Embrace the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness at Blenheim Palace’s Autumn Fest on October 1-2.
Celebrate harvest with a stunning market, live music, family games, theatre and circus entertainments and much more, with late opening until 7.30pm on Saturday.
The event is a re-imagining of the traditional Harvest and Michaelmas Festivals, with a decidedly modern green twist.
There will be artisan and food markets, workshops, demonstrations and a packed programme of talks and guided activities as well as live entertainments.
There’s also the chance to find out more about Blenheim’s initiatives to support declining bee and insect populations, woodland renewal and clean waterways as part of its wider sustainability goals.
Visit the Harvest Sports Arena, the Sculpture Trail from Oxford Sculptor Group, pop-ups from WhatNot Theatre with a new show based on The Garden Jungle by guest speaker David Goulson as well as Plunge Boom Theatre’s fantastic Vegetable Nannies.
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There’s an excellent live music line-up and a stunning performance from the extraordinary Chivaree Circus at dusk on Saturday with their giant bird puppet, plus Scarecrow Competitions, Wish Bugs, Sunningwell Art Tent and activity pop-up from Blenheim’s partner Nicholson’s who recently planted 230,000 new oak trees on the estate.
Don’t miss the fantastic autumnal food offering from Jericho Kitchen created using produce fresh from the Blenheim garden and the Blenheim Orange Bar serving the county’s best beverages, together with nature, photography and foraging trails.
The Michaelmas Market features 50 independent Oxfordshire traders alongside artisanal food stalls celebrating the new ‘no-dig’ regenerative farming plot created by Worthy Earth in the Walled Garden alongside tastings from Rowse Honey and Hotel Chocolat.
Social enterprise brewery Tap Social will be running the bar with a focus on unusual non-alcoholic beverages as well as delicious local beers, ciders and the Blenheim gin created by local distillery Sky Wave and supporting delicious offerings from Animalltea, Proudfoot & Co and Tiddly Pommes who will also be pressing apples on site and offering tastings.
There will be many additional events and activities taking place over the weekend including talks by award-winning authors, foraging and photographic walks, workshops and demonstrations all of which can be booked in advance.
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