Middle’s Olde Tyme Harvest Festival celebrates community for 23rd year
Popular event offers residents a chance to regroup after 2020 cancellation
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The Olde Tyme Harvest Festival includes rides, craft vendors and plenty of seasonal along and around Mechanic Street.
For generations of Middle Township residents, the Olde Tyme Harvest Festival is an iconic fall tradition, right up there with pumpkins and Halloween.
So, when the event was canceled last year because of COVID, it was a big disappointment to the folks who look forward to seeing familiar faces amid a fun seasonal atmosphere.
This year’s 23rd Olde Tyme Harvest Festival, set for Saturday, Oct. 23, might feel like a long-awaited reunion for many attendees. The fall-themed event combines the best of a carnival and street fair, filling Mechanic Street with rides, live music, craft vendors, food trucks and more.
Activities such as the inflatable rides, Halloween costume contests and pumpkin decorating are particularly popular with families. But visitors of all ages turn out faithfully for the festival, which is one of Middle Township’s largest events of the year.
“We’re excited and grateful to restore this great Middle Township tradition after a one-year pause,” Mayor Tim Donohue said. “We want the focus to be on fun, family and tradition with an emphasis on local vendors and products. Can’t wait to see everyone there!”
Events will run from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The rain date is Sunday, October 24, from noon to 5 p.m. (The importance of a rain date has been demonstrated over the Harvest Festival’s long history. Organizers had to use the event rain date in back-to-back years, in 2006 and 2007.)
The sprawling festival started modestly in 1998, as part of Middle Township’s bicentennial celebration. Middle was one of 104 townships formally incorporated on Feb. 21, 1798, through the New Jersey Legislature’s Township Act of 1798.
The Harvest Fest has grown over the years to include dozens of vendors and thousands of visitors.
Middle Township is seeking food and craft vendors for the event. For more information, contact Special Events Coordinator Nancy McDevitt at 609-465-8728 or nmcdevitt@middletownship.com.
