The 14th Annual Harvest Fest is taking on a different twist this year.
The celebration will be spread out over two days Saturday. September 24, and Sunday, September 25.
North Royalton residents are being encouraged to check out and support what Mayor Bob Stefanik is calling the “hidden gems” of the city. Those “hidden gems” making up the farm tour are the local farms/farmers markets that bring fresh fruits and vegetables from their fields to your kitchen table.
The six are Royalton Farms, Heavenly Hill Farm, Purple Skies Farm, Cossel Farms, Grace Brothers and Romano’s Farmers Market and Deli.
Check out the map on these pages for the location of these hidden gems and their hours of operation.
City officials are hoping you’ll visit these farms and farmers markets in the morning and early afternoon hours of Saturday, September 24. To wrap up the “tour” of Royalton’s hidden gems, residents are invited to attend a free concert on the City Green between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. with the ever-popular band “Eddie and the Edsels.” The concert is sponsored by the North Royalton Chamber of Commerce and the Royalton Recorder, as part of the Recorder’s 75th anniversary of serving our community with all its local news. Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the concert.
On Sunday, September 25, the 14th annual Harvest Fest will take place on the City Green between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. It will be held rain or shine. Admission and parking are free.
“The event is really designed for families with younger children,” said Camille Price, a member of the Holiday Lighting Committee. “There’s plenty to do for youngsters, parents and grandparents.”
Money raised from the Harvest Fest will be used to insure that holiday lighting displays will grace North Royalton municipal buildings. “The dollars raised will be used to replace the broken and burned out lights on the displays and make any necessary repairs,” said Price.
The Holiday Lighting Committee also sponsors the annual Lighting Ceremony and Parade which is scheduled for Sunday, November 27.
Non-profit groups and service clubs in North Royalton joined forces 14 years ago to make the Harvest Fest a reality. Among those groups are the Rotary Club of North Royalton-Broadview Heights, the Garden Club, The Royalton Hills Lions Club, the Tractor Club, the North Royalton Lions Club and the 4-H Homesteaders.
Bring your appetite with you when you come to the Harvest Festival. Among some of the items on the menu is homemade bakery, kielbasa and sauerkraut, the North Royalton Fire Department’s famous chili, cabbage and noodles, corn on the cob, and pizza.
The City of North Royalton will be well represented at the Harvest Fest by City Council President Larry Antoskiewicz and Council members, who will man the grill to cook up their specialty, a fried bologna sandwich.
Another highlight of the Harvest Fest is the “Do Do Drop.” At the end of the day’s events, spectators gather around a 40 x 60-foot fenced-in area waiting for a cow to do its “business.” If you can pick the lucky square on the “checkerboard” when nature calls for the cow, you could win a cash prize.
There will be a maze set up, a balloon artist from noon to 2 p.m., a petting zoo and a place where youngsters can decorate pumpkins.
Sound like Fun? Join us for the two-day Harvest Festival on the City Green and throughout North Royalton.

Tour these North Royalton farms this Saturday:

Cossel Farms
Long-time North Royalton residents may remember where Cossel Farms first started to sell their produce. “We would pick sweet corn and other vegetables and sell it in the front yard of my parents’ house on Royalwood,” said John Cossel.
That was back in the 1970s, 40-plus years ago. The produce was laid out on a picnic table. You could say it was the Original Farmers Market in North Royalton.
Have times changed.
Today, Cossel Farms has its store located at the corner of Bennett and York Roads. While their location has changed, what hasn’t changed is the fesh sweet corn and vegetables that customers can purchase. Brown eggs are also available.
Their farms are located in Hinckley and Granger Townships in Medina County.
Besides mouthwatering sweet corn, Cossel Farms offers a number of other products, including mulch, topsoil products and firewood. Home delivery of those products is quick.
The bricks-and-mortar store is located at 15981 York Road. You can reach them at 440-237-8565, or you can check out their Facebook page at Cossel Farms. You can also visit their Web Page at www.cosselfarms.com.
If you visit local Farmers Markets in Strongsville, Hinckley, Richfield, Twinsburg and Parma (to name a few), you’ll see the Cossel Farms’ tent. The York Road store is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Grace Brothers
On Friday afternoons during the late spring and summer months, the Grace Brothers location at 12905 Ridge Road is crowded with North Royalton residents who are involved with their CSA Program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture program.
Kevin Grace says, “Every Friday since mid-June, residents come here and get a share of produce. It’s dependent upon the size of their family, from singles to a family with four or five kids.”
This is the fourth year that Grace Brothers has had their Community Supported Agriculture program. “We have gotten a really good response to the program. We support the farmers that are in Hinckley and other local areas.”
There are more unique aspects to the CSA Program. “What the families don’t know is what type of produce they are getting. It’s like Christmas Day for the families. Early in the season it was garlic, it was watermelon during melon season. Now it’s other vegetables.”
Talk about fresh, all produce that is available on Fridays through the CSA program is picked within 24 hours of delivery. In promoting the CSA program, Grace Brothers stated, “Live Local, Eat Local, Be Local.”
Grace says they have diversified over the last few years. “We carry a lot of feed: bird seed, corn, chicken feed even horse feed, and we have a lot of fresh eggs.”
Grace Brothers still has a lot of trees, shrubs, mulch and soil at their North Royalton location.
Grace Brothers has been in North Royalton since 2001 and has six acres of land.  They are open Saturday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  They also have a location in Cleveland at 1907 West 65 Street.  For more information, go to their web site at www.gracebrosnursery.com or call 440-237-2577.

