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Harvest Fest Returns to Stone Barns Center in Tarrytown

wakeupnaturally — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:07:25 +0000

Hayride at Stone Barns Harvest Fest

The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture presents the seventh annual Harvest Fest on Saturday, October 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Tarrytown. Festivities for the whole family include live music, a farmers market and pie bake-off, hayrides and special workshops on food and farming. The event also features Farm Olympics and demonstrations with animals and vegetables in Stone Barns Center’s fields and pastures.

A wide selection of seasonal food and beverages will be available for purchase, including the center’s famous Berkshire pig roast. Other treats include chili made with grass fed beef, lobster rolls, artisanal ice cream, fresh pastries and local craft beer. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for youth ages 6-14, and $10 for children ages 2-5. Stone Barns Center members receive a 10% discount on those prices. Proceeds from Harvest Fest support scholarships for farm camp, school programs and young farmer training.

For more information or to learn about Harvest Fest sponsorship opportunities, contact Emily Grand at 914.366.6200 x152. Visit stonebarnscenter.org to buy tickets. Those purchased by September 25 will be mailed. The Stone Barns Center is located at 630 Bedford Road in Tarrytown, NY.

Gearing up for Harvest Fest

twistinvixens — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:17:37 +0000

It’s our favorite time of year! Wookiefoot’s Harvest Fest is less than a week away and we’re busy getting ready. This will be our first time returning to the festival with our own hoops and the skills to go along with them. We’ve been busy constructing and decorating a variety of hand-made hoops to take with and share with the whole Harmony Park family.

We’ve been practicing our hoop dance and even have a few routines to perform. It’s time to go home and play!

WTF?!

Dan Woog — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:46:12 +0000

Who says environmentalists don’t have senses of humor?

The “WTF” in the shirts modeled above (by Sanders McNair, Petey Menz and Catherine Coughlin) supposedly refers to “Wakeman Town Farm.” On the back is a reminder of the October 2 Harvest Fest, which — like the shirts — is sponsored by Green Village Initiative.

But plenty of young people will laugh when they see the shirts.

“WTF” is a double entendre. If you don’t know what it stands for — ask a kid.

(“WTF” T-shirts, tank tops and caps are available for $10 each, at the Town Farm on Cross Highway, the Farmers’ Market and on Main Street this summer. Proceeds benefit GVI and the Harvest Fest. For more information contact Lisa Marriott: lsmarriott@gmail.com.)

Focus: Bluegrass

favabean1982 — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:34:36 +0000

Throughout my years on this planet, I’ve been fortunate to have taken a number of vacations, trips, and general get-aways, from my yearly jaunts up to Minocqua to our frequent Minnesota visits, even going as far as the hustle and bustle of Anaheim and the overall blarney of Ireland. Another destination I can’t leave off the list would be Gatlinburg, Tennessee, nestled right in the heart of the Smokey Mountains. If ever there was a mix of Wisconsin Dells-esque honky tonk and some of the most breathtaking scenery you’re likely to witness, it’s here, and I look forward to the next time I find myself in that neck of the woods.

I was all of twelve when I first headed on down to Gatlinburg with my family, and seventeen when I returned once again. Both trips had their share of exciting moments, from mountain hikes to tram rides to a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum, but it was on my second trip I noticed, and was subsequently exposed to, a style of music I up until then only knew by name-bluegrass.

The song that did it? ”Rocky Top. ” In fact, my high school pep band (in which I frequently played drumkit) had made this song part of our repertoire during the most recent basketball season. Keep in mind, I had never heard the song beforehand, but as it was my job to man the drums and keep the band in time, I’d play whatever came my way, be it the crowd-pleasing, “Proud Mary, ” or the theme from Magnum, P. I. I didn’t even know this song was bluegrass-we Waukesha Northstars knew how to rock up our vast array of peppy numbers. So imagine my surprise when I overheard, “Rocky Top, ” in all its bluegrass glory echoing from a Gatlinburg storefront as I walked the main street one day.

Even more surprising? I really liked it.

