With the weather slowly but surely beginning to move toward cooler temperatures, the Albuquerque BioPark marked the beginning of autumn with its annual Harvest Festival on Oct. 13.
Held at the Heritage Farm in the BioPark Botanic Garden, the event, previously known as the Cider Festival, has now expanded to include other aspects of local agriculture such as roasted green chile, a pumpkin patch where visitors were able to purchase and harvest their own pumpkins and a farmer’s market with flowers available for purchase.
“Here at the Heritage Farm, we’re really looking to support community agriculture and sustainable agriculture,” said Pamela Dupzyk, the Botanic Gardens’ education coordinator.
The festival also focused on the role of animals in New Mexico’s agriculture, drawing attention the animals living on the farm by providing education about them for both children and adults, as well as offering information on beekeeping.
Other activities included live music, outdoor games, a car show featuring automobiles from the early 20th century and tractor-pulled wagon rides around the farm. Inside the farmhouse, Las Arañas Spinners and Weavers Guild provided live demonstrations and finished examples of traditional New Mexican crafts. The addition of more activities to the festival meant that this year’s attendance was the highest in its 13-year history.
The purpose of expanding the festival beyond cider making was to create awareness of and support for local agriculture. Besides the activities and products that were provided by the BioPark, several outside vendors were present at the festival’s farmer’s market to not only sell various types of plants, but also to create interest in gardening by educating visitors about them.
The Harvest Festival also fits into the BioPark’s larger goal of educating visitors on conservation. Many of the traditional farming techniques showcased at the Heritage Farm are no longer practiced, and the festival is an opportunity to share these techniques and keep them alive in the minds of the public.
The fruits grown on the farm, such as apples, quinces and apricots, are also rarely grown in present day New Mexico, and their prominence in the food and drinks offered at the Harvest Festival serve as a reminder to locals that they can contribute to sustainable agriculture in the state by growing these fruits themselves.
“I think a lot of people get really out of touch with the agriculture community and where food comes from and how they get food, and I think having these types of urban festivals is a really good way to educate people and give them that experience,” said Meghan Moss Jones, a University of New Mexico graduate who was attending the festival.
Along with spreading the BioPark’s message of conservation and sustainability, the Harvest Festival works as a community event that encouraged residents to celebrate the beginning of autumn in a New Mexican way. The expansion of the festival’s activities meant that it was a family friendly environment, with plenty of entertainment that appealed to children as well as adults.
The high attendance rates of this year’s festival due to the many new activities added around the Heritage Farm bodes well for the Harvest Festival in coming years, as they continue to educate both New Mexicans and visitors to the state on the value of conservation.
Veronica Apodaca is a culture writer for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at @veeapodaca on Twitter.
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