FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 16, 2021
CONTACT:
Brittany Vanderpool
202–248–5487
bvanderpool@vancomm.com
Farm Aid 2021: What to Expect
All-day music and food festival highlights local farms, businesses and organizations
HARTFORD, Conn. — Farm Aid 2021, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 25, at Xfinity Theatre, will gather an all-star music lineup of artists, all donating their performances in support of family farmers and good food. But organizers say there’s even more to enjoy at the day-long festival.
Farm Aid’s Associate Director Glenda Yoder says the staff of Legends Hospitality, Live Nation and Xfinity Theatre collaborated with Farm Aid as it engaged the regional farm and food community to curate an unforgettable and meaningful day for festivalgoers.
“We’re grateful to farmers, food businesses and organizations from New England and across the country who have contributed to Farm Aid 2021 as suppliers, sponsors, donors, culinary staff, spokespeople, volunteers and HOMEGROWN Village exhibitors,” said Yoder. “We hope that the day’s HOMEGROWN experiences spark curiosity and that the fresh, delicious food will enhance loyalty and appreciation for our farmers.”
Information about the Farm Aid 2021 festival:
- Farm Aid’s trademarked HOMEGROWN Concessions® will serve food with ingredients that are produced by family farmers who utilize ecological practices and are paid a fair price for their products. Legends Hospitality, local community vendors and Farm Aid’s perennial food suppliers will serve menu items showcasing Connecticut and the region’s outstanding farms. Farm Aid’s Culinary Director Sonya Dagovitz and Legends Hospitality sourced and created menu items that include local fish, crispy oyster tostadas, hot dogs and sausages from Meatworks of southern New England, roasted brussels sprouts, beet sandwiches and portobello burgers, grass-fed beef burgers, stuffed sweet potatoes with local smoked beef brisket, pretzels made with organic flour, grains, beans and greens bowls, plank fries and chicken tenders with homemade sauces and much more. Vendors will bring local flavors, including Soul de Cuba Café, Whey Station, Villa of Lebanon, DORO Restaurant Group, Maple Valley Creamery and Ben & Jerry’s. Farm Aid’s perennial vendors include Corndog, Inc., Patchwork Family Farms and Lone Cedar Café. Menu items feature local fresh produce and cheeses.
- Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Youthmarket will be staffed by young people selling fresh, seasonal Eco-certified fruit from Rogers Orchards. The youth organizations include New Britain ROOTS, The Grange and Hartford County 4-H Extension.
- Parkhurst Dining Services provides HOMEGROWN Catering for artists, crew and VIP guests. Many ingredients are sourced from local farms including, Howling Flats Farm, Arethusa Farm Dairy, Red’s Best and Sardilli Produce. Generous donors include Cooks Venture, e. pryor chocolate, Grandy Oats, Local Hive Honey, Lundberg Family Farms, Maple Valley Creamery, Oatly, Open Water, Organic Prairie, Paper Products Company, Inc., Patchwork Family Farms, Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, Rotella’s Italian Bakery, Spindrift, Maple Craft Foods and others. Hartford’s SWIFT Factory kitchen will be utilized for advance preparation. Ace Endico donated a reefer truck for onsite storage.
- Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Concessions® food service promotes a zero-waste protocol; all service ware is compostable. Blue Earth Compost from Hartford, Connecticut, will haul service ware and food scraps to create compost that will sustain soil and future crops.
- Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Village (12 to 5 p.m.) will feature hands-on activities to celebrate the culture of agriculture and give festivalgoers a chance to meet farmers and learn how farmers enrich our soil, protect our water, grow our economy and bring us good food for good health. Local and national organizations will participate, and festivalgoers can learn about gleaning and re-localizing food systems in the United States to prevent avoidable food waste; discover Connecticut local farms, markets and farm products, and even get matched with a local farm; test their food and farm knowledge in a game while learning about the danger of corporate consolidation; question the host in a game of Jeopardy and more.
- On the FarmYard Stage, farmers and artists will discuss pressing issues and share inspiring stories showcasing food and farming in the region and across the country.
- In the HOMEGROWN Skills Tent, festivalgoers can watch a lacto-fermentation demonstration to learn an economical and easy (and tasty!) way to preserve some of those bumper crops farmers and gardeners often have, or learn about growing hops and foraging plants and fungi from around the neighborhood.
- Culinary students from Manchester Community College will be baking desserts for HOMEGROWN Catering and volunteering their skills on-site as part of the Farm Aid Culinary Student Initiative. Since 2012, Farm Aid has provided a rare opportunity for young culinary students to experience a hands-on, professional, catered food service using family farmed fresh foods.
