Harvest Market taking place in Lancaster will celebrate the best of the season

Every three months at the height of each season, local producers, food vendors, community groups, craftspeople, artists and musicians come together in Lancaster Market Square to celebrate the seasons.

And at the Harvest Market on Friday September 13, the main theme will be seasonal fruit with cooking demos and tasters, local apples and apple products like vinegar, juice, jams and chutneys, as well as information about the North Lancashire Gleaning Network.

All of this is part of the local Share the Harvest festival celebrating the abundance of seasonal fruit, and calling on everyone to join in and prevent fruit from going to waste.

Market coordinator Andi Chapple said: “We work with lots of amazing people from the food, crafts and community sectors, and it’s so rewarding to see them all come together and enjoy a day of interacting with each other and the market visitors, enjoying the food, music and activities and ideally some lovely sunny weather.”

Lancaster’s Seasonal Markets are curated by the FoodFutures Closing Loops project which is working to reduce waste and build a regenerative local economy in North Lancashire. For example, some of the vendors take back empty glass bottles and jars for refill.

Visitors can learn about community composting, seasonal cooking and more at activity stalls, and there is a repair and crafts stall with Sunflower Cycles, Lancaster and Morecambe Makers and the Sewing Cafe Lancaster group.

Even the market’s promotion is done in a circular way. Nina Osswald from the Closing Loops project said: “You may have noticed that the banner advertising the Seasonal Markets reappears every three months.

"Every time the banner is taken down, we paint over the date and write it on fresh, saving a few kilos of plastic every time. With just a bit of water-based acrylic paint! It’s just one small change that helps reduce waste and expenses.”

Andi added: “Closing Loops is all about encouraging people to do their bit for a better world locally, and what better way to do that than by bringing people into the centre of Lancaster for a fun day out with great food and music?”