Monday, August 24, 2015

Summer Festival and Heirloom Tomato Tasting at GFF

We'd like to cordially invite you to our annual Summer Festival at the farm this coming Sunday (August 30).  If you would be so kind as to RSVP that you plan to attend, it would help us immensely with our preparations.

Festivals at the Genuine Faux Farm are family friendly events.  Attendees are CSA farm share members, customers of our produce and poultry, family members and farm friends who support what we do.  We also invite those who are interested in joining our CSA farm share program in the future. 

Food at our festivals center around a potluck style system.  We encourage people to bring something to share and we will also provide a grill for those who wish to cook something for themselves.  Some people will bring extra to grill and will use that as an item to share.  The farm will provide iced tea, water and lemonade to drink and, of course, various veggies will make their appearance on the tables as well.  If you wish to bring other beverages, we would prefer that they be non-alcoholic. 

One of our goals for our events is to have "minimal to no waste" events.  We will have table service (plates, silverware) for approximately 50 people and encourage attendees to consider bringing their own table service if it is easy for you to do.  We also encourage you to bring lawn chairs as we have a limited supply of our own. 

Summer Festival Schedule (subject to change if needed):

1:00-3:00  Tom Sawyer Work Time
For those who have interest, we could use some volunteers in the early afternoon to help with set up and preparation.  If you are willing to help, please indicate that this is the case in your RSVP.  If we get enough volunteers, we could have a few people doing other work on the farm.  For example, a few people might help us collect some over ripe cucumbers to feed the birds later on.

3:00-5:00  Huck Finn Play Time
The festival officially starts at 3pm.  It is possible that there may be a little bit of prepping still going on, but we'll certainly start making the transition to just enjoying the day at this point.  We will have a couple of art stations available for all ages.  Please note that we will have some latex paint.  So, if you have children who want to paint, you may want to have them wear appropriate clothing.  We will also try to set up a colored chalk drawing area as well.  We also intend to do our photo scavenger hunt again this year.  You need not attend early to participate in these activities.  We don't anticipate shutting them down unless the weather or other circumstance forces the issue.

For those that have a lawn game that they might like to play (and share with other interested persons), let us know you will bring it and we'll make sure an area is open for the game you have chosen to share.

3:45 Farm Tour #1
Rob and Tammy will provide guided tours of the farm at two or three points during the gathering for those who would like them.  We'll give you the nickel tour and you can feel free to ask questions as we show you our fields and the critters on the farm.

3:45 Feed the Birds
It won't cost tuppance, but I bet the turkeys might like a few cucumbers or other things to eat.  Interested persons can help us get some food to our always interested poultry.

4:00-5:00 Live Music
We have arranged for the Buskers to play at our festival this year.  Rick Truax and Scott Hammerlinck have an acoustic set that will run for an hour and then break for some food.  If we all give them the positive feedback they deserve, they just might play for a bit more after they've had a chance to eat something.  If you attended some of the early Waverly Farmers' Markets on Saturdays this season, you will have had a chance to hear them and have an idea of what they play.  If you haven't had a chance to hear them, then you should come to the festival and enjoy.

Last year's winner: Black Cherry


4:15-5:00 Heirloom Tomato Tasting
The tomatoes have been a bit slow this year, but we should have plenty of varieties for everyone to try.  We will put out a spread of different tomatoes for everyone to taste.  You all get to vote for your favorite.  The winning tomato gets a 'free' blog post and a bump in production for next year!

5:00 Farm Tour #2
If you are not famished and want the nickel tour, here is a second chance for you.

5:00 Food!
In case some heirloom tomatoes are not enough, we will have the grill going starting at 5:00pm and the potluck officially starts.  The grill will run until everyone is done.


6:00 Farm Tour #3 and more Huck Finn Play Time
In case anyone is still interested.  We'll figure to offer a tour one more time. And, hey - if we have all these neat games and art making opportunities and music around - why would we stop?  If you can still move after eating - go for it!

7:00 Bonfire and s'Mores?
It is GFF tradition to have a bonfire and some s'Mores after the potluck winds down.  The tradition only holds if the weather allows.  If it is too windy, we may opt to not start a fire since it has been fairly dry lately.  If conditions are reasonable, we will start a fire and people can opt to make s'Mores.

7:30-8:00 Time to Wind it Down
 As it starts to get dark on the farm, the farmers start to turn into pumpkins.  Well, not literally.  But, they do still need to do some chores after everyone leaves.  If you are willing to help with a little clean up, please let us know.  We might appreciate three to four pairs of hands to help in that department.

We Compost (and more)
In an effort to reduce waste at GFF events, you will notice that we will have containers with different labels.  All food waste will go into the COMPOST bucket.  We do realize that some meat might go into these buckets, but the relatively low volume as compared to our compost piles will not make much difference in this case.  We will have a BURNABLES container for napkins and paper produces.  Another container will take the dishes and silverware we provide (if you bring your own, you'll have to take it with you, of course).  A RECYCLING container will be available for standard recyclable items.  And, a TRASH container will be for whatever is left (it should not be much).
I picked the right bucket!
Weather Whethers
At present, the extended forecast shows some very nice weather for Sunday.  We will publish particulars if that should change. 

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