Category Archives: Markets and Special Events

Whatcha’ Doing on Wednesday?

Posted on February 3, 2014 | 16 comments

I’m thinking of going to this:

deconstructing dinner posterAnybody else going? Drop me a line and let me know if you want to meet up…

 

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Green Drinks and Level Ground

Posted on January 31, 2014 | 3 comments

Level Ground TeaEarlier this week we went to a Green Drinks evening. I’ve had ‘Green Drinks’ at marked down in my daytimer several times over the past while, but somehow the schedule has been so full I haven’t made it to one yet. I had thought that this was a local thing – there are a lot of green people in this neck of the woods. Turns out, Green Drinks International is a whole movement! How could I have slept through this?

From the website:

Every month people who work in the environmental field meet up at informal sessions known as Green Drinks.We have a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business. Come along and you’ll be made welcome. Just say, “are you green?” and we will look after you and introduce you to whoever is there. It’s a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organising network.

This particular meeting was held at Level Ground Trading, a local success story started up by four Canadian families “for the purpose of improving the lives of disadvantaged producers through trade.” The evening started with a short, excellent talk about the company, how it started, and how it works (coffee and tea are a couple of their main products and company members travel to the small farms and farmer collectives in countries all over the world to meet the growers, sample product, and negotiate fair trade deals). After that, we all donned aprons, hairnets, and beard nets (!) and set off on a tour of the coffee roasting facility.

Dad in his beard net, a sight I never thought I'd see!

Dad in his beard net, a sight I never thought I’d see!

Our tour guide, Stacey (one of the founders), was passionate and knowledgeable about his subject, which made for a fascinating evening.

Stacey at Level Ground

Coffee Warehouse

IMG_8006[1]

The sacks used to transport coffee beans are destined not for the landfill after they are empty, but for local gardens and farms where they are used as mulch and over paths between beds. Fully biodegradable, they compost and disappear completely within a year. The whole facility is garbage free (as in, they send nothing to the landfill). This was a side note in the presentation but seemed to be typical of a company that appears to be trying hard to operate ethically and sustainably.

At the end of the night we were all given something to take home. I’ve been enjoying my loose leaf black tea (from Assam, India) and some delicious dried pineapple from Santander, Colombia (SO good!).We saw some short video clips of the various farmers at work and it was fascinating to learn more about where these products come from and what goes into producing my morning cuppa…

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Posted in Blog, Food and Recipes, Markets and Special Events

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Mark Your Calendars!

Posted on January 18, 2014 | 7 comments

With apologies to distant readers, here’s a heads up re. some local farm-y events heading our way…

Egg Addling Workshop – (or interest to anyone dealing with the resident Canada Geese)
January 25, 2014, 9:30 – 4pm 
St Mary’s Anglican Church, 1973 Cultra Avenue, Saanichton
Free egg addling and permit training opportunity! Join us for information, addling training and support with completing permits related to resident, non-migratory geese. Workshop is free, but please RSVP 
 
Meet Your Maker Monday, January 27th, 2014
9:30am to 3:00pm
9:00-9:30am- Registration, Set-up & Coffee
Sannich Fairgrounds
1528 Stelly’s X-Road
Sannichton, BC
This event is a networking event for BC food producers and BC food buyers (not the general public.) Great opportunity for small producers to connect with local buyers (restaurants, wholesalers, grocery stores, etc.)
Registration is now open!
 

