The Heritage Harvest Festival returns to Monticello Saturday, Sept. 21. (Photo courtesy Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello)
Thomas Jefferson said, “No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.”
Monticello, the third president’s Virginia home near Charlottesville, is a testament to that pursuit, among many others. And every year, the Heritage Harvest Festival, set on the estate’s West Lawn, is quite possibly the best way to see Jefferson’s epicurean legacy in full effect. The festival returns for its 13th year this Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“It’s kind of like Monticello on steroids,” says event founder Ira Wallace of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, a safe haven for over 700 types of heirloom seeds that are anywhere from 50 to 250 years old.
Wallace dreamed up the festival over 13 years ago after visiting a tomato festival in California. She approached the team at Monticello, unsure of what the outcome would be, but they were happy to host. In 2006, the festival was born. Wallace and other organizers expected 500 guests that inaugural September. A thousand people showed up, and the numbers have risen every year since.
Seeds
Like so many good things, HHF started with seeds. Pay a visit to the Tasting Tent, where you’ll find a seed swap booth hosted by The Seed Savers Exchange. Soak up some of their gardening know-how and get your likeness printed on a custom bag of seeds at the Seed Savers Exchange Photo Booth; it’s too cute not to!
Food
Opportunities to experience farm-sourced food are plentiful, with local vendors and endless samples of heirloom fruits and vegetables available in the Tasting Tent. Guests can check out culinary demos led by the 2018 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, Jeremiah Langhorne of The Dabney in Washington, D.C., along with JBA nominees Ian Redshaw of Lampo and Prime 109 in Charlottesville, and Richmond baker Evin Dogu of Sub Rosa Bakery. If you’re still hungry, visit the Monticello Farm Table tasting tent, where you’ll find samples of gazpacho straight out of Mary Randolph’s 18th-century cookbook.
Reading List
Ideal for scholarly gardeners, the Heritage Harvest Festival features authors on subjects from culinary history to seed saving. Several, including co-chairs Alice Waters, matriarch of American farm-to-table dining and founder of legendary California restaurant Chez Panisse; Corby Kummer, author and food critic; and Michael Twitty, culinary historian and author of "The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South," will be signing books on Saturday, so bring your copy along for the day if that’s your kind of thing.
Farming and gardening are central to the ethos of Alice Waters, who says in her book "Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook," “I believe now that 90 percent of taste comes from an understanding of what seed should be planted in what place, how to care for the plant, when to pick it, and how quickly to eat it.”
Plan to brush up on your reading in advance? Here’s an HHF-focused book list:
- "The Pleasures of Slow Food: Celebrating Authentic Traditions, Flavors, and Recipes," Corby Kummer
- "Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook," Alice Waters (Gobble up any Alice Waters cookbook you can get your hands on. They’re all equally timeless and inspiring.)
- "A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello," Peter Hatch
- "Preserving Our Roots: My Journey to Save Seeds and Stories," John Coykendall
- "The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South," Michael Twitty
- "Saving the Season: A Cook’s Guide to Home Canning, Pickling, and Preserving," Kevin West
- "The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast," Ira Wallace
- "The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration," Chris Smith
Tickets to the Heritage Harvest Festival are $26.95 for adults, $10 for children ages 5-11 and free for children under 5. There are also workshops held on Friday, Sept. 20, that are priced individually.
