Inaugural MV Harvest History Festival
By Marina Marinovich
MVHA Director-at-Large
On the crisp and clear first day of autumn,
Mountain View celebrated its inaugural Harvest
History Festival in Heritage Park. The event,
presented by the City of Mountain View and
the Kiwanis Club, was held Saturday morning,
September 22nd.
Surrounded by heritage trees, children played
games and had their faces painted by members
of Mountain View High School’s Key Club. People
of all ages were treated to a tour and a sampling
of the park’s veggie garden by the group Soil &
Water. Members of the Mountain View Historical
Association, the Master Gardener program, and the
Santa Clara Valley Beekeeper’s Guild were on hand
to present their programs and answer questions.
A special thanks to MVHA Board Members
Regina Sakols, Jamil Shaikh, and Emily Ramos for
representing our organization at the event!
Over the course of the morning a few hundred
people meandered through the park, enjoying
the booths provided by service and nonprofit
organizations. Families nibbled on fruit provided by
Village Harvest, tapped their toes to live music by
The Stragglers, enjoyed a lively dance performance
by the Kitchen Sink Mollies, and stopped to admire
the plein air paintings by talented artists from the
Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society.
The historic Immigrant House, originally built in
the 1860s, was saved from demolition in 2012
and moved to Heritage Park in 2016, where it was
restored. Saturday was the unveiling of its newly
acquired period furnishings, and a representative
from The Friends of Immigrant House led tours and
answered questions.
Festival organizer Mary Kay Marinovich said she
was very pleased by the turnout, and credited
the City of Mountain View’s Parks & Recreation
Department, the nonprofits, the service
organizations, and all the people who attended, and
of course, the beautiful Mountain View day.
Festival attendees stop by the MVHA’s table to browse
our selection of local history books.
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