Harvest Festival to be held at Ausekļi Mill in Bārbele
On September 5, the Ausekļi Mill museum in Bārbele will host its traditional Harvest Festival, featuring demonstrations of old farm work and craft skills alongside a cultural program. The event starts at 11 a.m. and runs into the evening.
On September 5, starting at 11 a.m., the Ausekļi Mill museum in the Bārbele district will hold its annual "Harvest Festival," dedicated to traditional rural work customs. Organizer representative Dita Strēle shared details about the event.
Visitors will be able to watch grain being cut with historic equipment, sheaves being tied, potatoes dug up, and land worked with vintage tractors. Craftspeople will be present on the museum grounds, demonstrating flax processing, wool dyeing, weaving, spinning, and the making of metal, wood, and clay items. Tinsmiths, woodworkers, and traditional shoe-makers will also take part. Local Bārbele craftsmen will show grain threshing using the "Imanta" threshing machine and a steam engine, while the water mill will operate to grind flour, groats, and pearl barley.
Food and entertainment
Hostesses will treat guests to homemade food, including baked pastries and a large pot of pearl-barley porridge. Various activities will be arranged for children, and all visitors will have the chance to take a boat ride on the Iecava River or go horseback riding.
Throughout the day, performances will be given by the Bārbele youth dance group "Rakari," the Mediņi family ensemble "Omes sapnis," and the band "MUIŽA," with musical accompaniment provided all day by Albīns Baļčūns and friends. A prize draw is also planned around 3 p.m.
Organizers are inviting craftspeople, home producers, and other interested parties to sign up to take part, either by phone or by filling out a form on the museum's website.
