BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The second annual Liberty Food Fest, featuring national and regional leaders in the local food movement and newly elected Vermont lieutenant governor and hemp farmer John S. Rodgers, will be held Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 12-14, at the Bellows Falls Opera House and The Hungry Diner restaurant in Walpole, N.H.
Rodgers, who operates his family’s hemp farm in Glover, Vt., will speak on “Growing Cannabis and Freedom” on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m., at the Bellows Falls Opera House. He’ll be joined at the three-day event by a compelling lineup of national and regional champions of the local food movement, including self-styled “lunatic farmer” Joel Salatin of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Native American activist and former Green Party vice-presidential candidate Winona LaDuke of Minnesota, and national thought leader and filmmaker Matt Kibbe.
Organized by documentary filmmaker Graham Meriwether of Saxtons River and sponsored by Windham’s Meadows Bee Farm, the food fest will kick off Thursday evening, Dec. 12, with a sold-out dinner at Walpole’s popular Hungry Diner restaurant, with remarks by Salatin, whose passion for local food systems has made him one of the most sought-after opinions and perspectives in the country. Salatin also will speak at food fest sessions on both Friday and Saturday, at the Bellows Falls Opera House.
A full lineup of speakers and films on Friday and Saturday, at the Opera House, will include lawyer, farmer, and author John Klar; leading organic dairyman Pete Miller of Miller Farms; and Teresa and John Janiszyn of Pete’s Stand in Walpole. There will also be a special dinner Friday night in the Bellows Falls Opera House, with warm chili from local favorite Smokin’ Bowls, as well as fire-roasted, pasture-raised suckling pigs.
Both days there will be a holiday market in the basement of the Opera House, with a variety of local vendors selling clothes, artwork, and food. There will also be live music and kids’ activities.
For more information, please contact Graham Meriwether at graham@leaveitbetter.com, or 802-335-5059, or Heath Meriwether at heath@leaveitbetter.com or 860-806-3073.