Heritage Harvest Festival This Saturday at Monticello

About the Festival

Organized by Monticello and the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello is an annual celebration of local food, heirloom plants, and sustainable gardening. Thomas Jefferson championed vegetable cuisine, plant experimentation, and the value of sustainable agriculture and the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello continues that legacy.

The 2009 festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept.12 on Montalto, Thomas Jefferson’s “high mountain,” overlooking his historic home and gardens, the city of Charlottesville, and the surrounding Virginia Piedmont.

There will be fruit and vegetable tastings, chefs demonstrations, informative workshops, talks, children’s activities, and much more – all to promote regional food, organic gardening, and the preservation of traditional agriculture. Local vendors will offer meals and snacks, as well as seeds, plants, garden supplies, etc.

An Old-Timey Seed Swap – where seed savers can share their knowledge, enthusiasm and seeds – will begin at 8 a.m.

Parking is $5 per car; carpooling is encouraged.