Find family fun and laid-back pleasures at Sunshine Coast’s Botanical Garden Harvest Festival Sunday, Sept. 2, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 5941 Mason Road, Sechelt. The festival will feature sales of garlic, honey, plants, preserves and home baking, as well as activities for every age, and a contest for the best Garden Hat.
In the Veggie Patch see a huge array of organic veggies grown for the Food Bank. Children are thrilled to taste straight from a living vegetable plant. The Fall Plant Sale is loaded with good plants at great prices, fresh garlic for planting in October or cooking, plus bags of special formula organic fertilizer. The Bake Sale includes preserves, plus coffee for the early birds. This event is dog-on-leash friendly but please, not in food areas.
In the Picnic and Play area, kids find crafts, games and room to romp. Visitors can build structures of natural materials, or weave flowers, leaves and stems into the nature loom. The Lions Club offers refreshments; enjoy your picnic in the sun or shade. Savour wild berry conserves. Watch the Spinners and Weavers show their skills and artist Ursula Bentz creating a new nature weaving in the trees. Wear your fanciest Garden Hat to enter in Best Hat for Kids (13 and under), Best Nature Hat (all ages), and Most Audacious, Crazy or Surprising Hat! Judging is at 2 p.m.
The Woodcrafters show is in the Meadow, the Astronomers offer sun-viewing through solar scopes, and Master Gardeners will answer your garden questions. Note the varied raised beds at the Seniors Accessible Garden, made for all abilities. The SC Beekeepers show active hives, with honey tasting and jars for sale. Or take time for a quiet walk through forest and meadow or pond paths.
Admission is by donation (suggested $5/adult, $2/child) – please pay what you can to support the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden. In addition, share the harvest spirit with a homegrown or purchased food item for the Food Bank. Carpooling is recommended.
Garden membership is an affordable way to keep up with the many events and discounts the Garden offers. For more information, see www.coastbotanicalgarden.org
– Submitted by Paddy Wales
