Celebrate Food & Water First!
Latest forecast for Sunday, August 18th: PERFECT! 25 degrees & sunny!
The farmers, chefs, vendors, artists and musicians are getting ready, and we'd like you to meet some of them before August 18th.
Bring a water bottle or cup to the event. We'll have a Quench Buggy on site filled with fresh water!
Map to Honeywood arena.
Full event details.
MAKING HEADLINES!
The Creemore Echo has published a wonderful story about Celebrate Food & Water First! It includes a great photo of Bill Lishman in flight with his geese from years ago. Bill tells us he's added something special to his famous ultralight which we'll see as he zooms around Melancthon on Sunday! Heads up! This will be a treat.
http://www.thecreemoreecho.com/2013/08/celebrating-one-victory-and-setting-sights-on-another/
TERRA NOVA PUBLIC HOUSE
We'll definitely be saving room for the goodies prepared by Chef Malcolm Muth from the Terra Nova Public House. Crombie Station Farms Lamb Liver Pate over Fiddle Foot Farms Spicy Greens with Blue Springs Apiaries Honey Vinaigrette. That's a delicious mouthful of local food!
"When you live in a place like this, it's hard not to be an environmentalist," says Malcolm's sister, Anna, who also works at the Public House. "People want to know where their food comes from, and whether it has traveled 10,000 miles to get to them."
Malcolm has worked in several restaurants over the years, including Oliver & Bonancini, Mono Cliffs Inn and Hiding in Hockley. He now whips up great meals in the Public House which is nestled in the lovely hamlet of Terra Nova.
"You realize after living here for a while, that you're not in the middle of nowhere," says Anna. "You're in one of the most beautiful and productive areas in the country."
MONO CLIFFS INN
Delicious Venison sandwiches will be on the menu at the Mono Cliffs Inn booth! The Inn started out as a farm in the 1800s and became a general store in 1853. Carol and Michael Hall purchased it in 1984 and turned it into the popular restaurant it is today!
http://www.monocliffsinn.ca/
FOOD & WATER FIRST....AND ART!
Hop aboard a tractor-drawn wagon outside the Honeywood arena on Sunday and travel down a country lane to a stunning view. That's where you'll also find members of Artists Against the MegaQuarry -- painters and photographers! One of the artists is Peter Adams of Creemore. His works are well-known in the region for capturing our special landscape. Check out Peter's wonderful collection: http://www.peteradamsart.com/
Photographers have also played a huge role in the campaign to save precious farmland and water. Natalia Shields is certainly one of them! Her photo of a large tree standing guard over Melancthon potato fields is a favourite! Rural roots and a love of nature inspire much of her photography. "I like the viewer to consider the beauty of Ontario's farm country and its value to Canada's well-being," says Natalia.
Natalia will be staffing the art booth on Sunday.
http://nataliashieldsphotography.com/nataliashieldsphotography/Home.html
We're tending to the final details of Celebrate Food & Water First and getting terrific advance coverage. Dale Goldhawk interviewed Bill Lishman yesterday about his flight to Honeywood on Sunday. Bill was gracious and enthusiastic, as always, and praised the Food & Water First movement. His adventure will symbolically link some very special areas of the province where similar citizens' campaigns are trying to protect farmland, water and the environment. Bill will fly over the Pickering Lands and Oak Ridges Moraine on his way to Melancthon. Watch for his ultralight in the skies Sunday morning! Have a listen to his interview at this link.
http://www.zoomerradio.ca/uncategorized/podcast-goldhawk-fights-back/gfb-podcast-bill-lishman-august-14th-2013/
Dale Goldhawk will also be one of our special guests! He'll be speaking at noon on Sunday, along with Carl Cosack and Bill Lishman. You won't want to miss them.
Get your Farm On!
Thanks to Heidi from Smakk for writing this terrific blog about Celebrate Food & Water First. "We are clearly, in so many ways, disconnected from where and how our food is produced." We'll connect in Honeywood, for sure, thanks to the local food & products that will be available!
http://blog.smakk.ca/food-and-water-first/
Roseberry Farm
Celebrate Food & Water First is a BYOPF event. (Bring your own plate and fork!) Just like Foodstock and Soupstock, we're asking you to bring utensils to sample the goodies. You should also bring your sweet tooth! That's because Sarah Hallett of Roseberry Farm will be serving her famous scones, squares, cookies, tarts and more! She also makes gluten-free treats! Sarah settled in Mulmur in 2007 and named her farm after a beloved spot in her native England. We suspect her booth will be very popular! For a sneak peek, check out Sarah's website:
http://www.roseberryfarmcakes.com/Home/about-me
Super Scribe!
Our most prolific letter-writer is Christina Wigle and she's been published again! Please read Christina's latest letter-to-the-editor as she reminds us all that there's still much to be done to protect Ontario's prime farmland and water resources.
http://www.orangeville.com/opinion-story/4031408-better-legislation-needed-to-govern-quarries-letter-/
Thanks, Christina! Your passion and energy are a constant inspiration!
For those of you travelling from the city to Honeywood on Sunday, enjoy a spectacular drive by heading north on Airport Road to County Rd 21. Turn left and follow 21 to Honeywood. Unforgettable.
Detail from "Small Pond with Lilies" - Joan Folinsbee
We're counting down the days to Celebrate Food & Water First and are delighted with the line-up! Live music. Kids' activities. Plus 40 vendors - including chefs, local food producers and artists. When the Highland Companies applied for the Mega Quarry in 2011, Sandi Wong helped lead the charge against it armed with paint and palettes. She co-founded Artists Against the MegaQuarry, a collective of artists that held Paint-Ins and organized art exhibits in Honeywood and Toronto. This Sunday, artists will be painting on a ridge overlooking a stunning view. Take a free wagon ride from the Honeywood arena to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and see artists at their easels.
