The doors opened at the first festival on a weekend in 1972 at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. Country, or folk art, was the main draw at the show. It grew to multiple weekends and cities and always featured a theme that changed from year to year. In the mid-1990s the show took on a business-and-technology orientation, but it changed back to arts and crafts in 2005. Currently the Anaheim event attracts about 15,000 people over the course of the weekend. If you're traveling in the western United States, you'll find the Harvest Festival Original Art & Craft Shows in eight California cities, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
You'll typically find woodwork, ceramics, homemade food, handwoven clothing, jewelry, garden designs, toys, glass, candles, photography, sculptures, paintings and holiday ornaments on display at the festival. Artists show how their craft is made in demonstrations scheduled throughout the day. Longtime exhibitors Fred and Susie Heminger (mrfudge.com) from Southern California have been selling their homemade fudge and sweets at the festival since 1990. He's a grand fudge master who occasionally still helps in the production by hand-stirring the fudge cooking in copper kettles or hand-forming it on 1,000-pound marble tables.
Vendors give out free tastes of their specialty foods, such as hand-pressed olive oil, dips and hot sauces. But if you need a little more sustenance than samples, you can purchase basic cafe food, including hamburgers, hot dogs and fries. Alcohol is available, as are soft drinks and water. If you bring the kids, they can gather at the fun zone, where a puppeteer entertains and a man on stilts makes balloon animals. There are also hands-on arts and crafts for all ages. Live entertainment includes strolling performers in costumes as well as tribute bands on stage.
Head to Hall E at the Anaheim Convention Center for the indoor festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday. Purchase an admission ticket online or at the door; it's valid for the entire weekend. You'll pay for parking at the convention center, but public buses serve the convention center from various sites in Orange County.
When the festival closes for the evening, you'll discover other entertainment or shopping opportunities close by. Downtown Disney offers shopping and dining in the southeast corner of Disneyland Park, directly across the street from the convention center. If you'd rather attend a concert or National Hockey League game, head over to the Honda Center which is about 3 miles east of the convention center.
