Southside Community Harvest Fest dates announced

Unincorporated, three churches, a post office and an elementary school. Nine hundred and eighty-five residents, according to Wikipedia.

Good fishing, old ice house, lots of trains, vacation homes.

New additions: Only Local store and Barn Again event venue

However, this tiny burg also has its own annual festival.

This year’s Southside Community Harvest Festival will take place later this month. A dance is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25; and the harvest festival itself from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Both events will take place at Southside Community Church, 251 Cocolalla Loop.

The Southside Community Harvest Festival was held for the first time last October at Southside Community Church and Cocolalla Lake Bible Camp on the north side of Cocolalla Loop Road. The goal of the event is to create opportunities for residents to interact and get to know their community, River Clemens, the festival director, said in a press release.

“Cocolalla doesn’t have a lot of places for people who live here to meet up,” Clemens said. “I see my neighbor at the grocery store in Sandpoint more often than I see them in person.”

The church wanted to help meet the need it perceived in the community: the human need for connection and belonging. The event also provides economic opportunities for local artisans and small businesses, and helps raise awareness of community resources and organizations.

The festival will offers musical performances from locals, including a recital by dancers at Heather’s Dance Studio; free activities for kids, including a bounce castle, mini golf, face painting and a craft area; local food and craft vendors; displays by community organizations serving Bonner County; and an open house at Cocolalla Lake Bible Camp. The event is co-sponsored by the Cocolalla Lake Association.

“The Southside Community Church Women’s Ministry group held annual Christmas craft fairs at the Ponderay Events Center going back to 2014, so we have some experience, but we are definitely learning as we go. This year we decided to move the date later in October to make it easier for Sandpoint Farmer’s Market vendors to participate, but we haven’t actually had any join us yet, so maybe we should have stuck with the earlier weekend,” said Clemens. “There are a lot of factors to consider and we are still figuring out the best way to do things.”

The festival got a big boost its first year from a $5,000 grant provided by TransCanada Pipeline’s Community Investment foundation.

“We are using it to fund our first five years at $1,000 each. It has made it much easier for us to advertise and to pay for items like banners and signs that can be reused long into the future.”

Clemens hopes to eventually form a 501c(3) non-profit organization, allowing tax-deductible donations to help sustain the event after the grant runs out.

The event still has a few spaces for vendors who want to participate, and volunteers are needed. For more information, contact River Clemens at [email protected] or PM the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cocolallaHarvest.