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The second annual Homegrown Harvest Festival and its array of acclaimed chefs that showcased the culinary delights Virginia has to offer drew people from the area and new faces from beyond it to Franklin on Friday-Sunday, Oct. 4-6. 

Festival organizer Marshall Rabil indicated that he thought the three-day event came off fantastically.

The festival opened Friday evening, Oct. 4, at The Hubs Vine with an opening party and panel discussion.

On Saturday evening, Oct. 5, the festival moved to Goose Hill Farm for a culinary escape provided by chefs Ryan Anderson, Walter Bundy, Harper Bradshaw, Nic Hagen, Chris Ludford and Sarah Betcher. They were assisted by Franklin High School culinary arts students, who facilitated the food element of the festival on all three days. 

Common Ground Bluegrass Band performed Saturday, and then guests were transported by tractors on a hayride to a corn maze, where DJ Gabe Niles led a dance party.

On Sunday morning and afternoon, Oct. 6, the festival moved to River Road Farm for the Franklin Rising Brunch. This featured the festival’s entire team of chefs, students, winemakers and brands for an open-fire cooking demonstration accompanied by renowned Virginia libations.

Later that afternoon, River Road Farm held the latest edition of its Music in the Country series. This time it featured the music of The Lone Bellow and Jacob Vanko.

Rabil noted that the weather cooperated with the festival’s outdoor events on Saturday and Sunday.

“Saturday night was about as nice of a night as we could have,” he said.

He also highlighted how the festival attendees included a lot of people from out of town.

“I was excited to turn around a lot of times and not know people,” he said. “So seeing the influence of some of the other chefs and some of that outreach, to bring other people to Franklin that I did not know was encouraging.

“I think all the feedback that I’ve received from guests from out of town was very positive on the overall mission of what Homegrown is all about, and I’m just excited to try to continue developing this concept and growing our family,” he added.

Summarizing what the festival is all about, he noted that the overall goal is to bring awareness about the foodways of Virginia — Tidewater specifically — and the history and culture of area farms, farmers and brands, while trying to address local food insecurity, increase educational opportunities through experiential learning programs, and fund healthy living programs.

Funds raised by the proceeds from the festival’s ticketed events benefit the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, which serves Franklin, Southampton County and beyond; The CROP Foundation, which creates opportunities for students in the culinary arts; and the T2 Fitness Foundation, which offers healthy cooking and healthy living programs.

“So the goals are all interconnected with healthy lifestyles, healthy eating and eradicating food insecurity in our community,” Rabil said.

He did not yet have an estimate on Tuesday, Oct. 8, of the amount of money raised by the festival, but he expressed confidence that it was a positive sum.

The organizations that put on the festival include Hubs Peanuts, of which Rabil is a co-owner; Commune Restaurant; River Road Farm; and The CROP Foundation, which is founded by Kip Poole, who recently opened a new restaurant in Virginia Beach called Yorkie’s Modern Deli.

“Goose Hill Farm was another addition this year from a venue standpoint, and they were extremely helpful,” Rabil said. “I want to give them the credit, because they hosted the event on Saturday night, and I think that was a highlight too.”

Reflecting on highlights of this year’s festival, he said, “I think the brunch is a highlight out at River Road Farm, it’s just such a special thing with all of the different food.”

Then he put a spotlight on two features that were unique to this year’s iteration of the festival.

On Friday at The Hubs Vine, Cathy Lewis, from HearSay on NPR, moderated a panel discussion of food historians, writers and farmers from Virginia that included Willard Johnson, Elisha Barnes, Ludford and George Birdsong.

Rabil praised the discussion for bringing an educational component to the festival.

And then on Saturday at Goose Hill Farm, “the bluegrass transition into a dance party in the corn maze was just a really fun celebration,” Rabil said. “We were in a corn maze during the harvest — that was so much fun. So I loved the balance of the educational piece with the big party in the maze. It just was kind of something for everyone.”