My appreciation of bluegrass, however, was a gradual increase as the years went by as opposed to an instant love. I’d be remiss if I forgot to mention the soundtrack to the wonderful 2001 Coen Bros. comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? , which is ripe in bluegrass numbers including the hit, “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow. ” Meeting the girl that would become my wife and finding myself heavily exposed to all that is country music helped as well-you can’t ignore the bluegrass presence in many country numbers, be them mainstream or classic. Finally, all of you SE Wisconsin residents ought to make your way into Cedarburg for their annual Strawberry Festival each summer, and their Harvest Festival in the fall-Morton’s bar and grill features a fantastic bluegrass group that certainly does the genre justice.

I think the things I love about bluegrass the most are the feelings this style of music evokes-listening to bluegrass, I can find myself in Gatlinburg again, or nursing a drink at Morton’s. Bluegrass is also great traveling music, and it’s hard to picture many an old-timey film without a bluegrass soundtrack.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more natural, fun, raw style of music than bluegrass. It’s one of the few parts of country music I truly do enjoy-however, there’s other parts I can honestly say I like as well.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Van Gets Ripped, or The Sleep of Unreason

go2harsha — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:06:14 +0000

This is Blog 2 on the Rainbow Dreaming US tour, taking in New York’s 13th Harvest Festival & Freedom Rally, Hancock, NY; and Woodstock Museum, Saugerties, NY. Rainbow Dreaming is a photodocumentary on the alternative culture of the rainbow region of NSW, Australia. See more at http://www.rainbowdreaming.org

Harvest Fest

Marijuana legalization activists and their supporters on the East coast were to meet at Camp Minglewood in the Catskills, a couple of hours north of New York, for the Harvest Festival & Freedom Rally, on 9 Oct. It was an opportunity too good to be missed. Our hosts from the Woodstock Museum, Shelli Lipton and Nathan Koenig, had booked us a spot at the Festival. They had also booked us into a bunkhouse, with 10 bunk beds. By now we had mushroomed to a party of 10.

It wasn’t pot, but potties that preoccupied us the three days we were there. The toilets were blocked. Much time and energy was spent agonizing over the situation and negotiating the portaloos well before the happy horde that had descended on the Camp trashed them every morning.

Harvest Fest, the child of Hemp activist and performance poet Rob Robinson, was now in its thirteenth year. The legal situation with pot in the US is complex and confusing. Some states (California) allow the medical use of marijuana. Others will bust you for possessing rolling papers. The talk at the Camp was all about the bust of a long-time hemp activist, who had been caught with a whole lot of pot that he was bringing to the festival. Regardless, the pot was plentiful.

From pot to politics. I met Kurt Shotko, a member of the Greens party. Kurt was of the opinion that the Republicans and Democrats were cut from the same cloth, manufactured by big business. “Look at what Obama’s doing in Afghanistan. He’s sending more Americans to die there. We need an alternative to the main players. We’ve got to wake up to the reality that the American dream has been a nightmare for a lot of Americans and for the rest of the world, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have been asleep for too long. We need a revival of common sense. Only a massive program of self education is going to do it.” Then he quoted from the Populist Program, published in 1892: “They propose to sacrifice our homes, lives and children on the altar of mammon; to destroy the multitude in order to secure corruption funds for the millionaires.” 1892! The sleep of unreason had been a long one.

But Kurt was hopeful of the next generation. That’s why he set up camp at festivals across the US. And that’s partly why we were there too.

The Rainbow Dreaming exhibit was attached to a wall in the main music hall. Thus many, mostly young, punters got to see the exhibit. This was where The Wailers played on Saturday. I caught the Wailers when they played in Byron and I’m happy to report that they are still wailing away.

But what struck me most about the music at Harvest Fest was the pervasive influence of the Grateful Dead, the legendary sixties psychedelic band from San Francisco. From Cabinet, an established US indi band that played the main stage, to camp fire songs at 4 am, the Dead were everywhere, on so many t shirts and stickers, in so many riffs and improvisatory moments, as a psychedelic glint in so many eyes.

