By Brian Lawrence
For decades, the Creston Valley has been well known for its agricultural richness, and with good reason. From cherries to pumpkins to wine, it’s all grown right here, where mild winters, warm, wet springs, and hot, sunny summers create ideal conditions for produce to thrive in one of the warmest areas of British Columbia!
Thanks to its wonderful climate, the verdant Creston area was home to the Yaqan Nukiy-Ktunaxa for millennia, as they gathered berries, wild rice and roots to supplement their main diet of deer, fish and waterfowl. After settlers began arriving in the late 1800s and then dyked the Kootenay River, reducing seasonal flooding and creating vast amounts of new farmland, the area’s agriculture potential expanded, leading to the endless fields, farms, orchards, and vineyards that one sees in Creston today. It’s no wonder that it’s still celebrated every September at the Creston Valley Fall Fair, running now for more than 100 years!
Read on to learn more about Creston’s growing and harvest seasons, when your favourite fresh produce is ripe for the picking, where you can find it and other famous food stuffs you may want to pick up and on you next visit!
Your Harvest Guide For Fruits and Vegetables
Local produce is available year-round, thank to the many industrious famers who store veggies in root cellars or who preserve fruit by canning or freeze drying. But fresh-picked produce has its own schedule, so here’s a brief overview!
Early Summer Harvest
The incredible harvest starts in the late spring & early summer from May to June, with early veggies including rhubarb, lettuce, spinach and peas, and berries including strawberries and saskatoons. Asparagus grown at Sutcliffe Farms, B.C.’s largest producer with 100 acres, definitely shouldn’t be missed — but the mid-May to June season is short, so don’t miss a chance to visit their on-farm shop to buy asparagus that may have been picked just minutes earlier!
Late Summer Harvest
Production is in high gear from July through September, with some of the most famous fruits—such as cherries, peaches, apricots, and plums—weighing down branches in orchards starting in July, and fields filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers. Berries too—raspberries, blueberries, blackberries—should also be on any fresh fruit shopping list! Unfortunately, a winter cold snap destroyed nearly all of the 2024 soft and stone fruit crops, so locally grown fruits may not be available this year. However, some farmers have brought in produce from other parts of B.C., meaning a fruit-buying trip to Creston won’t be in vain!
Fall Harvest
The harvest doesn’t stop as the weather turns cooler! In October and November, apples, pears, grapes and other late-season fruits join squash and pumpkins, and carrots, potatoes, beets and other root vegetables — key ingredients for so many tasty comfort foods! Winter harvest and storage crops, such as kale, Brussels sprout and winter squash, follow.
For a better idea of when your favourite produce is available, be sure to check out the Harvest Chart on our Fruit & Farm Map for more details!
Straight from the Source - Where to Find Fresh Produce
It isn’t hard to find local products, both fresh and value-added around Creston, from the popular farmers' market to to fruit stands and farm stores. Heck, even our local grocery stores stock their shelves with lots of local goods!
Of course, a key venue for fresh fruit, vegetables and more is the Creston Valley Farmers’ Market, held Saturday mornings from May through September in downtown Creston at Market Park, just beside the Visitor Centre, which was designed by the Town specifically to house the outdoor market. In the fall, the market then moves to the Creston and District Community Complex, where it runs weekly through December, and then monthly in winter and early spring.
Alternatively, why not pick up produce up directly from the source, with many orchards and farms operating their own fruit stands and farm stores? The hotspot for these is in Erickson and includes Wloka Farms Fruit Stand, Creston Fruit Market, Faraman Farm, Marar Orchards, J&B Smagh Fruit Stand and Flamenco Farms. Lister’s Blueberry Patch cultivates berries without pesticides — and then turns them into amazing pies for sale at their farm!
Again for a fuller list of places to explore download a copy of our Food & Farm Map below:
Locally Made - Beyond Fruits and Vegetables
There’s so much more to Creston Valley food than it's local fruit and veggies though, with a number of well loved products sourced from or made in the Creston Valley!
Visit Swan Valley Honey’s onsite farm shop to try their award-winning terroir-based niche honeys, which recently earned top awards at both the North American Honey Show and the American Honey Show! Don’t miss the organic cheese and milk (even chocolate!) at the Kootenay Meadows Farm shop, where you can learn about their dairy farm, products and even peek inside the barn to meet the cows! Local meat is also on the menu, with beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb and rabbit available from several producers and available at local butchers like Famous Fritz Deli and Bindoya Meats & Treats.
Creston's bounty has also spurred the growth of it's local wineries, distilleries and breweries, each one worth a visit! Why not enjoy a tasting or grab a bottle of red or white wine at the Baillie-Grohman, Skimmerhorn, Red Bird and Wynnwood Cellars estate wineries? Wild North Brewing Co. crafts a wide range of locally brewed beers (light to dark to fruity) that can be sampled in their tasting room, and the nearby Sternwheeler Craft Distillery produces gin, vodka and other spirits flavoured with local fruits. Finally, William Tell Family Estate makes apple and pears ciders, and also vinegars and spreads, made with their own fruit!
Celebrate The Harvest at Creston Valley's Fall Fair
If you're planning a trip to the Creston Valley in early September, you're also in for a treat! The Creston Valley Fall Fair, a beloved tradition for over 100 years, takes place on the first weekend of September.
This year, the festivities are set for Friday, Sept. 6th and Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Creston Flats Stables. The fair is a celebration of the region's rich agricultural heritage, where you'll find an impressive display of locally grown produce and homemade goodies, all competing for the coveted first-place ribbons. From crisp apples to mouthwatering cherry pies and gigantic pumpkins, there's no shortage of incredible entries to admire.
But the fun doesn't stop there! The Fair is packed with activities that will delight visitors of all ages. Watch the excitement of the kids' tractor pull, the Farmers' Olympics, or maybe even join the watermelon-eating competition! the Fair culminates with the Harvest Dinner on Saturday night, where you'll enjoy a fantastic meal made with ingredients from over 20 local suppliers as well as live music and a barn dance that will have you kicking up your heels. Yeehaw!
Savour the Flavours — and Have Some Fun
It’s one adventure after another while enjoying food- and farm-related experiences in the Creston Valley, but there’s much more to the area than just farms and food during the harvest season. Once you've stocked up on fresh goodies you might want to do some exploring around the area.
For some more inspiration check out the rest of our website. From hiking to golfing, the Recreation section of our website offers many ideas, or visit the Shops & Artisans section to learn more about our quaint local boutiques and shops in the area. Looking for some other events happening in the area? Check out our Event Calendar for the latest list of upcoming events. And for other ideas and inspiration for things to do and places to visit, be sure to read the rest of our Get Inspired Blog!
Until next time, enjoy the flavours of the Creston Valley!
Freelance writer Brian Lawrence is a former editor and publisher of the Creston Valley Advance. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and trail running, and acting in and directing productions with Creston's Footlighters Theatre Society.
