The Åland spring fair takes place each year during the last weekend of May, in the time of the apple blossoms and spring asparagus. Open farms, restaurants and cafés welcome visitors all over Åland. With the help of the event website and programme map, visitors can explore the hidden gems of the Åland countryside and celebrate spring with locally produced foods and crafts.
Festivals Finland, Latvia,
Åland spring fair in May
Åland harvest festival in September
The annual harvest festival has been organised since 2003 and offers a great opportunity to go around the Åland countryside, visit different farms, learn about rural life and shop locally. Everything for sale at the Åland Harvest Festival is produced on Åland. The Åland Harvest Festival is arranged by the association Skördefestens Vänner r.f. (“Friends of the Harvest Festival”).
Straupe’s farmers’ market
This market sells produce from local farmers and home manufacturers who offer traditional and seasonal food which they grow and prepare themselves. Visitors can purchase vegetables, fruit, fresh and smoked meat, cheese, bread, country tortes, homemade wine and various household and gardening objects.
Straupe’s farmers’ market is part of the international Earth Markets alliance. This means that products sold at the market are manufactured in accordance with the Slow Food philosophy which includes growing food honestly, thinking about environmental sustainability and biological diversity. For consumers, this is a paradise of taste, involving traditional and high-quality products and great imagination in terms of what to do with them.
Apple Harvest Festival at Ārlavciems
Apple Harvest Festival at Ārlavciems takes place in September and is organised by the Abavas Winery.
The ABAVA family winery was established by the Mārtiņš and Liene Barkāns family. It is a highly developed company which produces high-quality beverages from Latvian-grown fruits and berries. The winery’s vineyard covers 3.5 hectares, and it is expanded year by year. The owners are proud of a broad range of types of grapes, and each year they harvest some of them and produce a limited amount of grape wine in Latvia. The winery was established in 2010, and comparatively quickly it has become one of Latvia’s leading wineries.
Sabile Wine Festival
For many years now, the Sabile Wine Festival has been based on the historical traditions of the Sabile Wine Hill. Every year, almost all the Latvian wine producers gather here in the last week of July. With increasing numbers of cider makers, this festival has gradually become a fair for cider too, adding to the enjoyment of tourists in Kurzeme region.