5 Great Reasons to Attend Monticello’s Heritage Harvest Festival

| September 20, 2016 | 0 Comments
Tomato Tasting at the Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival

I’ve said before how impressed I was on my first visit to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (on a normal day). I’m here to say that after the 10th Annual Heritage Harvest Festival last weekend I’m recommending it even more fervently. Over the coming days I’ll share 10 big reasons why you should reserve the date on your calendar NOW to attend the Festival this year, September 20th and 21st. No seriously, where’s your calendar?

Guests Waiting for the Monticello House Tour
Wating for the Monticello Home Tour

History, of Course

This 5,000-acre plantation that Thomas Jefferson lovingly named Monticello (“little mountain”) has been a creative work in progress for nearly 250 years! Jefferson was not only one of our Founding Fathers; he was also an inventor, botanist, architect and so much more. Needless to say, history is one of the primary reasons for the preservation of this site. On a Festival weekend, you’ll encounter glimpses into the past where you least expect them, but if you haven’t taken the house tour, it’s the crown jewel of the estate and well worth your time.

 TIP: If you’ve toured the house before or plan to return soon, there are so many activities that are only available the weekend of the festival that you may want to consider saving the tour for another time. Your best bet is to plan another day to immerse yourself in all the marvelous history and architecture surrounding you here.

Learning

The opportunities were endless at the Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival! Guests could choose from more than 30 workshops on Friday and twice as many on Saturday, spanning 5 timeslots each day. There were even a few on Sunday. It looks like they’ve gone to a one-day format now, but I’m sure the offerings are still great. The topics were so varied that we had no problem finding something of interest. Topics were as diverse as Slavery at Monticello, Gardening, Cooking, Sketching, Medicinal Plants, Photography, Nature, Archaeology, Chickens…and the list goes on. As you can imagine, the hardest part was deciding which sessions to attend, because inevitably there were 2 or 3 favorites in one time-slot.

Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Heirloom Apple Tasting
Heirloom Apple Tasting

My husband and I divided and conquered; we each attended different activities throughout the day, then shared what we learned with each other later. We were only there on Saturday (but hoping to go both days next year). Everything we experienced was outstanding! We’ll write more about what we learned in the sessions in separate posts, so watch for them.

I attended:
• A Cooking Demonstration by Harrison Keevil at the Chef’s Demo Tent
• An Heirloom Apple and Artisanal Cheese Tasting
• Chicken Whispering: Discover the Chicken You Never Knew

My husband sat in on:
• Jefferson and Natural History Walk
• Joel Salatin Talks with Thomas Jefferson: The Good & the Bad
• Extending the Harvest: Creating a Four Season Garden
• Scaling up from a Homestead to a Market Garden

Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden Walk
Monticello Revolutionary Garden Walk

Exploring

If you’re not one to sit still for long, you can explore a variety of outdoor areas on the sprawling plantation. These were some of the outdoor activities:

• Guided Natural History walks through the woodland areas where Jefferson traveled. Guests could join experts in plant and animal life, geology, and the history of the Little Mountain.
• Strolling the unique vegetable gardens and vineyards. After meticulous research and decades of time invested, these spaces now boast the same heirloom plants that Mr. Jefferson cultivated in the early nineteenth century. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation‘s Department of Gardens and Grounds and its Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants research, collect, cultivate, and distribute hundreds of plants that have either a direct connection to Jefferson and Monticello or to historic gardens of North America.
• A short walk to the Stone Stable where recent restoration work has been done provided a glimpse into its appearance and use during Jefferson’s lifetime.
• The Monticello Graveyard could be reached either on foot or by requesting to be dropped off by the shuttle bus on the way from the mountaintop to the Visitor Center. Did you know that our 3rd president and author of the Declaration of Independence died on the 50th anniversary of our country’s Independence Day, July 4th, 1826? You could find his obelisk, as well as markers for many of his descendents, both past and present, at the fenced graveyard. This sacred area is owned and managed by the Monticello Association, a non-profit organization whose members include the lineal descendants of Thomas Jefferson.
The Director of Archaeology, Fraser Neiman hosted a walk to discuss historical clues and artifacts found throughout the mountaintop landscape. A hands-on demonstration was also available to learn more about the archaeological projects currently going on. Guests could try their hand at identifying and piecing together artifacts, as well.

The Tasting Tent

I must say that this was one of my favorite aspects of the festival. So much bounty to captivate the senses!

Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Cossack Pineapple Ground Cherries
Treats from the Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Tasting Tent

Growers

• At the center of the West Lawn of Monticello, we found a massive pavilion, divided into two sections. One half was stocked with dozens of samples of fresh tomatoes, peppers and melons from the trial gardens at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (co-founder of the festival). Once we determined our favorites, we could shop for the seeds to plant at home next year. A few of my choice discoveries were Cossack Pineapple Ground Cherries (a member of the tomatillo family), Amy’s Apricot Tomatoes, and Gilboa Sweet Peppers.

Purveyors

• The other half of the tent offered a dozen different tastes from regional food and beverage entrepreneurs. Included was everything from a scrumptious Bloody Mary Mix from Back Pocket Provisions to unique Wildwood Hickory Syrup from Falling Bark Farm.

Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Gypsy Juice Bar
Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Gypsy Juice Bar

Beverages for All Ages

• For those over 21, the Beer and Wine Garden provided an introduction to dozens of Virginia’s legendary beers, wines and ciders.
• Some guests preferred a non-alcoholic drink, and Mudhouse Coffee Roasters hit the spot. I chose a refreshing Sage Peach Lemonade from the Gypsy Juice Cart after tasting several exceptional flavors.
• Traditional beverages (with or without alcohol) were also available at the Café at Monticello down the hill at the Visitor’s Center.
• I had never seen this before, but there was a watering station where guests could refill a water bottle or cup (see photo below). What an awesome idea and imagine the reduction in the waste of those throw-away plastic water bottles!

Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Ingenious Water Hoses
A great way to refill water bottles

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, Desserts

• Several inviting food trucks like South Fork, Mouth Wide Open, and Carpe Donut lined the perimeter of the West Lawn where we could have grabbed a bite to eat between sessions, but with so much going on, we didn’t have a chance to try them. It was very warm on Saturday so we opted to skip the 12:30 session and take the shuttle bus down the hill to the air conditioned Café at Monticello. This casual spot is cafeteria-style and included a small breakfast menu before 10 a.m., as well as sandwiches, pizza by the slice, salads, soups, fruit, desserts and more throughout the day. We loved the fact that everything was fresh and flavorful, including much of their produce and herbs, sourced directly from the Monticello gardens!

Monticello Heritage Harvest Festival Warm Grits with Chilled Tomato Salad
I didn’t think I liked grits until I tasted these.

Chef’s Demo Tent

• Saturday’s sessions included cooking demonstrations by several area chefs. I watched as Harrison Keevil (co-owner of Brookville Restaurant in Charlottesville and Keevil & Keevil Grocery & Kitchen in Belmont) prepared warm grits topped with chilled tomato salad. You may be thinking what I was thinking about the grits, but with a ratio of 1 cup of uncooked grits to 4 cups of non-homogenized milk and a pound of butter (yes, you read that right) it was quite delicious, although probably not too healthy. And the locally sourced tomatoes, onions and peppers provided the perfect topping.

Nearby Charlottesville

• Before or after the festival, be sure to visit the town where many of the purveyors call home. We drove there with plans to try the Brookville restaurant (see chef’s demo above), but sadly they were closed for the day. We did enjoy dinner at their neighbor’s, The Whiskey Jar restaurant, located at the pedestrian-friendly Main Street outdoor mall. A reflection of the town’s history, many shops, cafes and theaters reside in lovingly restored buildings lining the wide brick walkways that once were Main Street.

Playing

Ok, I know, many of the activities I’ve mentioned so far could be considered play, but in this case, I’m talking about music, games and the like.
• The Saturday agenda wrapped up with a lively performance by the musical group, Red and the Romantics on the Main Stage. Their music is a blend of many genres including Folk, Americana, Rockabilly and Blues. It provided a welcome spot to relax after a busy day before heading home.
• All of the kid-friendly activities deserve a post of their own too. Wow! I’m going to be busy. So stay tuned for more about the historical children’s games, petting zoo, arts and crafts, music participation, etc.

Learn More About…

Believe it or not, we’ve only scratched the surface on this splendid event. My next post shares 5 MORE reasons why you’ll want to attend.  Also, read more about the Heritage Festival experience from Terry’s point of view. Be sure to sign up in the right sidebar to receive all our blog posts, and occasional newsletters, and connect on social media too!

Then visit the site with details about the upcoming Monticello events throughout the year.

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Category: United States, Destinations, Virginia

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