I spoke with Jane, an artist from New York, who had a stall selling Dead memorabilia. She had grown up in San Francisco and was still a Deadhead. Her eyes misted when she spoke of Jerry Garcia: “You could see so much love pouring out of him. It was a love affair that lasted and lasted and it’s still going strong even when he’s gone.”

Minglewood Moment: across from the festival site, two lovers sit on the steps of a boat ramp. The dying sun paints purple tints on the tops of the maple and elm; waterfowl break the surface of the lake. A band is playing the Dead’s “China Cat Sunflower.”

Woodstock: The Town that Time Forgot

In Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving’s story, a man who wanders off into the Catskill Mountains, meets some rather strange companions who serve up a suspiciously heady brew, and falls asleep under a tree. When he wakes up, he finds that some 20 years have gone by and his world has changed.

The town of Catskill is 30 minutes away from Woodstock. Some 40 years have gone by after the infamous Woodstock festival of 1969. And the world has changed since those heady days. But walking around Woodstock, the town that gave a name to the festival, (which happened in the neighbouring town of Bethel, some 100 kms away), you could be forgiven for believing that it’s still in the thrall of those halcyon days of hippiedom.

Our first port of call was the Woodstock Town Board meeting that night. Benny Zable, Nimbin’s ambassador to Woodstock, presented letters from Nimbin and the crew made a presentation on the Rainbow Dreaming exhibit and its relevance to the whole Woodstock legacy. The meet was dominated by a spirited discussion over rezoning issues, something very familiar to us on the north coast. Would Woodstock go the way of other small towns and be besieged by rampant development, or would it stay true to its alternative legacy?

That night we also visited the Bearsville Cultural Centre (set up by Albert Grossman, one-time manager of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and The Band) and Alchemia Café to catch some live music, including a spirited set by Adam, a young musician we had met at the Byron market drum circle!

Guided around by Benny, on our very first day in Woodstock, we met some representatives of Woodstock’s hippie past: Jogger John, the local village savant, who used to jog everywhere, but, due to his advanced age is now is on a bike; Day A, the village barber, who runs a soup kitchen for the Rainbow Family in town; Grandpa and Grandma Woodstock, an elderly couple, dressed the part, almost town mascots. Woodstock itself is full of funky cafes and art galleries. Turn a corner and spy a Zen garden, complete with waterfall and pergola.

In the centre of Woodstock town is the village green and the peace pole, with peace messages in several languages. We bumped into Fr John, a priest and peace activist. When he heard that two of our crew, Sayaka Nakao and Rina Terasaki, were from Tokyo, he beamed at them and said: “ Let’s set up a peace link between Woodstock and Tokyo. All it takes is five people. Five is the magic number. Can you find five friends in Tokyo who may be interested?”

Fr John also runs the Hippie Church, on the hill overlooking Woodstock. This was the very church where Bob Dylan was rumored to have married the love of his life, Sarah, his sad eyed lady of the lowlands. The church wears the patina of age, its icons fading in the dim, dank light streaming through stained glass windows.

In stark contrast is the Buddhist monastery next door. Set up in 1975, the monastery is linked to the 10th century Tibetan Kagyu lineage. Its halls are huge and lushly decorated with tankas, its massive Buddha is gold-painted, its prayer lamps cast a beatific glow on meditating monks and visitors; its gift shop bulges with merchandise, all a tribute to Buddhism’s growing influence in the new world.

Prophesy

The next morning, my very first snowflakes, fine and feathery. It was too cold to venture out. Emi Iizuka and Simeon Michaels, both from Byron, had joined us in Woodstock. We were toasty warm at the Woodstock Museum, hosted by Shelli and Nathan. Under the tutelage of Shelli, the sacred Indian corn was brought out and inspected. Purple, yellow, orange, red and black, this was authentic Hopi corn. The girls played with the corn silk, good for medicinal tea and dress ups, fake moustaches and beards. They were transformed into imaginary characters, magical beings, the warrior princesses of Genghis Khan, dressed as men to pass unnoticed amidst the ripening corn. Shelli makes beautiful corn necklaces, a craft she learnt from Rainbow Weaver, a Mohawk Clan Mother.

