Featuring a food contest, carnival games, and live performances, the City of Berkeley Harvest Festival offered a variety of fall-themed activities. Held at Cedar Rose Park on October 17, the festival united the community for a day of excitement and appreciation of the fall season.
City departments, including Public Works and the Rent Board, hosted booths with information about their services and ongoing initiatives. Nonprofit organizations focused on sustainability, healthcare, and the environment also attracted visitors with hands-on activities, trivia, and prizes.
Transition Berkeley, a nonprofit aiming to build community and a more equitable and ecological future, offered free tastings of locally grown fruits and vegetables and allowed visitors to take some produce home. Ginny Hanger, secretary of Transition Berkeley, highlighted the festival as a great opportunity to raise awareness about the organization’s mission and upcoming events.
“We’re here because this is community; this is what we do. And yes, it does help phenomenally,” Hanger said.
The Clean Water Program, which collaborates with other organizations on pollution prevention, attracted passersby with a stormwater diorama and clean water jeopardy, testing knowledge on local resources and green infrastructure.
Uranchimeg Altankhuyag, a CivicSpark fellow, supports the Clean Water Program through capacity building efforts.
“Not only do they (City of Berkeley organized festivals) bring the community together and give everyone a very accessible place to gather, have fun with families, but they can also learn more about the communities they’re living in and what the city is doing,” Altankhuyag said.
The program used the festival to connect with the community and share opportunities to get involved.
The festival also offered several engaging and themed activities for a younger audience, such as pumpkin bowling, ring toss, and scarecrow-making. Children could exchange tickets won in carnival games for prizes like hand puppets, stickers, and plastic animals. Kids could get their face painted, rock climb, and ride a zipline. A sandbox and arts and crafts were available for younger children.
The Sensory Tent and Senior Sitting Area provided a space for attendees to relax and recharge. With the temperature reaching almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit, water cooler stations were placed throughout the park.
“Definitely warm today, but other than that, it’s very lively,” Mallory Nleung, a first-timer at the festival, said.
Reflecting the festival's fall theme, many activities focused on gardening and farming. Exhibits and workshops from the Berkeley Community Garden Collaborative, Pollinator Gardens, and other organizations taught participants about food waste, seed dispersal, and plants. Garden tours and crop swaps allowed community members to bond over shared love of agriculture.
“I’m just so impressed with the job that the city did with getting it set up,” Hanger said. “How accommodating everybody has been – the staff, the vendors, everybody.”
Food trucks lined the street behind the park, offering a variety from lobster to Jamaican food and Italian ice. Stands in the park sold mini pancakes and homemade pumpkin bread.
At 12 p.m., entries for the Food Contest were judged in categories like “Best Pie,” “Best Homegrown Vegetable,” and “Best Gluten-free Baked Good.”
Throughout the festival, volunteers helped out with setup, activities, and cleanup. The festival accepted volunteers over the age of 12, which made it a great way for Berkeley High School students to get involved. Zia Lehman, a BHS junior, helped with setup and carnival games. Lehman was glad to help out and would recommend it to other students. “I think the festival did a great job of building community; I saw so many different families and people of all ages coming together, and having fun,” he said.
With live music, interactive games, educational workshops, and opportunities to connect with local organizations, Berkeley’s Harvest Festival brought community members together to celebrate the fall season.