Submitted by Susan Hinchcliffe, Secretary of the Kiwanis Club of Corrales
The Harvest Festival is Cosponsored by the Village of Corrales and the Kiwanis Club of Corrales Foundation. It is a celebration of all that is Corrales. The event honors all that is Corrales agriculture, arts and our cultural history. The two-day event is a collaborative effort of many of the organizations that make Corrales so special, the Tractor Club, CHAMP, Corrales Historical Society, Mainstreet, Corrales Society of Artists and others. Members of these organizations and the Kiwanis Club literally commit hundreds of hours to these two special days every year. Although the Kiwanians have led the Harvest Festival since 2009, the event is truly a village-wide celebration of Corrales.
Several in the Village are very vocal about the inconvenience of closing of Corrales Road for nine hours on the last two weekend days in September. However, the tractor-pulled hay wagons, the farm tours, the pie walk, and the hootenanny are all reminders of our community roots and heritage.
The proceeds from the sale of entry wristbands support many community organizations and allow the Kiwanis Club to take 30 underprivileged children to camp every summer. The Pet Mayor election supports our Village Animal Services.
Over the years, Harvest Festival earnings have funded more than $250,000 in grants to support local organizations such as 4-H, Music in Schools, and Loving Thunder. Harvest Festival earnings have also helped fund the DARE Program, the Storybook Garden at the Corrales Library, and an assistant librarian at Corrales Elementary School.
It is important for Village leaders and all Corralenos to recognize the importance of the Harvest Festival. It is a community-wide collaboration celebrating Corrales, our past, our heritage, our diversity, and the many attributes that make Corrales so wonderfully special. We as Kiwanians are proud of the leadership we have provided, proud of our collaborative partner organizations and proud of the good that we have done for the Village we all love.