Nathan spoke about the connection between the Hopi and the Tibetans. “Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, said: When the iron bird flies and the horses run on wheels the Tibetans will be scattered over the face of the earth and the dharma will come to the land of the red man.”

Nathan went on: “The Hopi’s felt that this might have something to do with the dharma coming to the US. They have prophesies too. After the swastika and the sun, there would be another force, symbolized by the colour red. This force will wear a red cloak or red cap. Spiritual wisdom will come from the East. This spirituality must spread. If that does not take root, others with the red symbol will invade from the West and crawl over the land in one day. The Hopis think this could be the ‘red’ Chinese.”
“When the Tibetan Karmapa visited Hopiland in 1974, he said: We must have know each other before; your features, ceremonies and way of life are similar to our own. When we bought Hopis to the monastery in Woodstock in 1979, the two cultures again recognized each other, and the Hopis said that the Tibetans may very well be the long lost brother who left them at the beginning of time and went to the other side of the earth to balance the earth spiritually.”

Said Shelli: “When the shit hits the fan, we won’t survive unless we cooperate with each other. That’s also what the Hopi prophecies speak of. The Hopis are known as the ‘peaceful ones’.”

While we spoke of prophecies, outside, in the gathering gloom, Tiago Guimaraes, a Brazilian artist, was busy carving out a statue of a man with a guitar, the quintessential hippie hitchhiker, his hand raised, his fingers flashing the peace sign.

The Rainbow Dreaming opening at the Woodstock Museum on Sat 17 Oct was a modest yet sweet affair: local musos were in attendance and we joined the members of the Woodstock drum circle in a bongothon. The highlight of the evening was meeting Elliot Landy, the famous Woodstock photographer. Elliot was all praise for the exhibit, gave away signed copies of his book to all the crew and offered to help us find a publisher for a book on the exhibition. The last act of the day was raising the sculpture of the hippie hitchhiker and placing him on his pedestal: a symbol of Woodstock’s hippie past and a pointer to its uncertain future as a cultural pilgrimage centre.

On our last evening in Woodstock, we participated in the Woodstock Earth drum circle. Some 30 drummers were gathered in the backyard at Day A’s house. In summer, the drummers gather at the village green and spill out onto the road. As the sound of the drums rose over the autumn dusk, we were again reminded of how lucky we were with our vibrant culture of communal drumming and dancing in the rainbow region.

Last days in New York: the Bangladeshi cigarette sellers; the African rickshaw pullers in Central Park; the old men and women carting large bundles of recyclable cans and bottles; the man in Times Square offering to sell me a 15 carat gold ring or Obama condoms. While the crew went shopping and sightseeing I wandered back to Central Park. More than the statue of Liberty, than Ground Zero, than the suicide gulches and canyons of Wall Street, I was drawn to the spot with the Imagine mosaic and tribute to John Lennon. Park benches line the walkway, each with its dedication. I sat there, amidst the touros and derros, as the shadows lengthened. Then I saw these lines from Dylan Thomas, carved on a park bench: “Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.”

Rainbow Dreaming crew @ Harvestfest: Benny Zable, Sayaka Nakao, Harsha Prabhu, Saya Minami, Rina Terasaki, Hans Lovejoy

Grandma & Grandpa Woodstock watch over the best buds competition, Harvest Fest, Camp Minglewood, NY, 10 Oct
Pic: Harsha

Rainbow Dreamers Simeon & Emi at the Hippie Church, Woodstock, 18 Oct
Pic: Hans Lovejoy

Harvest Fest Promotes Pride of New York Products

BaseballCookies — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:42:41 +0000

Food lovers can enjoy a full weekend of delicious food and beverages at the Pride of New York Harvest Fest in Syracuse, NY this weekend, November 13-15. Held at the New York State Fairgrounds, this event features the best in New York made food, wine and beverages, including….the Cooperstown Cookie Company.

