Year after year, one of the features of the Harvest Festival that brings out crowds in abundance is its food scene. From the sweet tooth who gets their fill of mini donuts and lemonade to the foodie keen on trying new vendors and cuisines, food plays a large role on the fairgrounds. This Harvest Festival weekend (August 9th – 11th) will be no different.
Aiden Friesen, vendor coordinator, is responsible for ensuring that the food vendors are set up well and ready to feed the crowds. Friesen is also the coordinator for Kids Zone entertainment.
For Friesen, his position reflects his appreciation for festivals and a passion for making them as good as they can be.
“Because I love festivals, whenever I go, I always point out, ‘oh, they should maybe have done this instead. [It’s] better for flow or it looks better this way,’” he says. “Instead of just saying those things and doing nothing about it, I figured I'd . . . help out and do something about it.”
This year, Friesen looks forward to organizing a grand total of 28 vendors:
-Beavertails
-My Boba Lab
-Industrial Eats
-2 Bro’zz
- Superior Smash Burger
-The Meltdown
-Dina Donair Kebab
-Euro Donair
-Adele's Mini Donuts (2x)
-Mini O’s Mini Donuts
-Cucina Filipinas Rice and Noodles
-Mamu’s Best Food
-The Chip Truck
-Sixteen13 Ministry
-Trendy Treats
-Potoba
-Miss Tiny's Jamaican Food Truck
-Lemon Heaven
-Just A Little Squeeze
-Jojo’s Wood Fire Italian Kitchen
-Mole Guacamole
-Mexican King
-Taco The Town
-Nacho Mama’s Ribbon Fries and Tacos
-Wings N’ Fries
-Sabor Latino
-King’s Deli
With so much to choose from, Friesen is excited for it all, but he is especially interested in trying Mamu’s Best Food, which offers siomai, spring rolls, and puto (a steamed Filipino rice cake), among other things. Miss Tiny’s Caribbean Food Truck, which has a reputation for its jerk chicken, is also on Friesen’s radar. Click here for brief descriptions of each vendor’s offerings.
Keen observers may notice that the arrangement of the food trucks on the fairgrounds provides a glimpse into the history of the Harvest Festival.
“You'll notice as you walk through . . . that typically, starting from closest to the path to further out into the food court, you'll have the ones who have been here the longest,” says Friesen. “We have some food trucks who have been here 30 years, so we have those [ones] kind of closer to the front to [show appreciation for] their loyalty. Then we have some of the newer [vendors] in the middle and along the edge.”
Friesen also has big plans for his other role as the coordinator of the children’s activities — there is plenty to do with children who either need a break from the rides or would rather enjoy the Harvest Festival in other ways.
“We [have] an obstacle course. We've got a petting zoo. We have face painting. We have glitter tattoos,” he says. “We also have princess/hero photos. [Children can] take photos with a favourite superhero [or princess].”
There will also be large lawn games for children with Motion Zone. For the schedule of Kids Zone events, click here.
Whether one decorates their face with mini donut cinnamon sugar or a glitter tattoo, there will be something for everyone to sample and enjoy at Winkler’s Harvest Festival this weekend. See the full schedule of the events and attractions here.
~With files from Ty Hildebrand~