Homegrown Festival in Union Square- NYC, NY by Dawn

Farm Aid Presents a One-Day Celebration of Farm and Food at the Greenmarket in Union Square

We got up really early and headed down to Union Square to set up our table at the Homegrown Festival for Farm Aid. I can say with certainty that I have never been to Union Square that early in the morning, and the drive into the city at that hour was definitely worth it. There was no traffic (from Brooklyn), and the bridges, the river, and the buildings all looked magical. The weather was perfect- and it was the start of a great day!

We set up with about 15 other groups from NY and then waited. The event was to start at 10am with music and hopefully lots of Farmers Market shoppers stopping by. I wandered around the market a little while we were waiting. The market was beautiful- flowers, vegetables, cheese, bread, meat- everything full and not yet picked over. I might just start coming to the market early on a regular basis!

Then the festivities started at 10am sharp. The Ebony Hillbillies were the first band to go on. They were fun and people stopped by to sit on the hay bales and listen. Other bands we heard throughout the day were- Nation Beat, Jimmy Nations Combo, The Dittybops and Adrienne Young & Little Sadie.

We talked to hundreds of people during the day. Everyone was interested in the work we do, not to mention it's fun to collect Meatrix buttons and magnets! The other booths at the festival were packed- so many interesting things to see- live urban chickens, composting, fresh corn being cooked, honey tasting, food miles shopping, school food demonstrations, and my favorite- the Lower Eastside Girls Club who had a bicycle powered blender to make smoothies.

It was a great start to a great weekend- Sunday, Farm Aid!

Article Tag(s):

If you are interested in commenting on this blog, please go to our forum...