Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/514227
27 farmapa etro-hip artisanal skills have always been on trend at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin. Turn your hand to butter-churning and check out a raft of pioneer skills — along with acres of home-made pies — at the 61st annual Threshermen's Reunion & Stampede July 23-26. The four-day festival is like Woodstock for farm fans, drawing 10,000 visitors from across North America with a rodeo, draft horse expositions, rare- breed animal displays and threshing demonstrations. A daily grandstand parade of vintage farm machines, concerts and a popular beer garden are hot draws, as is Big Roy, an internationally famous one-of-a-kind 600-horsepower Versatile tractor. Camp on site and plan a comeback when the museum throws its second annual Rock the Harvest music festival Aug. 14-16. In August, the Winkler Harvest Festival & Exhibition celebrates the town's agricultural heritage with live music, a high school rodeo and traditional Mennonite fare for foodies. In Portage la Prairie, all eyes are on the Portage Potato Festival in August for couch potato races, live music, a Baby Spud costume contest and free French fries. The Honey, Garlic & Maple Syrup Festival is held in Manitou on the first Saturday after Labour Day, and in Clearwater, a farmers' market is one of the central events of the Harvest Moon Festival in September, along with a fair-trade fair, music, artisans, sustainable-living workshops and, naturally, groaning tables of delicious fresh food. > ag-museum.mb.ca > winklerharvestfestival.com > portagepotatofest.ca > townofmanitou.ca > harvestmoonsociety.org To Market, TO MARKET Farmers' markets provide prime cruising opportunities for fresh strawberries, corn, root vegetables, tomatoes, Manitoba honey, preserves and crafts. Weekly markets are held in Russell, Steinbach, Beausejour, Boissevain, Winnipeg and Selkirk and dozens of other communities. Le Marché St. Norbert Farmers' Market is the largest of them all. Open Saturdays from May until late October and Wednesdays until late September, the market just south of Winnipeg boasts more than 100 vendors. > stnorbertfarmersmarket.ca > fmam.ca At the FARM GATE Dozens of farmers across the province welcome visitors to see where our food comes from during Open Farm Day each fall, and many have an open-door policy all summer. Sign up to become an Artisanal Baker for a Day at Integrity Foods, a six- acre farm just north of Riverton. Organic farmers and bakers Dora and Cornelius Friesen introduce guests to ancient grains, fresh-milled flour and their wood-fired outdoor brick oven Hildegard. On Friday and Saturday nights, Hildegard is fired up for Pizza Night on the Farm, with a menu that features a garden special — guests take a basket into the garden and pick their own toppings. At Fairmount Bed & Breakfast in Minnedosa, you can pick vegetables from the garden, watch sheep and cattle graze in the fields and take part in a culinary experience during your stay. Learn to bake bread and conjure up a fabulous dinner from local meat and produce. > openfarmday.ca > integrityfoods.ca > bedandbreakfast.mb.ca/fairmount/ Haunted HALLOWEEN In October, corn fields in southern Manitoba are transformed into fiendishly intricate mazes. Brave the Tower of Terror at Boonstra Farms, just north of Winnipeg on Hwy 67, and head north on Sturgeon Road to see the Barn of Doom at Six Pines Haunted Attractions, where Halloween howls with eerie sound effects, fog machines and costumed characters. A Maze in Corn near St. Adolphe, offers AmaZing Zip Lines rides, along with a petting zoo, pumpkin barn and Haunted Forest. And it wouldn't be Halloween without a great pumpkin. Head to the Meandher Creek Pumpkin Patch at Oak Lake west of Brandon. > boonstrafarms.com > sixpines.mb.ca > cornmaze.ca > pumpkinfun.ca R farm apalooza THRESHERMEN'S REUNION & STAMPEDE 27