It’s a larger and more unique Harvest Moon Festival that’s on tap for next week.
The 31st rendition of the early-fall event, set to begin Sept. 5 at Whiteside Park, has a wide assortment of new arts, crafts and food vendors.
In all, about 35 of the 109 vendors, who will occupy 132 booth spaces in the city park are new to Harvest Moon.
“Looking at my spreadsheet, we have 35 new vendors that have either come over from Blueberry, or are brand new to Harvest Moon,” said Kristen Switajewski, festival coordinator for the Ely Chamber of Commerce.
The overall size of the festival is also up slightly from 2024, when there were about 100 vendors.
“It is up a bit and we did add some more booths this year,” said Switajewski. “It’s really great that the festival is starting to grow.”
Started as a spinoff of sorts of the wildly successful Blueberry/Art Festival held each July, the three-day Harvest Moon is also sponsored by the Ely Chamber of Commerce and in some ways is a more laid-back, smaller-scale version of the summer event.
Like the Blueberry/Art, its focus is largely on the vendors who sell everything from jewelry and art to wood and leather works.
Switajewski noted that this year’s event includes “a variety of new jewelry and woodworkers.”
She cited Tugi Enterprises, specializing in wooden bowls and spoons, and Le-Belle, who “makes jewelry with pearls” as two of the notable new vendors.
Food and beverages are also always a big part of the festival and this year will be no exception, with a loaded food court and one vendor - The Strudel House - that is making its Harvest Moon debut after feeding many at the Blueberry/Art event.
The Ely Kiwanis Club will also offer their freshly-baked pies out of the park pavilion.
Entertainment was once a staple at the Harvest Moon but was discontinued for budget reasons, but thousands are still expected to attend the event.
Those that come will also see the Forging Community doing live demonstrations of blacksmithing for a second consecutive year.
Also for the second consecutive year, fans of the Harvest Moon can vote to give it national acclaim.
The Ely event is up against top fall events from other parts of the country in a survey being conducted by USA Today.
Voting is now underway as USA Today looks for online votes to narrow a list of 20 fall festivals down to 10 in its “Best Fall Festival” poll.
As of earlier this week, Ely ranked sixth after placing 10th in 2024.
“We’re hoping to finish in the top-five this year,” said Switajewski. ”The Harvest Moon Festival is a true celebration of creativity and community. We are incredibly proud to host so many talented artists and vendors. This nomination from USA Today is a testament to the hard work of our vendors and the enduring spirit of this event.”
Fans can log in to any of the Ely Chamber Facebook pages including The Ely Chamber of Commerce, Harvest Moon Festival, Blueberry Art Festival and Ely MN Events, to find the link to vote. Voting continues through Monday, Sept. 8, at 1 p.m. Winners will be announced the following week.
Festival hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Friday, Sept. 5 and Saturday, Sept. 6, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 7.
In conjunction with the festival, businesses are encouraged to participate in the four-day Harvest Business Days event that opens on Thursday, Sept. 4 and runs through the weekend. The Thursday start allows vendors the opportunity to enjoy shopping before the festival begins.
Some participating businesses offer sales or specials but that is not required to take part in the promotion.
A Harvest Days map, business list and festival map with a vendor list will be available starting Aug. 30, at www.ely.org/events/ harvest-moon.
