Trout Lake Farmers’ Market. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Nelson Mouellic
The air is crisp and the leaves are changing – it’s harvest time. Celebrate the bounty of fall by eating your way through local restaurants, markets, and farms.
Shop at a Farmer’s Market
Each week you can shop at seven Farmer’s Markets in neighbourhoods across Vancouver. Look for vendors selling freshly harvested produce from local farms. Fall favourites on offer include apples, corn, and lots of varieties of squash.
Photo: Vancouver Farmers Markets
Attend a Fall Food Festival
The Southlands Long Table Harvest Dinner on October 19 emphasizes hyper-local produce. The Delta event includes a four-course meal, much of which is grown on-site at Southlands Red Barn.
Or ring in the autumn harvest German-style at Harvest Haus, Vancouver’s Oktoberfest. The event takes place on October 4 and 5 at the PNE Forum. It includes over 25 European and craft beers, wines, and spirits along with traditional German foods like pretzels and sausages.
Celebrate the terroirs of Portuguese viticulture at the Vinicola Portugal Wine Festival on September 21 at Heritage Hall. Taste a curated selection of 70 wines from around Portugal while you nosh on Iberian snacks.
Bottles of Hugo Mendes wine ready for the Vincola Portugal Wine Festival. Photo: Sophia Cheng/Vincola Portugal Wine Festival
Enjoy Seasonal Menus at Local Restaurants
Head to Notch8 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver to enjoy their Autumn Harvest Afternoon Tea. You’ll start with savoury dishes including Kabocha squash tartlet before indulging in sweet pastry creations that feature warm autumn spices.
Vegetarians should try the chef’s menu at The Acorn. This multi-course tasting menu changes often to spotlight local produce when it is in season.
Or try the seasonal menu at Burdock & Co, which has one Michelin star. Their menu highlights local produce as part of their Moon Menu Series. In August and September, the focus is botanicals for the Sturgeon Moon. The Frost Moon in October and November highlights radicchio.
The Autumn Harvest Afternoon Tea selection at Notch 8. Photo: Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
Tour a Cranberry Bog
Did you know that craisins come from Vancouver? Local cranberry farmers sell 97% of their crop to Ocean Spray Collective in Washington State where they make dried cranberries, sold as craisins. You can experience the colourful cranberry harvest at The Bog Riverside Cranberry Farm or Hopcott Farms in Pitt Meadows.
Photo: The Bog Riverside Cranberry Farm
Visit a Pumpkin Patch
Pick out your own pumpkin at one of Vancouver’s pumpkin patches. Many farms also offer fun fall activities including live music, hayrides, and petting farms with adorable barnyard animals. A pumpkin patch visit is also a great opportunity for a fun family photo shoot.
Pumpkins at Maan Farms. Photo: Maan Farms.
Wander Through a Corn Maze
Getting lost in the twisting passages of a corn maze is a great way to celebrate fall. This season there are five corn mazes near Vancouver. They range from easy and family-friendly mazes to scary haunted mazes aimed at teens and adults. Some also include a farm stand where you can purchase corn, apples, and other autumn produce.
Photo: Allef Vinicius/Unsplash
Go Apple Picking
You can participate in the fall harvest by picking your own apples right from the tree at apple orchards near Vancouver. They have several different varieties of apples that ripen throughout the season. If you don’t have time to U-pick, you can buy bags of the freshest apples directly from the orchards. And if you love apples, don’t miss the UBC Apple Festival on October 19 and 20. Sample different varieties at the famous apple-tasting tent, purchase apple tree seedlings, or attend apple-themed educational talks.
Photo: Skylar Zilka/Unsplash