LIBERTY — For the almost 30 years, the Liberty Harvest Festival, the region’s original harvest festival, has had many themes; most recently a Celebration of the Arts.

Once a large street fair in Liberty, the festival for many years has taken place at the Liberty Museum & Arts Center on the Village of Liberty’s Main Street at 46 South Main Street, across from the historic and newly restored Liberty Theater.

This year, for the first time, the festival takes on a holistic health theme with workshops and demonstrations on Yoga, Meditation and Reiki. 

It seems like the the right theme at the right time after having emerged from 2 1/2 years of the worldwide Covid Pandemic.

The Catskill Chili Cookoff, a staple at the festival for over twenty five years, has been infused with this same enthusiasm having added an “Organic Chili” category for the first time.

One chili that has been announced already is a “white bean organic borscht chili”, a nod to both the new category and those struggling to survive in conflicts in Eastern Europe. This looks to be the most adventurous (and possibly the most delicious) chili in this year’s coveted competition.

The current, very successful “Arts Educators” art exhibition, by popular demand has now been extended through the end of October and will be available to view at the festival also.

There will also be wonderful live music, delicious foods and beautiful handmade crafts for sale too. 

The festival has always been free but does have small registration fees for a few of its workshops. Donations are always appreciated.

To find out more information about the festival, the Museum can be found at libertymuseum.com, on Facebook and at (845)292-2394 and by contacting Robert at (845)292-5206.