Rum, cowboy boots and sugarcane javelin – Husk Rum Harvest Fest is back

Dust off the cowboy boots and start working on your throwing arm. Once a year, at the height of sugarcane season, Husk Farm Distillery throws open its gates for a celebration that sits somewhere between a country fair, a rum festival and a very good excuse to spend a spring weekend in the Tweed. This October, Husk Rum Harvest Fest returns for its fourth instalment and, after welcoming 1200 people last year, it’s gearing up to go even bigger.

Happening across Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18, the two-day festival is a celebration of the 160 years of sugarcane farming that sits behind every bottle of Husk Rum. For Husk, one of only a handful of true farm-to-bottle distilleries in the world, that connection is particularly literal – the family-owned distillery grows its sugarcane on the North Tumbulgum property before turning it into rum right there on the banks of the Tweed River.

Naturally, there will be plenty to drink. Fresh sugarcane will be pressed throughout the weekend, while free rum tastings, masterclasses and rolling distillery tours offer a closer look at how it goes from paddock to glass. The Husk bar team is also dialling up the theatrics across two pop-up bars with four signature cocktails featuring flaming garnishes, smoke, hand-pressed ice and whipped cold foam.

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When you need something substantial between cocktails, the fires will be roaring for a low-and-slow barbecue menu, alongside the new Husk Harvest Deli showcasing regional producers. Berry Babe will be on hand with real fruit ice-cream for something sweet, while a new pop-up market will bring the likes of Will & Bear and Strange Days to the farm.

Then things get a little less conventional.

Saturday sees the return of the fan-favourite sugarcane javelin, which is exactly what it sounds like, while the Cowboy Catwalk will run across both days with prizes for the festival’s best-dressed ringers. Consider this your official permission to go unnecessarily hard on cowboy core in all its boot-scootin’, hat-tipping glory.

Live bands will soundtrack the weekend, and little festival-goers are very much invited along for the ride. There’ll be a hay maze, cow feeding and face painting, with under-18s admitted free.

This year’s Husk Rum Harvest Fest will also give something back to the farming community it celebrates. For the first time, Husk is partnering with Rural Aid, with $2 from every cocktail sold donated to the charity alongside funds raised through a good old-fashioned Chook Raffle. Rural Aid provides support to farmers and their families during times of hardship.

“Harvest Fest is a really special weekend for us,” says Husk Rum co-founder Harriet Messenger. “It’s our chance to celebrate the land, the farmers and 160 years of sugarcane farming in the Tweed Valley.”

Husk Rum Harvest Fest Vol. 4 takes over Husk Farm Distillery in North Tumbulgum from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturday October 17 and 11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Sunday October 18. Tickets are $20 for adults and include a Husk Rum and freshly pressed cane juice on arrival, free tastings and access to all masterclasses. Under-18s are free, although they’ll still need a ticket.

Grab tickets to Husk Rum Harvest Fest here.