By Scott Price
It is common for Winnipeggers to suffer from “perimeter vision”, giving little attention or thought to happenings outside Winnipeg’s boundaries. Even in the summer months we tend to stick to the tried and true destinations of certain lakes, beaches, cabins and campgrounds. Some of this is nostalgia and tradition, but as journalist Bartley Kives mused in his book A Daytripper’s guide to Manitoba, Manitoba’s licence plate should read undervisted, and underappreciated. As always, Bart has a point. While there are a number of great summer festivals that people flock to, one of the most heartening and relaxing is the Harvest Moon festival in Clearwater Manitoba. While music festivals have increasingly become bloated affairs as a means for corporate sponsorship to smear their logo across as many eyeballs as they can, Harvest Moon is truly about local issues and how they fit into a larger context. The festival is put on by the Harvest Moon society, which is made up of a mix of both urban and rural people who care deeply about small-scale farming, environmentalism and sustainability.
The Harvest Moon festival started in 2002 as an experiment in celebrating rural communities and local food systems. Prior to the first festival, the town of Clearwater was facing the very real possibility of disappearing. Rather than giving into despair the community took inspiration from other festivals that have been key to economic development for small communities.
A key part to the festival are the workshops provided. This year’s workshops range from topics such as urban and rural beekeeping, environmental agriculture, and an oral history of the festival and the town of Clearwater. Adding to this is a concentration on local musicians that make it truly a celebration of everything that makes Winnipeg and Manitoba the scrappy, charming place that is.
I will admit that prior to going to the Harvest Moon festival four years ago I had no idea about either the existence of Clearwater or the festival. After going four years in a row there is something special about the people there and the experience of the festival as a whole that makes it special.
First is the drive to Clearwater. Highway number three will take you most of the way there. You go through a couple of small towns and get to see the prairies slowly turn into the more hilly Pembina valley, which is nothing short of spectacular in the twilight of summer. The road into Clearwater takes a few turns and then you’ll see the old train bridge with a few people hanging out giving you a wave as you drive into Clearwater.
The campsite is nestled behind the main stage area and festival grounds and the old train tracks that lead to the bridge. You’ll be right in the town of Clearwater so don’t act like a loogan. There is also a local store and local restaurant (Clearwater Junction) where you can pick up last minute stuff you forgot or get some food. The breakfast buffet at Clearwater Junction on Saturday and Sunday is a convenient perk.
There are some nice trails you can check out that take you around the surrounding area. You can get info on these at the festival info booth. Might as well take advantage of this to either work off the morning breakfast buffet or just take in the beauty of southwestern Manitoba.
The festival always boasts a great lineup of local talent. This year the festival features 30 different acts including, Scott Nolan, William Prince, House of Gold Diamonds, The Lytics, Micah Erenberg, and The Joey Landreth trio to name a few.
If you don’t already have tickets you are out of luck as the festival is sold out. Unless you can find someone with some tickets they are willing to part with mark your calendar for next year so you don’t miss out again.