Harvest Moon Local Food Festival
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 11 am- 6 pm!
Select the buttons below to learn more about the educational walks, pie contest, vendor information, and festival schedule.
Educational Walks
Come join local herbalist Larissa Notter on an Edible Plant Walk, Learn about the food uses of plants, berries, and a few mushrooms and what you can collect before winter! We will go over how to identify, collect different parts, general times of when to collect them, safety, laws, and conservational harvesting. What to bring: come with comfortable shoes, water, rain gear, paper if you want to take notes
Walks are free and open to the public! Advanced registration is required. Please use the link below to register.
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Edibles Walk, 2 pm, Sept. 15
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Meet at Tsalteshi Trails’ Wolverine Trailhead, off Kalifornsky Beach Road across from Sports Centre Road (Limit: 20)
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Edibles Walk 2 pm, Sept. 16
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Meet at the Harvest Moon Local Food Festival Information Booth at Soldotna Creek Park (Limit: 20)
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Pie Contest
The Kenai Peninsula Farm Bureau Chapter hosts this tasty and popular event!
Pies must be homemade and feature one or more Alaska Grown ingredients (the more, the better!). Sorry, but no cream pies, custard pies, or pies containing whipped cream due to lack of refrigeration at the festival.
Judges select their favorites and award prizes in three categories:
Youth (ages 15 and under)
Adult (16-64)
Homesteader (65+)
The contest is limited to 25 pies total, no more than two pies per contestant. Pies need to be delivered between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Kenai Peninsula Farm Bureau's booth.
Winners will be announced at approximately 3:30 pm.
PRE-REGISTRATION is required and there is a $5 entry fee. Late/unregistered entries will NOT be accepted on event day. Use the link below to register and pay the entry fee.
Festival Schedule
Vendor Application
The 2023 Vendor application for Harvest Moon Local Food Festival is OPEN!
Vendor criteria: Harvest Moon Local Food Festival is open to vendors of food (grown, harvested or made in Alaska) and medicinal/wellness/personal care products made from locally grown or wild-harvested ingredients; food trucks featuring local ingredients; and educational booths relevant to the purpose of the festival.
A little background: Kenai Local Food Connection has organized and hosted Harvest Moon Local Food Week since 2013. Since our first festival in 2018, we have grown tremendously with over 3500 people attending! This year’s festival will again feature live music, free kids’ activities, a pie contest, food demonstrations, the popular Fermentation Station and all sorts of Alaska Grown and Made in Alaska food products.
Booth fees and supporting the festival: Rates for 2023 are set below.
After submitting the vendor application, you will be directed to Square to make a payment.
After July 14 Prices:
$40 per 10'x10' booth space
$75 per 10'x20' booth space
$100 for Food Vendors
In an effort to keep our festival affordable for vendors like you, we are asking that you please donate product, gift basket, or a gift certificate for one of our raffles. As always we are also hoping you will consider making a meaningful contribution at the close of the festival. We’ll provide an envelope for any contribution you would like to make in addition to your pre-festival booth payment. Conversely, if you feel you overpaid, you can request a partial refund in the amount you choose.
Refund policy: All advance booth fees/contributions help us put on a great festival. In the event your application is not accepted after review by Kenai Local Food Connection, your application fee will be refunded. In the event you decide not to attend the festival after applying, your application fee will be refunded. provided we receive your request by September 1. Otherwise, booth fees are non-refundable.
Direct link to the vendor application form:
Reducing Waste at the Festival: In an effort to reduce waste, we are again partnering with ReGroup to offer recycling stations throughout the festival. We are asking that all vendors work toward recyclable and compostable serving containers for the event.
Kenai Local Food Connection is a volunteer-run organization located in the Central Kenai Peninsula with the mission of forging connections within our community to increase access to local foods and knowledge about healthy eating. Each year, we publish the Kenai Peninsula Local Food Directory, sponsor winter film showings and cooking classes, and facilitate activities during Harvest Moon Local Food Week.
Kenai Local Food Connection is a volunteer-run organization located in the Central Kenai Peninsula with the mission of forging connections within our community to increase access to local foods and knowledge about healthy eating. Each year, we publish the Kenai Peninsula Local Food Directory, sponsor winter film showings and cooking classes, and facilitate activities during Harvest Moon Local Food Week.