Heavenly Hill Farm
Located at 18373 State Road in North Royalton, Heavenly Hill Farm has an orchard with trees that grow 20 different varieties of apples. Plus, the Farm has types of fresh produce, including sweet corn and tomatoes. To top it off, the Farm has an area for children’s birthday parties, hayrides and other celebrations.
Heavenly Hill has another unique aspect for its customers. Owners Mark and Cindy Ellis will allow you to go out into the orchard and pick your own apples. “If we go out into the orchard and pick an apple with a blemish on it, the customer will not buy it. But, if a customer picks an apple with a blemish, they may buy it,” said Cindy.
If you want to buy apples from inside their market store, you may. They also have a honeycomb farm area that produces honey which is available for purchase.
Heavenly Hill is currently booking group and party events until October 31. The price for a full package is $5 for adults and $8 for children. Included in the package is a scenic hayride, a treasure hunt, a walk through a corn maze, time in the “school bus bounce house.” Plus, you can pick any five apples from the orchard.
Heavenly Hill can handle groups as large as 125 people. Their party room, located across from the market store, is available for rental and seats up to 50.
Heavenly Hill Farm is open from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday. You can visit their Facebook Page @HeavenlyHillFarm. Their phone number is 440-237-8708. If you would like more information you can e-mail the Farm at cellis2928@gmail.com.

Purple Skies Farm
Purple Skies Farm, located at the apex of the curve on State Road (18802 State Road is the exact address), is the “newest farm” in North Royalton.
David Duane and his wife Visar started their 19-plus-acre farm six years ago. Starting a farm is not easy. Both Duane and his wife have full-time jobs and work the land in their “spare” time.
But, Visar says they have gotten a lot of help. “Family members and friends help us. The Farm Bureau has been a big help in getting us the equipment that we need.”
The name Purple Skies Farm came from a comment made by their daughter. “She looked at the west horizon on a cool evening and remarked how the sky looked purple,” said Visar.
There are a number of crops that are specialties at Purple Skies Farm, like red raspberries and carrots. “The raspberries have a sweet taste. The carrots we grow are from seed. They also have a sweet taste.” Other crops grown on Purple Skies farm include asparagus, beets, green beans, lettuce and sweet corn.
During the fall, Purple Skies Farm will plant cereal rye in one of their fields. “We found a buyer for it. It has a better market than barley.”
Among all that is going on at the farm, Visar has a chicken coop filled with 22 hens. All of the chickens eat organic feed. In fact, the fertilizer that Purple Skies uses is organic approved.
During the week, Purple Skies Farm is opened from 6 p.m. till dark. On the weekend, their market is open from 10 a.m. till dark.
Visar says, “If you looking for fresh carrots and beets for Thanksgiving dinner, be sure to come to Purple Skies Farm.”

Romano’s Farmers Market and Deli
Frank Romano knows fresh foods and fresh produce. He started working for his parents at the West Side Market in Cleveland at the age of 10 where he learned how to pick the best produce for the best price. At the age of 20, Frank went into business at the West Side Market for himself. In 2006, Frank opened Romano’s Farmers Market and Deli at 8875 Ridge Road in North Royalton.
It’s Frank’s experience that brings freshest foods to the store.
“I pick out the produce daily. And we have a quick turnover in our deli so everything is fresh all the time.”
“Our customers appreciate that we support farming, especially local farmers. Farming is a tough business especially in Ohio because it’s such a short growing season. We support farmers as much as we can,” said Romano. “At this time of year it’s local produce. We get a lot from Amish Country, East, West and Southern Ohio. When crops are out of season, we reach out to California, Florida and Georgia to get the freshest produce we can.”
Romano said, “We have a lot of North Royalton customers and customers from nearby communities like Parma, Hinckley and Broadview Heights. I think people appreciate fresh foods and fresh produce in general.”
Romano’s motto is “Old-Fashioned Service with Courtesy and Kindness.”
Romano’s is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Here’s a hint, their busiest days are Saturday and Sunday. You can check their website at www.romanosfreshmarket.com, you call them at 440-237-7888.

Royalton Farms
Royalton Farms grows 15 varieties of apples on seven acres of land located near the intersection of State Road and the Metro Parkway. The exact address is 16393 State Road.
Among the 15 varieties of apples are Prima, Ozark Gold, Gala, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Cortland, Jonagold, Fuji, Red Delicious, Empire, Golden Delicious, Mutzu, Melrose and Winesap.
Besides the apple trees, the remaining 48 acres of land consists of one-and-a-quarter acres of landscaping nursery stock, their market barn, and their apple processing barn, which includes their very own cider mill. In fact, Royalton Farms has the only operating cider press in Cuyahoga County. Talk about fresh apple cider, from the orchard to your kitchen table, and the cider press is in operation now.
Owner Bruce Grayson says that their market barn is open during the months of September, October and November or “until our supply of apples is gone.”
This year has been tough for apple growers for a couple of reasons. “First, the lack of rainfall in our area has caused the apples to be smaller than in the past; that means less juice. Secondly, there has been so much heat that there is rot in the orchard, especially on the tops of the trees.” said Bruce. “Last year was one of our best ever.”
Royalton Farms also carries pumpkins, cornstalks, fruit butters, baking mixes, honey and more.
The market barn at Royalton Farms is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. They are closed on Monday. In the month of November, their hours change to 12 noon to 5 p.m.
There are about 1,000 fruit trees on site. Bruce says he plans to plant more in the very near future.
For more information, check out their Facebook page @RoyaltonFarms or call them at 440-759-5607.

By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer