Harvest Festival | Grand Coulee Dam Visitors Guide

Harvest Fest Hay Ride — Hay wagon rides are a big hit at the Harvest Festival

Here’s a quick bit on the upcoming Harvest Festival you can send on to your friends and relatives.

The Third Annual Harvest Festival, Sept. 12-14, at North Dam Park, is a fun festival for the entire family and a good way to polish off what has been a great summer.

And it’s free!

Always wanted to take a helicopter ride? You can do it at this year’s Harvest Festival, at a nominal price. Soar through the sky and look down on the things you’ve seen all year long, except from a different vantage point. Rides are available from 11 a.m. to dusk on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Get on a hay wagon and relive those early days when the horse drawn wagon was a common mode of transportation. You can Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Dam Park.

Can you bake a berry pie? There’s competition in the berry and apple pie-baking event. Judging will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday in the picnic area with winners announced at 2 p.m. Bring two pies, one for judging and the second for a pie raffle.

One of the featured events is the barbecue competition. This is serious stuff for barbecue enthusiasts and some of the best in the Pacific Northwest are head our way.

Luckily for them, we also have an excellent beer garden planned, featuring brews from one of our favorite Washington state microbreweries, Iron Horse Brewery. Among the brews featured: High Five Heffe, 509 Style, and, of course, Irish Death. (That last one is so smooth and not bitter, for a dark beer, that you’re tempted not to take it seriously, a mistake at least one ex-sailor I know won’t repeat.) For those of you not into such craft beers, and there are a lot of you, the beer garden will also be stocked with Bud Light.

That’s Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Judging and the awards ceremony begin at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Samples will be available for purchase. The BBQ event is in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association. Ribbons and trophies will be given and there are some $3,500 worth of cash prizes. The chamber of commerce, organizer of the festival, has info and a signup sheet here.

hay-wagonIMG_2587 — Fun on a hayride at North Dam Park in 2012

Here’s all about the Harvest Festival starting Friday, September 13, 2013.
There’s something for everyone here.

Community-wide yard (park) sale

There’s still time to be a part of the Chamber of Commerce’s community yard sale Friday and Saturday at North Dam Park. You can set up there for a $10 fee good for both days.

It’s one of the features of the two-day fall Harvest Festival.

Bring your own tables and set up for what could become a busy time sharing your pre-owned articles.

Yard sales are one of the community pastimes and the festival should produce plenty of lookers and potentially buyers. You can call the Chamber, 633-3074, for additional details.

Hay rides on Saturday

Terry Batterman is providing the team of horses and Janet O’Neil the wagon for Saturday’s hay rides.

The team and wagon will be near the skateboard park area from 10-4 on Saturday. The hosts say that young and old can take part in a good old-fashioned hayride through the park area roads.

The wagon will be loaded with hay bales as seating for the ride.

Costumed pet show

Bob Valen, a member of the Chamber Board of Directors, will run the Costumed Pet Show at the skateboard area.

Be creative — and take a chance that your pet will be good natured about it all — and be part of the judged show.

Last year more than a dozen pet owners dressed up their pets and put on quite a show.

Valen said that pets and their owners will show off, and then judges will make awards.

There’s plenty of room to show off your pets, or be a spectator to enjoy the pets, hopefully at their best.

The show is from 11 a.m. Saturday to noon.

Bring kids to the petting zoo

Come in to North Dam Park Saturday and meet “Spike,” the bearded dragon lizard. That’s all we are going to say about Spike; you’ll just have to come see for yourself.

It’s all part of the Petting Zoo Saturday from 10-4 at North Dam Park.

Spike will be on hand for only an hour, from noon to 1 p.m., so make your plan now to be there.

The chamber says there will be alpacas, sheep, horses, donkeys and much more. Kids can get close and in most cases touch and pet the animals.

Chalk art in the park

This is a good time to show your art skills.

The chamber furnishes the chalk and you furnish the talent. Draw your creations where everyone can enjoy them.

The chalk art opportunity is for young and old alike. It runs from 1-4 Saturday at the skatepark arena.

Beer Garden for two days

A beer garden will be set up in the picnic area from 5-10 p.m. Friday and from 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Adults only. Come and have a good time.

Rotary to offer a BBQ

The Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club plans a barbecue at North Dam Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Rotarians will have hamburgers and German sausages and side dishes, and cold drinks for festival fans. Bring your appetites.

Sponsors

Sponsors for this year’s Harvest Festival in addition to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce are the Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union, Loepps Furniture & Appliance and the Colville Tribal Casinos. For more information on this year’s Harvest Festival, contact the chamber at 509-633-3074.