Rockport's HarvestFest in Pictures

Photos courtesy of Esther Mathieu Photography. For the entire slideshow, click HERE. Maybe you will spot yourself among the crowds of happy festival-goers! Thanks for your support and we're already looking forward to celebrating the best of New England in 2012!

It's Here: HarvestFest TODAY!

All Day Events

Information Booth & Hospitality Tent in Dock Square. Enjoy hot coffee and cider while listening to some great live music in the heart of Rockport!

Local Fare Fair on T-Wharf.  Featuring food made locally on Cape Ann and in New England, with Cape Ann Brewing Co. offering a taste of some local brews from noon to 5pm.  Check back for an updated list of vendors.

Scarecrow Stroll throughout Downtown. Don't miss Rockport's unique & artistic collection of scarecrows from Front Beach to Bearskin Neck to Harvey Park!  (And be sure to vote on your favorite!). Click HERE for more information.

Kids' Art Zone in Harvey Park.  Climb the hay bales, enjoy pumpkin-painting and more! Suggested donation to support festival programming.

Dock Square HarvestFest Music Tent in Dock Square.

WOCA Fair in Harvey Park.  The What's On Cape Ann Fair highlights area non-profits, organizations and sponsors.  Enjoy interactive booths as you learn just what resources are available to Cape Ann residents and visitors!. Click here for more information.

NYRE Food Booth at Harvey Park.  Proceeds to benefit New Year's Rockport Eve, an annual tradition in Rockport.

Scheduled Events

11 am - 1 pm
Make Your Own Instruments with Rockport Music! Create your own guitar from cigar boxes and other supplies. Sponsored by Rockport Music.

11:30 am
Cooking Demonstration on T Wharf with special guest: the award-winning Laurie Lufkin hosted by food writer Heather Atwood.  Sponsored by the Taste of the Times.

12 noon to 2:30 pm
Daniel Dye & the Miller Road Band playing in Dock Square.  Indie Americana. Click here and here.
Merrimac Valley Rounders playing on T-Wharf.  Bluegrass.

1 pm
Cooking Demonstration featuring Chef Frank McClelland of Boston's legendary L'Espalier and his own farm in Essex, Apple Street Farm. Taking place under the tent on T Wharf and hosted by food writer Heather Atwood. 

1 pm - 3 pmHayride!  Pick-up and drop-off in Harvey Park. Sponsored by Seaview Farm.
2pm to 3 pm
Rockport Legion Band in Harvey Park. Click here or here to watch a video clip.

2 pm - 4 pm103.3 WODS radio station in Barletta Park. Join the WODS street team where they will be giving away tons of great prizes with their WODS prize wheel!

2 pm
The Vanishing of the Bees: Screening in the Old Firehouse Trust building. Click here for information on this fresh documentary.

3 pm
Seafood Throwdown Sponsored by NAMA and emceed by Heather Atwood of the Taste of the Times. For more information, click here.
4 pm
Food Bloggers' Forum. Powerhouse food bloggers answer the question "Does Local Matter When it Comes to Food?" Moderated by Heather Atwood, who writes a food blog and a column for the Gloucester Daily Times. The featured bloggers are some of the most creative, innovative thinkers around when it comes to food.

3:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Brad Byrd with full band playing in Dock Square. Indie Rock. Click HERE.

3:30 pm to 4:30 pmAllen Estes playing under the tent on T-Wharf. Classic Americana. Click HERE.

4:30 pm
The Great Scarecrow Chase!  Children of all ages can join us for a costumed parade throughout downtown, ending up with a very special surprise and treat!  Parade begins in Harvey Park at the Kids Art Zone. Click HERE for more information.

Seafood Throwdown with Christian Collins & Eric Lorden

Chef Christian Collins out in the wild.

The Seafood Throwdown, sponsored by the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA), is one of the highlights of HarvestFest. Not only is this lively, upbeat competition between two chefs a great showcase for how to cook locally-sourced fish, it is also really fun to watch. The 2011 HarvestFest Seafood features local favorites Christian Collins of Sustenance, a personal chef & catering service, and Eric Lorden of that Gloucester classic, Passports. Both chefs are accomplished, particularly when it comes to cooking the fish landed here on Cape Ann, so the competition should be fascinating and fierce. The Seafood Throwdown Judges are Bill Lee and Bob Smith, both connected to the fishing industry and world class eaters.

Don't miss the Seafood Throwdown, scheduled for 3 pm on October 15th under the tent on T Wharf, moderated by Heather Atwood of The Taste of the Times along with special guest Peter Van Ness.