Islands Agricultural Show February 7-8, 2014

Celebrating the International Year of Family Farming
Cowichan Exhibition Park, Duncan, BC
Trade Show Hours: 8:30 am- 4:00 pm.
Trade show admission fee: $5.00 each for adults and children get in free
Conference registration includes admission to the trade show and Welcome Reception
 
SAVE ALR button
Family Day Rally to Save the Agricultural Land Reserve – February 10
http://farmlandprotection.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Feb10-Poster.pdf
Noon – BC Legislature Grounds
More info: Farmland Protection Coalition
 
 
Seeds, Glorious Seeds
February 15, 2014 Seedy Saturday – Victoria (**Note: Many communities organize a Seedy Saturday event at the beginning of the gardening season – have a google to see what’s happening in your area)
Saturday, February 15, 2014 
10am – 4pm 
Victoria Conference Centre, 720 Douglas Street
 $7 cash at the door
Under 16 free
  • Speaker Talks
  • Exhibitors (Enquiries at info@jamesbaymarket.com or voice message 250-381-5323)
  • Open-pollinated Seeds
  • Seedlings, Plants, Shrubs, Fruit Trees
  • Seed Exchange
  • Displays
  • Garden & Food Products
  • Books
  • Kids’ Activities
  • Master Gardeners
  • Chef Demonstrations
  • Seedy Cafe
  • ATM on Site
  • NEW: Gardening Book Exchange
  • NEW: School Scarecrow Contest
DFMA Banner
Vancouver Island direct Farm Market Association Spring Meeting –
February 20, 2014 
Oak Room, Main Hall, Saanich Fairground @ 7 pm. We are planning to invite several member farms who use social media tools to come and share their stories about how social media helps promote their farm or winery business.
 
Farmer 2 Farmer March 6, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
9:00 am to 4:30 pm
Registration, coffee, meet ‘n’ greet 8:15 am
Saanich Fairgrounds
1528 Stelly’s Cross Road, Saanichton

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Day 23 – Craft Fair Season!

Posted on November 23, 2013 | 4 comments

For the past couple of weeks the upstairs kitchen has been the place to hang out and drool (if you are a human, that is. If you are a dog, downstairs is the place to be because that’s where all the tasty pork dog treats are being made…) Jams and jellies were first to be processed and then, oh heavenly delights, it was cookie time!

These pinwheel cookies are delicious and kind of cool - but fiddly! Given how many we were trying to make, we used a handy dandy jam cookie making device for the next number of batches.

These pinwheel cookies are delicious and kind of cool – but fiddly! Given how many we were trying to make, we used a handy dandy jam cookie making device for the next number of batches.

Filled with Dark Creek jams and jellies, these are oh so very good!

Filled with Dark Creek jams and jellies, these are oh so very good!

It has been tough to only eat the broken ones (oops! slipped! can’t take that cracked old thing to the craft fair!), but we have to be strong so we have lots to take to the North Douglas Christmas Craft Fair tomorrow.

In addition to the festive cookies and yummy dog snacks (at least, I assume they taste pretty good as I caught Tuulen up on his hind legs STEALING the pork treats from the counter – he looked very sheepish and said, ‘it was cracked! You can’t take something like that to the craft fair!’) we are also taking a variety of jams and jellies (including the cranberry jelly gift packs that were so popular in our Thanksgiving Goody Boxes), fresh eggs (the new pullets are getting into gear!), carved wooden plant row markers, hand-pulled wood block prints, art cards, original watercolour and miniature paintings by E. Colin Williams, children’s books by yours truly, carved wood signs, herbal salves, and aprons. We’ll also have the coolest little terrarium with a wooden base that defies explanation at this late hour (will post a photo tomorrow – it is packed away in a box, ready to go). For anyone interested in signing up for our CSA or ordering a turkey, we’ll have information and forms.

Getting all of that together has been a bit of a trial in the middle of everything else going on! As I write this just before midnight, I’m hoping all goes smoothly and that we’ll get a chance to chat with some of our regular farm stand customers and meet lots of new people as well.

If you are in the area, here are the details:

North Doug Craft Fair Info – hope to see you there!

4th Annual North Doug Craft Fair

Where : North Doug Church, 675 Jolly Place
When: November 23rd, 9am-4pm

Door prizes and other surprises!
Concession with soup, sandwiches, and dessert
All of the table proceeds go towards the youth

For more information, check out the Facebook event page

Interested in learning who else is participating in the 30 days agriculture blog-a-thon or the five things Holly Spangler will be talking about this month? Head over to Prairie Farmer to find out!

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