Sharing the Field
Food, art, and community in New Glasgow—Oct 3 to 5
As autumn arrives, River Clyde Arts invites the community to celebrate the season with the fifth edition of its fall harvest festival, Sharing the Field, from October 3–5 in New Glasgow.
Sharing the Field is a family-friendly celebration of food, art and community that welcomes the harvest season and connects the agricultural history of New Glasgow with contemporary practices in farming, fishing, food production, and arts and culture. This year’s festival features an eclectic mix of theatre, dance, live music and culinary experiences.
Programming begins October 3 at 7:30 pm, with an outdoor performance of A Beginner’s Guide to the Night Sky by Nova Scotia’s Villains Theatre at the Gardens of Hope. This deeply moving play is written by Colleen Arcturus MacIsaac, directed by Garry Williams (known to local audiences as the River Clyde Pageant’s music director), and features music by Jenny Trites. It invites audiences into a playful outdoor astronomy class taught by an eccentric high school teacher and her awkward yet earnest child.
October 4 features free workshops in stilt-walking with Laura Astwood, a foraging workshop with biologist Kate MacQuarrie, and more to be announced soon.
October 5 is the main festival day at The Mill in New Glasgow, beginning with a DIY Bubble Tea Workshop led by Evelyn Yang at 12:30 pm. Free programming continues from 2–6 pm with craft activities for kids led by Becca the Witch, food demonstrations by Charlie Sark and Fumoir Poirier, a community dialogue on oyster fishing, and music and live performances happening all afternoon. The music lineup features Olivia Blacquiere, Luisa Güiza, Diana Delirio, and Tyler Messick. The Filipino Dance Masters will make their return with a lively dance performance on the grounds of the Mill, and Gale Force Theatre will present their delightful, interactive show for young audiences, Lupinder’s Tent, with four performances running from 2–5:10 pm.
Seasonal produce and local flavours are highlighted at Sharing the Field. Visitors can enjoy buck-a-shuck oysters, soup cooked over a fire, a cash bar, and a hot meal prepared by Chef Emily Wells. The centrepiece of the event is a by-donation farm stand offering produce contributed by local growers. Proceeds from the farm stand support River Clyde Arts’ programming and the North Rustico Food Bank. Local growers interested in contributing to the farm stand can drop off their excess produce on Saturday between 1–4 pm at The Mill in New Glasgow.
Tickets for A Beginner’s Guide to the Night Sky and the hot meal should be purchased in advance at riverclydearts.com/field or on site while supplies last. Pre-registration is required for Saturday and Sunday morning workshops. In the event of inclement weather, Sunday’s programming will be moved indoors at The Mill.
Sharing The Field is hosted by River Clyde Arts in partnership with Central Coastal Tourism.