Many folks have dubbed Hood River ‘festival-central’, but the Hood River Valley Harvest Fest is arguably the city’s biggest celebration yet. Gratitude should be given for the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce and Pacific Power for making this festival possible. Even though it’s just a 3-day event (running from the 11th to the 13th of October) which celebrates Hood River’s rich bounty, the scale of the festival arguably trumps all others that came before or after it.
More than 120 artisan food producers, artists, farmers, cideries and wineries participate in the annual Harvest Fest; all of them offering either food products and local produce or displaying original crafts and arts, courtesy of the Gorge Artists collective.
The artists, farmers, and winemakers will all converge at the Columbia River to please and entertain the massive crowd. Each participant does his best to outdo the next, and you know what they’re competing for? Your approval and attention-and to fill your bellies too, of course.
We’ll wager that the number of booths you’ll see at the Harvest Fest (the upcoming one is the 37th so far) will leave you undecided, if not downright confused. Why do we say this? Each booth will have so many different types of fruits you can’t possibly sample everything. You’ll want to, but you’ll have neither the time nor ‘space’ to take it all in.
Look left and you’ll see baskets, boxes, and barrels full of apples; walk around and you’ll see bottle upon bottle of fine wine and cider. Each time tourists like you attend this festival, they make beelines to such booths before they explore the other goodies the festival offers, but there’s still much to see and drink in the other booths too.
The entertainment at this Valley Harvest Fest is not just unique; it’s quite diverse too. For instance, there’s a massive pumpkin-carving exhibition you can see and participate in. From there, go practice every dance you’ve ever learned at the local music contests. There’s pie-eating aplenty too. Sampling cider, wine and what the food carts offer is also entertainment on its own.
Kids will especially love the pie contests but the adults can join in on the fun too. There’s also a kids’ activity area for even the youngest children scurrying around the festival grounds. The area comes loaded with bouncy houses and a rock wall, and there are jars of paint waiting to be smudged on the kids’ faces.
All that is great but now comes the best part. Is it another attraction at the festival? Nope. Surprisingly, it’s not even part of the festivity. What is it then? A trip to Spa Remedease; your wholesome solution to insomnia, stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, and low back pain.
How do we treat all this? By using the healing power of full-body massages. We’re a famed spa in Hood River and we can tell you this: Your Hood River Harvest Fest won’t be complete without a detour to Spa Remedease.
