While it sounds like the majority of my time in the Village was spent eating, this was not the case. When I wasn’t busy stuffing my face with burritos and cider donuts, I took the time to explore the crafts and activities the HOMEGROWN Skills tent had to offer.
In the tent were people of all ages doing crafts, making signs with potato stamps, and learning all about the significance of growing your own food, and how you can do it too!
The first HOMEGROWN Skills share I sat in on was Pancakes 101 with Amy Halloran of Farm Scratch Club and Thor Oechsner of Oechsner Farms. There they told us the story behind the popular breakfast, how the grain is grown and milled on farms in New York and later ending up on our plates. After, I spoke with Katie from Saratoga, who was shocked by the pancake demonstration and said, “I had no idea that you could get grains from the Northeast. I totally thought they came from the Midwest!”
While all this was going on in the tent, I was also able to reap the benefits of live music by The Parlor and Will Dailey on the HOMEGROWN Stage the whole time! I must say, I have become one of Will Dailey’s newest and biggest fans since my time at Farm Aid. His sincerity, and interest in our mission is truly heartwarming, and not to mention his music is fun, catchy, and mellow all at the same time. I clearly wasn’t the only one to think so, as concertgoers danced their hearts out on the open lawn.
Later, I made my way back over to the Skills tent with the hopes of making a friendship bracelet out of llama wool. At Fiber 101, Linda Woods of Saratoga Llamas taught folks where wool comes from, and showed everyone a spinning demo, and how to make their own bracelets. Unfortunately, the event was such a hit that by the time I made it, there was no more llama wool left!
That pretty much sums up my time in the Village! Fortunately, I got to explore everything I wanted to before the lawn got too crazy, for it took little 5-foot me over an hour to push my way back down to the venue. Now back to the concert!
