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Magic shows, artisanal crafts, hot donuts and live music. Though the leaves haven’t begun to change yet, autumn was in full swing at the Golden Harvest Festival this weekend.

“Fall is my favorite season,” said Odalys Negron, owner of Callé Tropical and one of many vendors at the festival. “This is one of our family’s top festivals.”

For more than 40 years, the Golden Harvest Festival has been held at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, New York. The festival, held from Sept. 7-8, hosted 75 arts and crafts booths, dozens of food trucks and an abundance of entertainment opportunities.

The festival’s vendors, who sell goods ranging from birdhouses to organic honey, gather for the fair each year and come from various backgrounds.

Wyllie Fox Farm has been a proud vendor at the festival for 12 years. The Edelstein family, who runs the farm, provides their products to local restaurants, health food stores and home gardeners.

Jamie Edelstein said he is passionate about his farm’s home-grown produce and seedlings. Anabelle Edelstein, Jamie’s daughter, has been attending the festival since she was born. She looks forward to it every year. Now that she’s older, Anabelle said she enjoys selling products with her family.

Aside from the famous Beaver Lake Nature Center donuts, watching families return to the festival year after year is the greatest joy of being a vendor, Jamie said.

“A lot of people will come up to us to purchase something, but they’ll also tell us how great their garden did this year from our plants,” Jamie said. “It’s pretty exciting for us.”

Ella Chan | Asst. Photo Editor

While smiling, Isabella Negron hands a bag of empanadas to a customer. Negron worked at her family’s food truck, Callé Tropical, serving empanadas, Spanish rice bowls, plantains and passionfruit juice.

Tug Hill Homestead is another family farm that’s regularly represented at the festival. Entrepreneur Kristen Sullivan brings her own flair to the festival. She sells unique products like goat milk soap bars, which she hand-crafts on the farm.

Sullivan said her retired neighbor passed the soap formulas on to her two and a half years ago. In that time, Sullivan has found purpose in selling soap at the Golden Harvest Festival.

“People won’t miss out on this event, whether it’s raining or not,” Sullivan said. “It’s so fun to see the same people every year saying, ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’”

Sullivan said her artistic side shines through her work. She loves coming up with various color combinations for her soap bars. It’s important for Sullivan, a small business owner, to have a space where local products are highlighted — which the Golden Harvest Festival is known for.

“There are so many creative people in central New York,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s wonderful that people want to shop small.”

The Golden Harvest Festival is also known for its diverse array of dining options. Local food truck Callé Tropical, which specializes in savory empanadas, was just one of the festival’s many vendors.

Negron, a Syracuse local, said the festival is a bridge between local small businesses. She likes that she can take her kids out to support them.

Negron’s Puerto Rican heritage inspires her, putting a spin on traditional family recipes — hence the food truck’s Philly cheesesteak empanadas. Every time she visits Puerto Rico, she learns new recipes to incorporate into her cooking.

Negron did not grow up attending the Golden Harvest Festival, but her children have. She said the festival has become her family’s favorite and makes autumn their most anticipated season.

“I come from a small family,” Negron said. “Back then, we didn’t really go to festivals. Now, it’s something I want to show my kids and start as a tradition.”

Published on September 8, 2024 at 11:41 pm

lcgourmo@syr.edu