Nantucket's Cranberry Festival

It's about harvesting, community, nature, and..... cranberries? Yep, it's fall, so the cranberries are ripe for the harvesting, and what better way to kick off the season than to have a festival? The annual Cranberry Harvest Festival, sponsored by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, was held out at Milestone Cranberry Bogs on Saturday, October 6 for much of the day. And, despite a little bit of fog, dozens of locals and visitors alike showed up to taste some of the bounty from this year's first harvest.

For the kids (big and small) the festival showcased some sheep almost ready for the shearing, plus rides on a real tractor around the acres and acres of bogs off of Milestone Road. For the adults, there were taste tests of all things cranberry under the tent, plus some shopping if you were in the market for a new scarf, or perhaps a Nantucket Conservation Foundation canvas tote.

There was also some helpful information for the event's guests, including an appearance from the UMASS Field Station's representatives to talk about the protected lands on Nantucket, NCF staff with informative brochures, and some high school students exchanging some delicious cranberry-inspired treats for help saving up for a culinary trip to Paris.

So whether you were in the mood for some shopping, cranberry-driven edibles, or a fun-filled tractor ride through the bogs, this year's Cranberry Harvest Festival was a treat for everyone. Take a look at our slideshow below for more on the event, plus some footage from past shows of how the harvest happens.

Stay tuned to Plum on Channel 22 for some more video footage from this cran-tastic event, coming soon to Plum on the web.