ASHTABULA — The third annual Harvest in the Harbor will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 21 on Bridge Street.
The event celebrates locally-grown food, Harbor Gardens co-owner T Gallo said.
“It’s all about us, which means [it is] all about every single person living in this community,” she said.
Gallo, one of the event’s main organizers, said she and others were inspired to start the event to promote the food sources that exist in the county.
“We actually have a local food movement happening in the county,” she said.
Gallo the festival will feature several smaller events.
“We have cooking demos all slotted throughout the whole day at Harbor Gardens,” she said.
There will be other events throughout Bridge Street, Gallo said.
“We have music over by Carlisle’s Pavilion,” she said. “We have tomato tasting that is free and open to the public to vote on their favorite tomato. We have a sourdough baking competition.”
Gallo said there are amateur and professional section to the sourdough competition. It will be judged by former State Representative John Patterson, Plain Dealer Reporter Paris Wolf and Flannel Dog Farm owner Alan Block, who is a professional sourdough baker.
Both the sourdough competition and tomato tasting are new for the festival.
Gallo said people can also participate in “Stroll Down Bridge Street,” an activity where they can fill a card with stamps from places they stopped along Bridge Street.
“There are 10 spots to get stamps,” she said.
If the person gets 10 stamps, they can enter into a drawing to win Bridge Street Bucks, which can be used at businesses on the street.
There will be several vendors at the event, including food trucks, who will focus on at least one local food item or product, Gallo said.
“I, as well as a lot of people, are really excited about the local food movement, because … local food is more nutrient dense and far more tasty,” she said.
Ashtabula County is becoming well-know for blueberries, Gallo said.
“We also have people that are interested in growing hazelnuts,” she said. “Hazelnuts are just a bush — a bush that can be fully producing in three to five years.”
Gallo said there will be food from Trumbull, Geauga and Lake counties, as well as some producers from Pennsylvania.
“We have a new pawpaw farm [from Pennsylvania] that we just learned about,” she said. “They’re new to our area. They have over 500 pawpaw trees.”
Gallo said plants grown in nutrient-depleted areas that have to be shipped across the country tastes different from locally-grown food.
“I love celebrating local food, because we have some of the best produce in the world,” she said. “If you ask me, we have the best tomatoes. If you ask me, we have the best peppers.”