival, businesses are encouraged to participate in the four-day Harvest Business Days event that opens on Thursday, Sept. 5 and runs through the weekend. The Thursday start allows vendors the opportunity to enjoy shopping before the festival begins.
Some participating businesses offer sales or specials but that is not required to take part in the promotion.
A Harvest Days map, business list and festival map are available in this week’s Ely Echo and will also be provided to park visitors.
