Visitors to Waterford’s Harvest Festival this September 8th to 10th are invited to step into a world of culinary curiosity and thought-provoking discussions as GIY (Grow It Yourself) proudly presents a captivating lineup of talks and debates that delve into the heart of pressing food issues with a series of free talks on the ‘Food Matters’ stage, proudly sponsored by Waterford Chamber Skillnet.

The food sustainability talks will see some of the country’s most esteemed food writers, chefs, activists, journalists and business people gather to discuss the important topics of our food chain offering an educational, engaging and entertaining debate each day.

The hosts of the event and who will be helping to guide the conversations and lead some of the discussions with finesse and flair are none other than GIY’s founder, the renowned author and broadcaster Mick Kelly and the award-winning food writer and chair of the Food Writer’s Guild Caroline Hennessy.

Topics for discussion include, Using Food Waste in the Garden; GIY- Getting Started; Food Matters – Love Soil; Biodiversity Centre – Top 10 ways to help Pollinators; Food Matters – Stop Food Pollution; Finding Magic & Medicine in your garden; and Irish Tree Explorers – The importance of Urban Trees; Birdwatch – Ireland’s Garden Birds; Regional Action For Global Change; Food Matters – Support Local; Biodiversity Centre – Top 10 ways to help Pollinators and Food Matters – Eat More Plants.

The esteemed panelists, carefully curated for their wealth of experience and dedication to food-related matters will gather in the Food Matters tent at John Roberts Square for talks on the hour during Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. The panellists include Niall Hatch from Birdwatch Ireland, Kevin Jephson from Ardkeen Food Stores, Niamh Phelan from Biodiversity Ireland, Pat Fitzgerald from Fitzgerald Nurseries and many more.

The Harvest Festival is funded by Waterford City & County Council and organised by GIY who are bringing sustainability right to the heart of the festivities and in addition the festival will be run on HVO (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil), a complete plastics ban and all traders using compostable materials, refill water stations plus a wash up station for reusables. Plus there will be opportunities for everyone to get stuck into some GIY as over 3000 free plants and 1000’s of free seeds will be given away to food growing enthusiasts during the festival weekend.

The festival  offers an array of entirely free events for everyone to enjoy. There will be a vast Harvest Festival Food and Drinks producer market. There will be a live music stage and in addition there will be an assortment of entertainment and things to see, do and eat throughout the festival weekend. Highlights include ‘Food Matters’ food sustainability talks where some of the country’s most esteemed food writers, chefs, activists, journalists and business people, it’s guaranteed to be an educational, engaging and entertaining debate each day.

For the food fans Waterford’s rich food heritage will be key, celebrating the City’s diverse restaurants, eateries and producers with Waterford’s finest chefs offer free cookery demos on the Taste Waterford Kitchen Stage, sponsored by Waterford LEO.

In the Junior GIYer’s zone which will take over O’Connell Street families will enjoy the Wooly Farm where children can learn more about our furry and feathered friends. Artist Aga Krym will create a new living art installation with Slí Waterford based on the UN sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger. In addition Cool Food School and GIY will be hosting workshops on seed sowing, growing and cooking food and Monty Potts will be on hand to help out plus there will be art workshops, Fun Drums and at Waterford City Library there will be story-telling, colouring sessions, the Waterford Honey Show will be open for visitors and more.

The Waterford Harvest Festival is a weekend-long celebration taking place from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th of September and will see the city come to life with markets, special dining events, panel discussions and plenty more. For further details and to browse the full programme of free entertainment and events see https://harvest.giy.ie/