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Food for Thought
Festival 2003
Fifth Annual Food For Thought Festival Celebrates the Bounty in Our Backyard Madison - "Madison has become to sustainable food initiatives what Austin, Texas, is to Western music: a thriving center of innovation," says Gary Paul Nabhan, the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Food for Thought Festival taking place on September 19 and 20. Madison will be showing off its culinary promise at this year's festival, which is themed "Coming Home to Eat: The Bounty In Our Backyard." It's a celebration of the many opportunities we have in Wisconsin to eat pleasurably, healthfully and sustainably. Guest speaker Professor Nabhan, director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, will share his passion for sustainable agriculture and knowledge of regional food systems. Joining him will be Lucia Watson, owner of Lucia's Restaurant in Minneapolis and co-author of "Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland." Ms. Watson is dedicated to serving fresh, locally grown food at her award-winning restaurant and is an advocate for celebrating the unique flavors of the Upper Midwest. Saturday's events, from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. just off the Capitol Square, will include Nabhan's keynote speech, a cooking demonstration by Chef Watson and booksigning by both guests. Other highlights include kids' activities, musicians, vendors and exibitors, a street theater performance, the Jolly Giants stilt walkers, recipe contest awards and much more. On Friday evening, Nabhan will give a lecture titled "Coming Home to Eat; Foodsheds and the Bounty in our Backyard." at 7:30 p.m. at Bascom Hall on the UW-Madison campus. A panel discussion will follow, with panelists Lucia Watson and local organic farmer Barbara Perkins of Vermont Valley Community Farm. UW professor Jerry Kaufman from the Urban and Regional Planning department will moderate the discussion. All festival events are free and open to the public. "What started out as an occasion to bring attention to local food initiatives is well on its way to becoming a Madison tradition" says festival co-chair Miriam Grunes. The first festival was held in 1998 and has continued to grow in popularity each year. "We have more booths and exhibitors this year than ever before, the festival is really taking on a life of its own," says Grunes. The annual festival is hosted by R.E.A.P. Food Group, a local nonprofit dedicated to promoting the development of an environmentally sustainable, economically just, and healthful food system in and around Madison. Celebrity guests from past festivals include Rick Bayless, owner of Frontera Grill in Chicago, Alice Waters owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and Francis Moore Lappe, author of "Diet for a Small Planet." This year's featured guests will continue the tradition of bringing recognized experts on food and food systems to Madison. "Both Professor Nabhan and Lucia Watson are important voices for the growing movement to encourage people to eat from their local foodshed," said Grunes. Nabhan spent one year during which all of the food he ate came from within 250 miles of his home in Flagstaff, Arizona. He writes of his experiences in "Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods." In addition to running a restaurant that focuses on seasonal and local food, Ms. Watson serves as Board Chair for Youth Farm and Market Project, a gardening project that teaches inner city kids about food, soil and work. Nabhan and Watson will be signing copies of their respective books from 11:00 - 12:00 on Saturday. Nabhan will deliver a keynote address at 10:15 and Watson will conduct a cooking demonstration at 11:00. Other attractions include the festive world-beat percussion band Handphibians and Irish band Leahy's Luck. The core of the festival will be the 50 plus booths with information, demonstrations, food and much more. Those attending the festival will have the chance to- try unusual foods (including huitlacoche or corn smut - a traditional food in Central America), wrangle chickens at the children's tent, and receive an organic facial! One of the most looked-forward-to traditions at the festival will be the announcement of this year's "Coming Home to Eat" recipe contest winners. Contest entries were required to feature regional produce and products. There were over 200 entries in the contest and word is out that there are some very tasty recipes. There will be a preparation demonstration of one of the entries and the grand prizewinner will receive a $1000 culinary vacation. Gardeners in and near Madison can participate in the festival by sharing their extra garden produce with people in need. Festival organizers are working with Community Action Coalition to encourage local gardeners to bring their extra produce to the Festival. CAC's refrigerated truck will be there to take donations to soup kitchens and food pantries in Dane County. "Wisconsin has a unique and rich legacy of farming and food production. This year's festival honors that tradition and will hopefully raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities we have to ensure that everyone can share in the bounty," Grunes said. The festival is made possible by the generous support of organizations including Madison Gas and Electric, Williamson Street Grocery Cooperative, UW Lectures Committee, Dane County Farmer's Market, Johnson Block & Co., MATC Culinary Arts Dept., MACSAC, UW Dept of Geography, UW Dept of Rural Sociology, UW CALS School of Natural Resources, F.H. King Students of Sustainble Agriculture, UW Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, UW Steenbock Library, L'Etoile Restaurant, Roden Creative, Organic Valley Family of Farms, Isthmus, The Clay-Price Fund, WisconsinCooks.org, Prarie Dock Farm, Seed Savers Exchange, Deertail Creek and the Madison Herb Society. For more festival information and the latest listing of activities, locations and times, please see the festival web site. You may also contact: Erin Oliver at eoliver@biodiverse.org or 608-335-4445 Miriam Grunes at info@reapfoodgroup.org or 608-294-1114 ###
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