- HOMEGROWN Catering in the VIP area will include presentations from Daniel Meiser of Oyster Club in Mystic, Jesus Puerto and Michael Iamele of Soul de Cuba Café in New Haven, and Rosemary Ostfeld of Healthy PlanEat in East Lyme.
- Connecticut Foodshare will pick up and distribute foodstuffs after the event to ensure that food is not wasted.
- Flowers, straw bales and pumpkin décor will be sourced from local farmers including Old Maids Farm, Townline Farm, Daffodil Hill Growers, Honey Meadows Farm, Cohen Farm and Botticello Farms.
- Farm Aid’s merchandise will feature T-shirts made with organic cotton, screen-printed at longtime partner and union shop Mirror Image in Rhode Island.
- Farm Aid’s annual online memorabilia auction launches the day of the festival. Collectors will have a chance to bid on rare and unique items, including a number of incredible guitars from Gibson and Epiphone, posters, books, albums and other memorabilia signed by artists at the festival. The auction will go live at www.farmaid.org/auction on Saturday, Sept. 25, and close on Friday, Oct. 8, and all proceeds from the sale of items go to support the organization.
Additional Farm Aid 2021 details for festivalgoers and fans tuning in at home:
- Farm Aid 2021 will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), and Margo Price, as well as Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Bettye LaVette, Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Particle Kid, Ian Mellencamp and Wisdom Indian Dancers. All the artists donate their performances and travel expenses.
- Circle Network will begin livestreaming Farm Aid 2021 at 2 p.m. ET on Circle All Access’ Facebook page, with a live, on-air broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. ET. To find Circle in your area, visit www.circleallaccess.com/watch-circle. The Farm Aid 2021 webcast at www.farmaid.org will begin at 2 p.m. ET.
- Beginning at 12 p.m. ET, SiriusXM subscribers will be able to listen to Farm Aid 2021 live on SiriusXM’s Willie’s Roadhouse (channel 59) and Dave Matthews Band Radio (channel 30) via SiriusXM radios and on the SXM App.
The Farm Aid official festival app is available for iPhone and Android devices. It allows users to view the entire Farm Aid 2021 schedule and select artists, workshops and artist briefings to make their own personal schedule for the day. Users can find out where they’re going with the festival map, check out the HOMEGROWN Concessions® food and drink offerings, read about the hands-on activities in the HOMEGROWN Village, and learn about Farm Aid’s Farmer Heroes.
All attendees of Farm Aid 2021 are required to show proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 48 hours prior to entering Xfinity Theatre upon their arrival at the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring either their original vaccination card, a paper copy of the vaccination card or a printed copy of the negative test results to streamline the verification process at the gate. For those areas of the venue that are indoors, please note that the City of Hartford currently mandates that masks must be worn indoors. Farm Aid is encouraging mask wearing in outdoor areas as well. Farm Aid will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will update protocols as warranted leading up to Sept. 25. For more information, visit www.farmaid.org/festival/covid-safety-at-farm-aid.
Tickets for Farm Aid 2021 are available for purchase at LiveNation.com. Prices range from $65 to $305.
A limited number of VIP experience tickets remain available. These include access to the best reserved seats as well as the VIP lounge with private seating areas, restrooms, merchandise booth, chef pop-ups and delicious family farm-sourced food and snacks served throughout the day. VIP tickets range in price from $500 to $2,500 per ticket, a portion of which is a tax-deductible donation to Farm Aid and supports our mission to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America.
Sponsors of Farm Aid 2021 include DISH Network, ButcherBox, GEICO, Porter-Cable, Tractor Supply Foundation, Spindrift, WhistlePig Whiskey, McManis Family Vineyards, Lundberg Family Farms and Maestro.
For event updates, follow Farm Aid on Twitter (@FarmAid), Facebook (facebook.com/farmaid) and Instagram (instagram.com/farmaid), and visit farmaid.org/festival. Festivalgoers are encouraged to use the hashtags #FarmAid2021 and #Road2FarmAid to join the conversation on social media around this year’s festival.
Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 35 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $60 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.
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**Editors, Producers and Photographers Note: Advance credentials are required for all media to attend Farm Aid 2021. No credentials will be issued onsite. Please visit farmaid.org/media to learn about these requirements and apply. Media can download official Farm Aid photos and videos at farmaid.org/media.**
