If you are looking for a really excellent food festival this fall, look no farther than Portland Maine. This year, Portland will host its fifth annual Harvest on the Harbor, a food, wine and beer festival that will delight your taste buds to no end. Here, you’ll have the chance to meet Maine chefs, sample gourmet food, taste craft beers, and more. This four-day festival includes six separate events, two of which are brand new this year. Despite the fact that it is a relatively new festival, Harvest on the Harbor has already developed a large following.
The festival opens on Wednesday, October 24th with the Grand Tasting on the Harbor. This reception-style event, which is held from 6:00-8:30 pm, costs $75 to attend. You’ll meet some of Maine’s leading chefs, taste delicacies from esteemed Maine restaurants, and sample fine wine, beer and spirits. The experience will be rounded out with chocolates from Sweet Marguerites and locally handcrafted coffee.
The following afternoon brings the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Competition, where, for $65, you can witness (and taste!) as three chefs showcase their distinctive recipes and compete for the title of Lobster Chef of the Year. The next event, also on Thursday, takes place from 6:00-8:30 pm and has an admission price of $75. This is the Top of the Crop: Best Farm to Table Restaurant, where you will watch four chefs display the results of putting the farm to table philosophy in action.
On Friday, October 26th, is the first of two brand new events this year. From 12:00-2:30 pm, for an admission price of $65, you can enjoy the Cutting Edge: Culinary College Competition. This event features student teams from some of Maine’s premier culinary academies, who will prepare unique salmon dishes in this competition for scholarship funds. Later that evening, from 6:00-8:30 pm, also for an admission price of $65, you can attend the second new event, BBQ, Brews, and Blues. Listen to indie-blues band, Ballroom Thieves, as you enjoy world class BBQ and a wide variety of craft beers and wine.
The final event on Saturday, October 27th is the Savory Samplings at the Marketplace. This event is held twice; session one is from 12:00-2:30 pm and session two is from 4:00-6:30 pm. For $50, you’ll get to wander the 300 foot Ocean Pavilion and sample Maine-inspired treats and creations from over 160 contributors.
If you wish, you can purchase an all-access pass that allows you to attend all of the events (with your choice of session one or session two on Saturday) for $325 per person. If you’re looking for lodging, the Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront hotel is offering two different Harvest on the Harbor lodging packages for visitors: The Harvest Brew with a View package that includes a Shipyard tin beer bucket, two bottle openers, two pint glasses, and four export beers, as well as a full, hot buffet breakfast for two; and the Harvest Romance Package that includes a studio suite, a fully equipped kitchen, champagne and chocolate upon arrival, and a complimentary hot breakfast buffet for two.
This event is a definite taste sensation that you won’t want to miss, so start planning your trip to Portland, Maine now!
