A pressing engagement
Even if you don’t have school-aged kids, the fact that the Neskowin Valley School is open again is great news, because reopening means the school’s treasured harvest festival is back, too.
After a one-year hiatus, the 39th annual event will feature stands of locally produced fruit and vegetables, live music, a live and virtual silent auction, wine tastings and a beer garden for the adults and plenty of activities for the kids.
“We have performances from local musicians scheduled for the entire event,” Development Director Emily Bailey said. “We’ll also have plenty of vendors and though we can’t have baked goods made by our families this year, we’ve had local bakeries that are going to donate some.”
Live music will be supplied by ZuhG, the Elite Beat, George Thompson and Tom Tucker, Donna Jose and Ben Engen, Carolina Lees and David Ousele.
The beer garden will include local favorites Beachcrest Brewing Company, Rusty Truck Brewing Company and Pelican Brewing Company.
The silent auction, which is already live on the school’s website, has more than $6,000-worth of donated prizes.
When Bailey, who recently relocated to Oregon from upstate New York, first heard about the festival it was not from other staff members.
“The parents of our students are very engaged,” she said. “Before I even knew about the annual harvest festival, they were saying ‘Harvest fest time has got to be soon, how can we help?’”
Bailey joined the other new staff members who were hired after the school had to shut down temporarily.
“Because of how hands-on the school is, it was hard to transition to an online environment,” she said. “We had a summer camp that got us in the mood to start again and the school year has been going great.”
The school grounds make a perfect venue for the festival’s activities for kids.
“We’ll have arts and crafts tables, a ring toss and other carnival-style games,” Bailey said.
All proceeds go to support small class sizes, outdoor education and after-school programs and to keep tuition affordable for families.
“Next year will be our school's 50th year,” Bailey said. “We’re going to go all out.”
The Harvest Festival runs from noon to 6 pm at the Neskowin Valley School, 10005 Slab Creek Road. For more information and to check out the silent auction, go to neskowinvalleyschool.com.