Photos by: Nathalie Green
The Harvestland grounds outside the Harvest Haus have everything you’d want in an intimate, autumn-themed faire. Further, the approach to and into Harvest Haus had great ambiance and an exciting build up; hearing festive tuba notes of the live Oompah music, hearing the clink of cheer, and getting your own empty stein right at the doors along with the anticipation of good beer.
HarvestHaus is a great local slice of a real Oktoberfest experience, having been someone who had visited Munich during Oktoberfest only one year prior. Inside, vendors lined the walls with their booths, sporting import and local beverages, all centered around an open live performance.
We went to the nearest booth to the entrance, which also happened to be the booth with König Ludwig Weissbier and Warsteiner, two of the flagships of great Octoberfest beer. The cold drafts and the act of drinking deep from our steins brought back the feeling of being in Munich, complete with the hourly drinking song; Ein Prosit.
After drinking (a few) steins, we left the Haus to get in line at the ‘Oktoberfest Style’ food tent, just outside. It wasn’t much time at all until we had freshly grilled bratwurst and crispy pork hock hot off the rotisserie, both topped with delicious homemade sauerkraut. The pork hock disappeared in no time at all! For dessert, we got deep fried cheesecake donuts, topped with sweet cream-cheese.
We followed it up with comfort drinks to fight off the chill of the evening; stopping at the Green Coast Coffee cafe truck across from the Oktoberfest Style food tent. We shared both a hot chocolate (very rich and delicious!) and hot apple cider, pressed from local BC apples, topped in cinnamon.
With our hot drinks in hand, we explored the rest of Harvestland. It has a great variety of family-friendly activities – including exciting games like archery, axe-throwing, and a pumpkin-slingshot game (which seemed to be the most popular). We passed through a pumpkin patch, and stopped by the small farm-animal area to say hello to the baby goats (and their exhausted goat-mum). Before we left for the night, we got a little lost in the harvest maze as well, but not before encountering a giant friendly corn-fellow.
There was a lot more left to explore that is tailored for a younger crowd. Kids have their own carnival-themed area, packed with fun rides and family-themed food. It was great to see such a welcoming, diverse event, where almost everyone could find something fun to try or see!
For more information on HarvestHaus and Harvestland, check out their website here: https://harvest.land/