The Syracuse New Times had a great write up on the event, which you can read here. They even featured photos of our baseball cookie gifts, which was sweet! We have more info about it on the Cooperstown Cookie Company fan page on Facebook, find us at www.facebook.com/baseballcookies (Have you become a fan yet? It’s a great way to stay connected and learn about deals.)

If you’re planning to go to Harvest Fest, please stop by and say hi! Can’t come? Order up some baseball cookies at www.cooperstowncookie.com

Best,

Pati

Harvest Fest 2009

Joyce Schneider — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:22:02 +0000

On Saturday, October 31st, Tree of Life Church sponsored a Harvest Fest for the community. There were approximately 220 children who went through the event as well as parents and volunteers. Close to 400 people enjoyed the evening.

It was a great time to share the love of Jesus with our church family and the community.

Enjoy the pictures!

A good time was had by all!

Thank you to everyone who served!!

It’s All Because of Jesus!

what I see when I look at these pictures...

heatherdawn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:23:05 +0000

This weekend was a whirlwind trip to Jackson, Michigan and Verity in Indianapolis. My flight left Ab

Harvest Fest. is Here!

ibcmedia — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:35:48 +0000

Wow, It’s been a year already and it’s time for the Harvest Festival again. Many of you have been asking me what time are we going to be setting up the stage and what things we need help with. So here are the details:

Thursday
8:00am- Brad and dude (forgot his name) leave to pick-up the sound gear
9:00am- Start setting up scaffold and sound booth.
12:00pm- Brad and Dude get back and we start setting up sound system.

Friday
9:00am- Finish setting up sound system

Saturday
3:00 Band arrives and start setting up for sound check
4:30-8:00 event
8:00 TEAR DOWN (we need lots of help for this)

Sunday
6:00am- Sunday Set-up

If you can help at all in the next few days let me know by emailing me at bmathe(at)ibchighland(dot)org.

Leaves, laughs, pumpkins at backyard Harvest Fest

Lauren — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:44:37 +0000

Fall is here with its glorious leaves spread across the ground, pumpkin patches with the best of this year’s crop, and stores are full-force in Halloween mode. My friends Brian and Natalie celebrated this wonderful time of year with Harvest Fest, a little shindig, barbecue in their backyard. There were friends who knew each other, some who didn’t, and two cutie-pie dogs who provided most of the day’s live entertainment.

Natalie did a great job filling the table with chocolate-dipped strawberries, apples and caramel and hot mulled apple cider. I brought my favorite chai cheesecake just because it was a great excuse to make it. Brian handled all the heavy stuff: the barbecue and the outdoor mini fridge stacked with festive bottles of brew.

I think this Harvest Fest was really great, and it should remind us all that there’s always a reason to celebrate.

We painted pumpkins from the “pumpkin patch” steps. Even the guys grabbed hold of paintbrushes and acrylics and got a little creative.

Captain is Brian and Natalie’s new rescued dog. It didn’t take long him and Sara to become best friends.

So yummy…strawberries and cider! Happy Harvest, everyone.

Brady Street Dog Parade

Beth — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:35:10 +0000

This past weekend my hubby Mike and I photographed the Dog Parade for the Brady Street Association in our Historic Neighborhood. This is a fun event held during the Brady Street Harvest Fest where everyone dresses up their pets for a contest judged by a local radio station personality and culminates in a parade down Brady Street to the local Catholic Church (St Rita’s) where all the pets were blessed by Father Tim.

Nothing was more adorable than to see the crowd sing two rousing renditions of “Your Are My Sunshine” to their pets. It made me miss my cat dearly. Although as ruler of her kingdom I’m sure she would not have been happy to be around all those other animals.

Even though the majority of the participants were dogs, the contest and parade were not limited and we got the see a dressed up cat, mouse and hamster!

So mark your calendars for next year and get your pets costume ready. The parade is held yearly on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (lover of all creatures).

http://www.bradyst.com/

Harvest Fest & Harvest Dance - Oct 3 & 4

thegardenshutterbug — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:29:08 +0000

CORNUCOPIA OF ACTIVITIES AT HISTORIC GARDENS’ HARVEST FEST

The Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal is hosting a fall fling Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 with a variety of activities designed to enjoy the season’s harvest.