"Visit the Artists Against the MegaQuarry as they capture the vista saved from the Highland mega quarry," says Sandi. "And at the arena, you can purchase their visions of Food & Water First!"
GLOBE RESTAURANT
Start drooling! The chef at the Globe Restaurant in Rosemont, Beth Hunt, will be whipping up Summer Foccacia with roasted veggies and cheese, as well as fresh Peach and Wild Blueberry pies for Celebrate Food & Water First! This is a BYOPF (Bring Your Own Plate & Fork!) All food servings between $2 and $5!
MEN WITH KNIVES
We've certainly enjoyed the yummy dishes created by Men With Knives, and are delighted Julie and Gareth Carter are going to be cooking this Sunday! The Collingwood couple will be serving soft tacos stuffed with delicious fillings.
The Carters believe that at the heart of every family is a good meal, and it extends beyond sharing time with our loved ones.
"It also means a strong community of farmers and artisans. Protecting our farmland and water resources is not only important, it is imperative," says Gareth. "We can't let a good meal pass us by, in more ways than one."
Chef Adam Ryan - One99
Save room for dessert! Adam is the executive chef at One99 restaurant in Orangeville and he'll be serving yummy ice-cream made from local milk and topped with seasonal goodies. Adam also has this scoop of wisdom about the importance of preserving farmland and respecting those who grow our food. "We need to support our local farmers because if we don't, the land will be used for something else," he says. "And if we don't support our farmers, we will start seeing less of them. This isn't good for our community, our economy or consumers." Food for thought!
****THIS JUST IN **** Chef Adam Ryan from One99 in Orangeville will be making Grilled Corn Ice Cream with Candied Ginger and Tarragon!
Visit the One99 table at the Honeywood arena! www.One99.ca
Big Whisky
The hay wagon stage at Celebrate Food & Water First will be rockin' with performers...including the local band Big Whisky! (Love the red shades on the middle dude!) The group plays a range of music from A to Z -- the Allman Brothers to ZZ Top. Neil Banks Jr., Dan Paterson, Andrew McVeigh and Ian Stone of Big Whisky also have this big message about preserving farmland and water. "Remember, farms feed cities and water is life." That's music to our ears.
Digging Deeper
You can also Celebrate Food & Water First by lending your talents to a play about the fight to stop the Highland Mega Quarry. Local artists, dancers, musicians and writers are working on a community production of "Digging Deeper." You can contribute your own stories, dance moves or lyrics! Drop by the "Digging Deeper" tent next to the Honeywood arena.
The play will be performed in the fall of 2014 in Honeywood and then taken to other communities facing similar conflicts between agriculture and development. "Digging Deeper" is being produced by Everybody's Theatre Company and the Rural Learning Association. For more information, contact Dale. dale@hsfx.ca
LOOK UP!
What's that in the sky?! It's a very special guest flying to Celebrate Food & Water First! Bill Lishman - the man known as Father Goose -- will pilot his ultralight aircraft from the Pickering area to Honeywood on August 18th to show his support for our campaign. Bill is an artist and filmmaker. He's also the first human to fly in formation with birds. Yes, he's the adventurer who led geese on a migration route to the U-S, an incredible feat that inspired the film, Fly Away Home.
Over the past 40 years, Bill has also been trying to protect the Pickering Lands - 18,600 acres of Class 1 farmland north east of Toronto - from being turned into a new airport. The Food & Water First campaign has much in common with those trying to preserve the Pickering Lands. "The most precious thing we have is the land that sustains us," says Bill. "To permanently destroy prime growing land, for whatever cause, is tantamount to theft from our offspring."
Bill's flight will symbolically link our two communities. He's going to land his ultralight near Honeywood and share his thoughts on preserving farmland and water resources at noon in the Honeywood arena. Then, he'll lift off again to conduct a flypast over the farmland, forests and river valleys of the Hills of Headwaters. Notify the local geese!
JERSEY GIRLS!
Mooooovalous! That was our reaction when we learned Miller's Dairy of Creemore was going to bring its famous Jersey milk to Celebrate Food & Water First. Miller's Dairy milk is served in old-fashioned glass bottles and is hugely popular in Dufferin County. Once you taste it on August 18th, you'll know why! The Miller "girls" sure know how to produce great milk. (You MUST try the chocolate!)
As their business grows and thrives, the Millers recognize the importance of respecting the land and water around us.
"We are caretakers of our land. Our family farm is fifth generation and we have an obligation to see that future generations have farmland to grow their food and clean fresh water to raise their families with hope." We'll raise a glass of milk to that!
HARLAN PEPPER
We loved them at the Taters Not Craters dance in February and can't wait to hear them again August 18th. Come Celebrate Food & Water First with the band Harlan Pepper! Jimmy Hayes, Dan Edmonds, Thompson Wilson and Marlon Nicolle are returning to the Honeywood arena with their wonderful alternative country rock music. They've shared the stage with big talents, including the Arkells and Feist and now Harlan Pepper will take to our hay wagon stage! Here's one of our favourite songs: Great Lakes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLTj7vRj3NY
Celebrate Food & Water First starts at 11am and runs until 3pm on Sunday, August 18th! $5 admission. Kids 5 and under are free!
See you there!
Donna T.
Food and Water First
Food Water First