Harvest Festival a Hit Downtown

2nd annual Downtown Cary Harvest Festival

Over 2200 people attended Harvest Day on Saturday October 26 in Downtown Cary

Story by Lindsey Chester. All photos by Brooke Meyer.

Cary, NC- Even though it was the last Saturday of the NC State Fair, crowds flocked to Downtown Cary’s 2nd Annual Harvest Festival for some inexpensive family fun.

The unofficial count from Lauren Schafer, Heart of Cary Association president is that over 2,200 people were in attendance. Families paid $2 per child over 2 years old and adults got in for free. While there, children could play assorted games and win candy. Adults could browse the booths set up by crafters and food was available for purchase from local vendors and food trucks.

The Annadale Scottish Dancers perform at Harvest Day

During the day, Nick Johnson played acoustic guitar and Scottish dancers from the Annandale Center performed with bagpipe accompaniment.

According to Schafer, popular attractions included “the Monster Hat Island Booth that had fairies with fairy dust necklaces, wings, and cool hats for all, and the 2 bounce houses. We had kids in awe over the “real fairy ears” of the folks running the booth and having fairy dust blown over them. A close third was the gourd races at the All Wrapped Up booth – they were so engaged with the kids and always had a long line to play!”

This is the second year that the Heart of Cary Association has created the Harvest Festival, and they have already outgrown the original spot inside Ashworth Village. This year the 100 block of West Chatham Street (from Academy to Harrison) was blocked off from traffic and games and booths lined both sides of the street.

Lauren added “We plan to have it in the same location next year and continue providing a wonderful, affordable fall festival in Downtown Cary that people mark on their calendars each year. We will continue expanding our games and family-friendly activities for all ages.”

The Heart of Cary Association promotes development and community int he Downtown Cary area. Their next event will be a toy drive to benefit children served by Dorcas Ministries and the Carying Place. Look for collection boxes at local businesses in Downtown.

Their biggest event of the year is the Ole Time Winter Festival, always the first Saturday in December, which this year falls on December 7th. The street fair includes craft booths, food and entertainment and is a great lead-in to the Town’s Tree lighting later that night.