NPS - National Park Service

09/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/11/2024 10:15

See You at Harvest Festival 2024 on Saturday, September 21!

News Release Date:
September 11, 2024

Contact:Scott Einberger, 530-242-3450

This family friendly annual event will include the following...

  • Harvest Fruit Bakeoff & Cookoff Contest - public tasting/voting begins at 11am; be sure and get in line early if you want to taste the yumminess!
  • Heirloom Apple Tastings - taste several lesser-known apple varietals that were historically grown at Tower House.
  • Live Music - local musicians Annie Coty and Steve Cheek will perform from 10am to 12pm; Joe Steele from 12pm to 2pm.
  • Walking Tours of the Orchard - after death, new life...learn how the historic orchard was restored after the 2018 megafire. Tours start at 10:45am and 12pm.
  • Corn Husk Doll-Making with Shasta State Historic Park.
  • Chinese Lantern-Making Craft - discover lesser-known stories of Whiskeytown's Chinese heritage while making a take-home craft.
  • Camden House Sketching - at 10:30am or 12:30pm, learn the basics of sketching and then sketch the historic residence.
  • Gold Panning - Charles Camden panned out $80,000 in the 1850s. How much will you pan out of the creek ?
  • Wintu Heritage Walk - stroll with a park ranger at 1pm and discover how local Native Americans traditionally utilized the land and water now known as Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.
  • Face-Painting with Whiskeytown Environmental School Community.
  • Old Timey Games with Stellar Charter School.
  • Drinks and lunches available for purchase courtesy of Whiskeytown Marinas and a couple of food trucks.
  • Information booths and informal activities with the following park partners: Friends of Whiskeytown, Western National Parks Association, Shasta Historical Society, Backcountry Horsemen, and UC Master Food Preserver Program.
Parking Information: Recommended parking at Oak Bottom. A 55-passenger charter bus is being rented and will provide free transportation between Oak Bottom and Tower House Historic District. Parking will be available in the historic district's small parking lot on a first come, first serve basis.

Harvest Fruit Bakeoff & Cookoff Contest: Information for Contestants: All ages welcome to participate in this friendly competition that the public will taste test and vote on. Contestants must pre-register by emailing [email protected] by September 20th. Contestants will make a dessert, side dish, or main dish using one of the following as an ingredient: apple, peach, cherry, fig, pear or quince. Contestants must bring their dessert to the NPS Welcome Tent at Tower House Historic District by 10:45 am on the day of the festival. The public will be allowed to taste and vote on their favorite entrees from 11am until all the food has been eaten or 1pm.

Contestant winners will be announced at 1:30 pm and will receive a National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Pass courtesy of Friends of Whiskeytown. This pass is valued at $80 and allows free entry into the National Park System for an entire year. The second place and third place contestants will receive the Whiskeytown-Lassen Volcanic-Lava Beds-Crater Lake Annual Pass courtesy of Friends of Whiskeytown, a pass allowing free entry into the four parks for a year and valued at $55.

Bring yourself, your family, and your friends and enjoy Whiskeytown National Recreation Area's fall heritage. See you soon!

For additional information about Whiskeytown's 2024 Harvest Festival, email, text, or call Scott Einberger, Supervisory Interpretive Park Ranger, at 530-356-3958 or [email protected].

About Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Whiskeytown is one of almost 430 parks within the National Park System. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was established in 1965 to protect Whiskeytown Lake and surrounding habitat and to provide outdoor recreation opportunities for the people of the United States. The park protects an immensity of over 1100 different native plant species and preserves historic sites associated with the Wintu People and California Gold Rush. Whiskeytown is visited by around one million people each year. Visitors primarily enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, and camping. The vast majority of the park has been restored and reopened from the 2018 Carr Fire which burned 97% of the national recreation area and destroyed over 100 structures. For more information, visit the park website or connect with us on Facebook or Instagram.