Green Thumb Farm Huntington CSA

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tonight is an event featuring mother and daughter CSA members, Polly Hanson Greenberg and B Hanson (with proceeds going to a great cause…Puppies Behind Bars – see below).

Thursday and Friday is the yearly Long Island Agriculture Forum put on by the LI Farm Bureau with workshops in sustainable farming and sustainable vitaculture (Farmer Bill and I will be attending) and at Thursday night’s dinner for this event there’ll be a lecture by Brian Halweil (author of Eat Here: Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, and the editor of Edible East End, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn).

Friday is the book reading and signing at Book Revue of CSA member, Randi Gould’s novel, Dreamland.

ALSO…if you want to learn about growing food and other things organically, and gardening in general…GO TO THE SPRING GARDENING SCHOOL ON EITHER APRIL 14TH OR 21ST!!!!! (see below)

Upcoming events…

Wednesday, January 11th

7pm

I Could Write a Book (includes post-film Q&A with the star of the movie, B Hanson, and the filmmaker, Ron Rudaitis, plus a reception)*
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
$9 – Members/ $13 – General Public For more info:
631-423-7610
http://www.cinemaartscentre.org/event/i-could-write-a-book-the-beverly-fite-story/
To purchase tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/214488

*Proceeds of this film will be going to Puppies Behind Bars
B Hanson’s daughter, Polly, is a master dog trainer and is directly involved with Puppies Behind Bars. She recently attended a graduation ceremony where a local prisoner who had trained a service dog (that she worked with) was going to present the newly working service dog to its new owner, a disabled Iraqi war veteran.
To find out more…
http://www.puppiesbehindbars.com/

If you missed this event last time, here’s another opportunity to see an uplifting movie about an amazing Huntington resident (and CSA member), B Hanson. Directed by Emmy award-winning Huntington filmmaker, Ron Rudaitis, it’s a film that stretches from pre-Civil Rights Alabama to Rodgers and Hammerstein-era Broadway to present day suburban Long Island, This whimsical and heartwarming documentary tells the story of the life, career and indomitable spirit of a truly inspiring American voice. Beverly Fite (known to Huntington residents as B Hanson) began her Broadway career as a dancer
in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! and performed the role of Linda English in the original 1950 Columbia album Pal Joey, singing the Rodgers and Hart classic "I Could Write A Book." B's father was a country lawyer from a small town in Alabama and her mother was a member of Birmingham society. Hard times came early in her life when her father was disbarred. Join B on an emotional and revelatory journey back to Alabama in search of the real story of her father's disbarment and ultimately the meaning of her own life's journey.

Director Ron Rudaitis, comments "B's life is such a rich tapestry. It's a story that touches on Civil Rights and social justice, as well as women's rights and it's one that will leave audiences moved and ultimately cheering for B, who is truly a remarkable person and an exceptional artist. The beauty of her voice is eclipsed perhaps only by the beauty of her spirit."


Thursday, January 12th

9am to 5pm

LI Agriculture Forum
Suffolk County Community College
Riverhead
$45 (for both days…there is no one day registration option) and $25 for dinner Thursday night (5:30pm – cash bar/6:30pm dinner and lecture by Brian Halweil – Our Shared Burden: Why Eaters Will be Farmer’s Best Friends)
For more info and to register:
http://www.lifb.com/

If you’re VERY interested in farming, botany, bugs and the environment…this may be the event for you!


Friday, January 13th

9am to 5pm

LI Agriculture Forum
Suffolk County Community College
Riverhead
$45 (for both days…there is no one day registration option)
For more info and to register:
http://www.lifb.com/

If you’re VERY interested in farming, botany, bugs and the environment…this may be the event for you!


7pm

Dreamland: a Novel – Book One (reading and signing with CSA member and co-author Randi Gould)
Book Revue
313 New York Ave
Huntington
FREE
For more info:
http://www.bookrevue.com/PianaGould.html

Join CSA member and co-author Randi Gould for a reading, discussion and book signing for her new novel…Dreamland.

Inspired by a real life incident, this chilling event catapults readers into DREAMLAND, a contemporary story about the fragility of chasing the American dream. Much like the movie Crash, the plot of this character-driven serial drama focuses on three couples from different social classes and the ways in which their lives collide and intertwine. Written in a propulsive and muscular style, DREAMLAND delves headlong into the economic and racial tensions that underlie American life, the determination to make one’s mark, and the menace of techno vandalism that threatens to strip us of our privacy


Friday to Sunday, January 20th to 22nd

30th Annual Organic Farming and Gardening Conference
NOFA-NY Winter Conference 2012
The Cooperative Economy
Saratoga Springs
New York
For more info and to register:
http://www.nofany.org/events/winter-conference


Saturday to Saturday, January 21st to 28th

Spa Cooking at Rancho la Puerta with Bhavani
Tecate, Mexico
For more info and to register:
http://www.rancholapuerta.com/activities/events/ev120121.html

Rancho La Puerta encompasses 3,000 picturesque acres, including a a six-acre organic farm! Rancho La Puerta’s Cooking School hosts cooking classes that celebrate the magic that happens whenever good cooks use just-picked local, seasonal, organically grown ingredients. This sensory experience, combined with your opportunity to cook, side-by-side with Bhavani, and then sit down to a fine meal you helped prepare, provides an unforgettable culinary experience.

