Celebrating 25 Years of the Harvest Fall Festival
You can see it in the smiles.
The joy of living in a simpler time — when life was tough, but family and community made it all worthwhile. And it’s smiles like these, passed down from generation to generation, that you’ll see at the 25th Annual Harvest Fall Festival at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan this Sunday, September 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For a quarter of a century, families and friends from across Glengarry, Cornwall, Ottawa, and Montreal have made the pilgrimage to this little museum at the corner of County Road 24 and County Road 30. Each year, they return to celebrate autumn’s arrival and reconnect with the traditions of Glengarry’s early settlers. This anniversary year promises to be no different — only bigger.
A Day That Brings Glengarry Together
The festival is filled with the sights, sounds, and smells that remind us who we are:
Old-world demonstrations: ice cream making, quilting, rug hooking, wool spinning, blacksmithing, and farm machinery that once changed how Glengarry worked the land.
Man vs. Machine: a vintage gas-powered saw goes blade-to-blade against a two-person crosscut saw.
Living history: a belt-driven machine that foreshadowed today’s Alexandria Moulding, once used to mill mouldings seen in Glengarry homes.
The parade: horse-drawn wagons, buggies, and carts led by the Quigley Highlanders Pipes and Drums.
Local life on display: artisans, live music, kids’ games, a food booth stacked with homemade pie, a beer garden, and what’s said to be the oldest bar in Eastern Ontario.
And because this is Glengarry, there’s always a bit of fun:
A rooster crowing contest to find the loudest barnyard star.
A zucchini contest — dressed up, decorated, and judged.
And yes, the legendary Cow Pie 50/50 raffle — where nature herself picks the winner.
A Festival Rooted in Community
It wouldn’t be a Harvest Festival without the Harvest Sale Tent — tables stacked high with pies, jams, jellies, preserves, breads, squares, vegetables, and fruit, all donated by local families. It’s as Glengarry as it gets: food from our land, shared with our neighbours.
Admission is simple:
$12 per person ($6 for museum members and students 5–17)
$30 for a family ($15 for member families)
Kids under 4: free
Buy your tickets at the gate or online. And don’t forget your 50/50 Cow Pie raffle ticket — $10 for one or three for $25 — for a chance to win up to $1,125.
Why It Matters
The Harvest Fall Festival is more than an event. It’s a snapshot of Glengarry’s spirit: people pulling together, celebrating their roots, and passing on stories of resilience, tradition, and laughter. For 25 years, this gathering has shown us that while times change, the strength of community never does.
So bring your family. Meet your neighbours. Hear the pipes, taste the pie, and watch history come alive.
Because here in Glengarry, autumn begins with a smile.
Glengarry Pioneer Museum, Dunvegan
️ Sunday, September 7, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
glengarrypioneermuseum.ca
