Highland County’s annual Hands & Harvest Festival returns with county-wide fall fun during the holiday weekend of Oct. 9-11, where everyone is invited to celebrate the traditions, harvest, and crafts found in this rural mountain community.
From farms to a fire tower, visitors can experience the sights and tastes of the season while viewing the beautiful countryside of fall foliage. There will be more than 20 free attractions and destinations to enjoy. On the self-guided Harvest Trail, the public is encouraged to take part in traditional fall staples like cider pressing or making apple butter at local farms and maple sugar camps, or they can try something different like taking a tour of a mini equine sanctuary or viewing the process of creating colorful barn quilts. Highland County is home to Virginia’s first Barn Quilt Trail that includes 80 barn quilts on its popular brochure to discover while traveling.
Community activities include an exciting 5K Fall Color Run, Valley AeroSpace Team Rocket Launches, the Sounding Knob Fire Tower, historic Monterey, Virginia, walking tours starting from the Highland Inn, a festive Oktoberfest celebration at the Barn at Monterey Inn, Charles Pinckney Jones House Museum, and much more. Virginia’s newest State Park, Hayfields, is set to be open for more than 4 miles of hiking trails, fishing access along the Bullpasture River, and a Friday Star Party under some of the darkest skies in the region.
Musical entertainment is available for the entire family. The Highland County Arts Council presents the Elk River Ramblers at The Highland Center in Monterey at 3 p.m. on Saturday. This dynamic string trio presents original arrangements and compositions of Appalachian old-time, bluegrass, Celtic, klezmer, jazz, and classic rock. Additional entertainment on Saturday includes bluegrass music at Southernmost Maple at noon, dreamy Appalachian folk from Woodbine at Big Fish Cider, Co. from 4-7 p.m., and old-time/folk from the Short Hill Mountains Boys at the Barn at Monterey Inn from 5-7 p.m. Follow all that up from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday with a free square dance on Spruce Street in Monterey with experienced local callers Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe alongside performances from one of Virginia’s oldest clogging groups, the Little Switzerland Cloggers. Don’t be shy and get out there for some interactive fun.
Bring your appetite, because there will be abundant food options available around the county with seasonal offerings.
Many adventures await with a visit. The full schedule, details, and addresses of all the festival happenings can be found at www.highlandcounty.org/hands-harvest-festival. Maps with daily schedules will be available at the Highland County Courthouse Lawn and the Highland County Visitor Center, both in Monterey, Virginia, and local stores throughout the county during the event.
The Hands and Harvest Festival is brought to you by the Highland County Chamber of Commerce.