HarvestFest Local Fare Fair Vendors

With all the talk of eating local, Rockport's HarvestFest team decided to put the talk into action by creating a true celebration of the season, centered around Rockport's own industry of lobstering. The HarvestFest Local Fare Fare will be under the big tent on T Wharf, still a working wharf in downtown Rockport. Look below for a list of vendors, with enough food to start your day move through your day, and end your day. So come to HarvestFest with an empty stomach and plans to fill it! Our vendors are carefully selected and all the food is fresh, delicious and features the best of local and locally-made products, a few of which are: cider Doughnuts, pulled pork sandwiches, fish chowder, shrimp, locally-brewed beer, coffee, hot cider, boiled lobster, nisu bread, fresh pastries, pumpkin whoopie pies, tacos, burritos, maple sugar cotton candy, maple syrup products, cookies, sauerkraut hot dogs, handcrafted chocolate, clam chowder, and even fresh produce from two local farms. Click the links below to discover more about our vendors and see you under the tent on T-Wharf!

 
Alprilla Farm
Apple Street Farm
Bean & Leaf Cafe 
Beach Gourmet
Brothers Brew Coffee Shop
Cape Ann Brewing Co.
Lark Fine Foods
Nate's at Front Beach
Northwood Sugarworks
Roy Moore Fish Co.
The Fish Shack  
Taza Chocolate
The Happy Taco
Top Dog of Rockport
Willow Rest

HarvestFest Film: The Vanishing of the Bees

Each year a food-related film is featured at HarvestFest. This year we are excited to bring you The Vanishing of the Bees, a fascinating look at the collapse of the bee population -- a far more devastating crisis than most of us realize, as bees are responsible for producing through pollination an enormous percentage of our food. The film screens at 2 pm on October 15th. For more information, click HERE.

HarvestFest News!

We are thrilled to announce that Chef Frank McClelland of Boston's legendary L'Espalier, the Sel de la Terre family of restaurants, Au Soleil Catering and Apple Street Farm will be the featured chef in a cooking segment on T-Wharf, scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 15th.

Chef Frank McClelland. Photo courtesy of L'Espalier

“…food is best when it’s in its purest form. My job is to enhance that natural flavor to allow the essence of the food to sing.” -Frank McClelland

This is a great opportunity to see a world-class chef at work, one who specializes in bringing the best out of local ingredients while practicing incredible culinary technique. Chef McClelland has a deep understanding of regional ingredients - no one appreciates what New England has to offer more than he does - and this understanding is demonstrated not only in the dishes he creates but in the fact that he sources many of the ingredients for his kitchens from his own farm, Apple Street Farm in Essex. Apple Street will also be featured that day offering produce from the farm's Autumn harvest - and what could be more fitting for a harvest festival celebrating the best of New England?

Don't miss the chance to see Chef McClelland showcasing the best of New England at Rockport's HarvestFest!

Saturday, October 15th 

1 p.m. on T-Wharf under the big tent

From L'Espalier: Chef Frank McClelland’s L’Espalier has been a perennial “best” of America’s restaurants for three decades, earning top accolades from Zagat, Forbes, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Frommer’s, Wine Spectator and Condé Nast Traveler as well as nods in international media. L’Espalier is New England’s most decorated independent restaurant with twelve consecutive AAA Five Diamond Awards (the only one in Boston) and twelve consecutive Forbes (Mobil) Four-Star awards. He speaks and judges across the country at events like Taste of Vail, Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival and the Chefs Collaborative National Summit.

At the heart of Chef McClelland’s menus of New England flavors with French interpretation is Apple Street Farm, his organic farm in Essex, Massachusetts that is the primary source of heirloom produce and proteins for L’Espalier and his trio of casual Sel de la Terre bistros. The James Beard chef and cookbook author (Wine Mondays) views his life as a farmer-restaurateur as being on-trend. By living this life from his youth, he was early to the farm-to-table or “locavore” dining philosophy.

More Information:
L'Espalier
Sel de la Terre
Au Soleil
Apple Street Farm

The 2011 HarvestFest Poster

Many, many thanks to Darren Mason of Merge3 Creative for the incredible 2011 HarvestFest poster. Darren's graphics pretty much cover the entire spectrum of the event. A great time to celebrate local food, local beer and local color on historic T-Wharf in downtown Rockport! See you there!

Click HERE for HarvestFest Schedule of Events