The annual Hands and Harvest Festival returns with county-wide fall fun during this weekend of Oct. 10 – 12 in Highland County, Virginia, 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. On the self-guided Harvest Trail, the public is invited 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 restored Sounding Knob Fire Tower, historic Monterey walking tours and Charles Pinckney Jones House Museum. Plus, Virginia’s newest State Park, Hayfields, plans to be open for the first time between sunrise to sunset on Saturday and Sunday on the southeastern side of the county for hiking, fishing, mountain biking, and birdwatching opportunities.
Musical entertainment in Monterey is available for the entire family. The Highland County Arts Council presents the Furnace Mountain Band at The Highland Center at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Called “the area’s premier acoustic band” by The Washingtonian, the band creates music that is at times lively and raucous, with spirited fiddle melodies weaving in and around the powerful rhythms of the bass and bouzouki, and other times poignant and poetic, with sublime vocal harmonies beautifully interpreting some of the oldest songs ever written. Follow that up on Sunday with a free square dance workshop from experienced local callers Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe with Hannah Johnson starting at 12:30 p.m. on Spruce Street. Then between 1 and 3 p.m., join in the excitement of an old-fashioned street dance by square dancing alongside performances from one of Virginia’s oldest clogging groups, the Little Switzerland Cloggers.
Bring one’s appetite, because there will be abundant food options available around the county.
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 one by the Highland County Chamber of Commerce.