Bhavani offers three hands-on cooking classes during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. Classes take place at La Cocina Que Canta's culinary center. You also will have the opportunity to harvest produce from their organic garden, Tres Estrellas.

February 15th

3rd Annual No Farms, No Food Rally
Albany
For more info:
http://newyork.farmland.org/new-york-policy/2012-no-farms-no-food%c2%ae-rally-%e2%80%94february-15-albany

Join farmers, food advocates, local officials, environmentalists and other New Yorkers at the State Capitol to urge state leaders to support funding and legislation that protects farmland and the environment, increases the availability of nutritious food grown in New York and strengthens the farm and food economy. Bus transportation roundtrip from New York City to Albany will be available. Online registration is coming soon!


Friday and Saturday, February 24th and 25th

Fri – 8am to 7:30pm
Sat – 8am to 6pm

Eat. Work. Grow the Movement: Just Food’s 2012 Conference
Food and Finance High School
525 W 50th St
NYC
$15 to $50
To purchase tickets:
http://jfconference2012.eventbrite.com/
For more info:
http://justfood.org/events

Join Just Food, local food lovers and advocates, CSA members, community gardeners, urban and rural farmers, food professionals and entrepreneurs for two days of hands-on workshops, discussions, skill building sessions, and good food. Learn about cooking and food preservations techniques, CSA trends and the food justice movement in NYC and beyond, as well as ways you can mobilize to create good food projects in your own community.

On Friday, we’ll conclude with a Good Food Jobs Fair and on Saturday, we’ll celebrate the end of the conference with an Expo featuring exemplary local food artisans, sustainable businesses, and organizations.


Wednesday, February 29th

13th Annual Organic Turf Show
For more info and to register:
631-963-5454
http://neighborhood-network.org/index.htm

The Neighborhood Network Turf Show, which is designed for turf care professionals, features vendors of 100% natural horticulture products, and workshops on organic care of lawns, athletic fields, and even non-toxic indoor pest control. Come learn about the latest in organic turf and land care.

More info TBA.


Saturday, March 31st

1st Long Island CSA Fair
Cinema Arts Centre
432 Park Ave
Huntington
FREE

Will include a showing of the movie The Real Dirt on Farmer John (great CSA theme in it).


Saturday, April 14th

8:30am to 4pm

Spring Gardening School
The Academy of St Joseph
Brentwood
$55 (includes continental breakfast, box lunch, afternoon refreshments, soil test, plant diagnosis and exhibits)/$50 if you register before March 2nd
For more info and to register:
http://ccesuffolk.org/2012-spring-gardening-school/2012-04-14

Copy of the registration brochure that lists the classes being given…
http://ccesuffolk.org/assets/galleries/Gardening/SGS2012811.pdf

This is a GREAT opportunity to learn about gardening (mostly organic) AND attend a plant sale of the highest quality AND participate in a raffle of some very lovely prizes. Take my word on this…I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed if you’re interested in growing plants of any sort. I’ve attended a bunch of years and will be going again this year on April 21st. I’d go both days but the LI Small Farm Summit is today otherwise I’d be here. Teachers I’d recommend are Peter Garnham, Caroline Kiang, Colette Mealy-Wampole, Sandra Menasha, Sharon Ott, and Dr. Tamson Yeh…not that the others probably aren’t wonderful but these are people I know and have studied with before (Kiang/Mealy-Wampole/Ott/Yeh), or that I’ve wanted to study with. PS – the food provided has been, in the past, standard college cafeteria fare…you might want to bring your own. That said…if you take a class at places like the Brooklyn Botanic Garden or the NY Botanic Garden, one class might be more pricey than the full day of classes/workshops you get here. It’d be a bargain at twice the price.


Small Farm Summit 2012
Hofstra University
900 Fulton Ave
Hempstead
For more info or to volunteer and get involved:
http://www.longislandsmallfarmcentral.com/

Keynote speakers: Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power (featured in the movie Fresh) and Chef Ann Cooper, the Renegade Lunch Lady (former executive chef of the Ross School in East Hampton).


Saturday, April 21st

8:30am to 4pm

Spring Gardening School
Riverhead Middle School
Riverhead
$55 (includes continental breakfast, box lunch, afternoon refreshments, soil test, plant diagnosis and exhibits)/$50 if you register before March 2nd
For more info and to register:
http://ccesuffolk.org/2012-spring-gardening-school/2012-04-14

Copy of the registration brochure that lists the classes being given…
http://ccesuffolk.org/assets/galleries/Gardening/SGS2012811.pdf

This is a GREAT opportunity to learn about gardening (mostly organic) AND attend a plant sale of the highest quality AND participate in a raffle of some very lovely prizes. Take my word on this…I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed if you’re interested in growing plants of any sort. I’ve attended a bunch of years and will be going again this year on April 21st. Teachers I’d recommend are Peter Garnham, Caroline Kiang, Colette Mealy-Wampole, Sandra Menasha, Sharon Ott, and Dr. Tamson Yeh…not that the others probably aren’t wonderful but these are people I know and have studied with before (Kiang/Mealy-Wampole/Ott/Yeh), or that I’ve wanted to study with. PS – the food provided has been, in the past, standard college cafeteria fare…you might want to bring your own. That said…if you take a class at places like the Brooklyn Botanic Garden or the NY Botanic Garden, one class might be more pricey than the full day of classes/workshops you get here. It’d be a bargain at twice the price.

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