Londoners Unite Again – Family Fun for Post-Olympics (From Smallholder)

Londoners Unite Again – Family Fun for Post-Olympics

4:00pm Saturday 8th September 2012 in News

 The Olympics may be over but families looking for a great day out should sprint down to the unique City Harvest Festival, featuring London’s own city farms and community gardens, on September 22 at Capel Manor College in Enfield.

Much like London 2012, the City Harvest Festival brings people together to celebrate success. Now in its 14th year, the event has the fun and atmosphere of a traditional rural county show, but with animals and producers from inner city London. It is the one time in the year when the hard work and dedication of talented farmers and gardeners from across London are celebrated and there’s no better year than 2012 to do it.

This year, animals and produce from a wide range of London’s 16 city farms and more than 100 community gardens will be showcased at the event. Visitors to the festival may see Golden Guernsey goats from Newham, honey from Walworth, pumpkins from Kentish Town, Indian runner ducks from Vauxhall, Bengali kerala from Shoreditch, and blackcurrants from White City.

The festival takes place in 30 acres of gorgeous grounds at Capel Manor in Enfield and is a great family day out. There’s plenty of hot competition to get on the medal podium too. Ducks, geese, rabbits, ponies and livestock compete for the Best in Show, while there is a dazzling array of both familiar and exotic fruit and vegetables in a variety of produce competitions, all sourced from London farms and gardens.

Event organiser Catherine Miller, Development Co-ordinator for the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, said: “Visitors will be amazed at the variety of produce grown at London's community projects and at all the different animals kept. This popular family show truly is where the city meets the country. Many of the young people who take part in the Festival volunteer their free time to help nurture plants and animals and create something of benefit to their communities. ”

More than 2,000 people are expected to flock to the festival. The day includes a fiercely competitive tug of war, a contest for the biggest pumpkin, the most unusual looking fruit or vegetable and even a competition for the animal that looks most like its handler.

Talented blacksmiths, potters and woodworkers will all demonstrate their crafts and the community garden displays always boast beautiful flowers that reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of London.

Food will be a strong theme at this year’s event. The event is a celebration of food produced in London and there will be advice for visitors on growing and cooking food as part of a project funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food programme.

For more information on city farms and community gardens open to visitors around London visit: www.farmgarden.org.uk