Sample our local harvest fare and enjoy hot apple cider in the Gardens Shop all weekend. Guided tours will be held daily with lots to see: dazzling dahlias; the Innovative Garden’s wild and wacky produce; blooming perennial beds with fall asters, coneflowers, sunflowers, owl’s claws; funky magnolia fruit; towering Castor beans; and a full complement of flowering annuals, not to mention lots of wonderful trees & shrubs in full autumn glory. On Sunday afternoon, local talent Noelle Lucas will treat visitors to some great music, while Manfred Jonitz is on hand demonstrating cider making. All activities are complimentary with a special Harvest Weekend admission fee of $6.00 per person (and kids are free).

On Saturday evening a Harvest Dance will be held at the Annapolis Royal Community Centre & Legion to benefit the Historic Gardens. Dancers can kick up their heels to the classic tunes of the Annapolis Big Band, and enjoy light refreshments and a cash bar for $25 per person. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Historic Gardens at 532-7018.

For more information on these and other events at the Historic Gardens, visit the Gardens website or call 532-7018.

Harvest Fest & Harvest Dance

thegardenshutterbug — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:22:33 +0000

CORNUCOPIA OF ACTIVITIES AT HISTORIC GARDENS’ HARVEST FEST

The Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal is hosting a fall fling Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 with a variety of activities designed to enjoy the season’s harvest.

For more information on these and other events at the Historic Gardens, visit the website at www.historicgardens.com or call 532-7018.

Happy Times at Harvest Fest!

sfinsight — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:49:51 +0000

Learning About Lady Bugs!

Saturday’s 1^st Annual Harvest Fest at Fawick Park in Downtown Sioux Falls was an impressive, well put together event. The weather was awesome -74 degrees and little to no wind- which is a rarity in this locale! Along with the beautiful weather a good time was had by all. In support of the Food Pantry, the event brought in local vendors from bee-keeping, to stone cutting, to local landscape plants and everybody I encountered was ready to share their expertise. Children had games to play, faces to paint, and pumpkins to decorate. They even brought out the old potato sack races, which promptly brought me back to 1979 and a horrific last day of school race pile-up! But I digress, this event also promoted green living and clean energy – subjects we could all stand to learn more about. It was an incredible well rounded event that brought me back to my days growing up in a small town. Great feel, great people, and a great experience for an incredible cause. If you didn’t get the chance to enjoy the festivities this year, be sure and check it out next year. The activities also spilt over into other downtown areas where there was scrumptious food and snacks, amazing local musicians, and even horse drawn wagon rides. I left with a smile on my face knowing the end of summer is here but what an awesome day this was.

Harvest Festival at Fawick parkHorse Drawn Rides Down Phillips Ave.

Pride of New York Harvest Fest Success

Rob — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:06:38 +0000

From Carlo DeVito’s East Coast Wineries: The Pride of New York Harvest Festival at the Desomond Hotel in Albany, New York was a wonderufl success. Many celebs of the New York wine world were seen walking the floor, including Hunt Country’s Art Hunt, Fox Run’s Scott Osborn, Matt Spacarelli of Benmarl, Chris Reno of Lafayette Reaneau, and many other winery owners and winemakers, as well as scurrying sales staffs. View the Full Post

Online Christmas Gift Resources: Buy Fudge, Gourmet Gift Baskets, Create Your Own Christmas Gift Baskets, Buy Fruit Butter Online, Buy Christmas Gift Cards Online

Parents Weekend

Naima — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:49:38 +0000

So last weekend the campus was flooded with parents and younger siblings checking out the Bates scene. My parents couldn’t make the trip from Chicago this year, so Parents Weekend meant a few other things for me.

1) Big Tips. Working at the Ronj, Bates’ student-run coffee shop, is always dope, but the tips are generally sparse. When parents are in town, they tip well. Maybe it’s because they’re used to tipping in the real world, where one might discard their change into a tip cup. Or maybe it’s that the Ronj employees are wearing dirty clothes or no shoes and these lovely parents are trying to help us out during this economic crisis. Whatever the reason, the same tip cup that is usually home to spare dimes and nickels was overflowing with dollar bills.

2) A Cappella. Every Friday night of Parent’s Weekend, all of the a cappella groups on campus put on a massive show at Lewiston’s middle school. It’s literally steps from campus and holds over 500 people. This year, the Crosstones, the group I am in performed songs from Gnarles Barkley, Jackson 5, and Sufjan Stevens. Other groups performed songs from acts like Flight of the Concords and Ray Charles. Here’s a picture of my group on stage. *excuse the fuzziness*

3) Harvest Fest. This doesn’t always coincide with Parent’s Weekend, but it did this year. It’s basically a “hippie fest” of sorts. Think girls with hair dressed in flowers, flowing dresses, lots of food, hemp sweatshirts on sale, devil sticks, tie-dye, and a vast musical green and grassy knoll. Not so bad if the parents stayed home.

4) Free Meals. This is a perk of having your own parents come up as well, but generally, us “orphans” (as we are so affectionately called) end up tagging along to a meal. It’s also just a great opportunity to get to know some of your good friends’ parents. Sometimes it’s hard to really understand someone you’ve spent nearly every day with unless you have a good idea of where they’re coming from.

5) Sporting Events. Almost every sports team in season has a home game on Parent’s Weekend. So if you want to show off the athletic program to your parents, then you can head over to the turf, football field, soccer field, or rugby field and something is bound to be going on. This year, a bunch of my parent-less friends and I watched our field hockey team beat Conn College. It was fun, and it was a good opportunity to see a few good friends of ours play some hockey. Also, it was gorgeous out so it just nice to sit out in the Maine sun. Another photo:

6) Catching Up On Work. I won’t tell whether I actually did this or not, but I definitely thought about it. Since my mid-terms are kind of spread between last week and the week after break, I thought I could dedicate some mind power to preparing for tests, essays, and take-home exams. Especially since many of my friends were busy with their parents off in Portland or just down the street, I planned on getting loads of work done. That said, I was up until the wee hours finishing papers this week. Oh well. Parents weekend without parents? Success.

Peace and then some,

Naima

Maine (Harmony)

thefreedomofgreen — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:10:55 +0000

Event: Harmony Harvest Fest
Date(s): October 17th – 19th
Location: Carson Hill Rd. Harmony, Maine
Flyer: view
“All 2009 events will be held on our new site in harmony. The new site is twice the size of the hill and flat which will be a much easier site to maintain and hold our festivals on for everyone. We invite all our former hill hempsters to check out the grounds this year at our 1st Harmony Harvest Festival which should be quite a concert with all of our festivities you would expect of Maine Vocals events.” – http://www.mainevocals.net

FALL IN FULL SWING

EMILY — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:42:54 +0000

Living on the North Shore has been wonderful for me. I’m out and doing exciting and interesting things, enjoying the season and all the fresh air. A few weeks ago we attended the Ipswich Ale Harvest Fest at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, MA. We got to hang out with the farm animals, drink tasty Mercury Brewing Company beers, have a hot dog and a cup of clam chowder, and enjoy a gorgeous autumn weekend. The following (and above) are from that day. The farm was really beautiful. I hope to someday join their CSA program… for now we’re thinking about their Grocery Co-Op. Has anyone tried it out?

Werewolf

thefamilybush — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:54:48 +0000

[DISCLAIMER: This post is rated at least PG-13 due to scary werewolf content. Parental guidance is strongly suggested.]

When I was in kindergarten I won the costume contest for Halloween Harvest Fest. Look at me! I’m ferocious! That cute little robot standing next to me is really my little sister. It’s not a real robot.

My mom made the costumes. There were some other pretty good contestants (ghost, hobo, Richard Nixon), but I won hands down. Probably because the teacher wasn’t sure if I was a real werewolf or not and didn’t want to anger me just in case.

14 of my favorite shows

oreosmakemehappy — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:08:10 +0000

My friends know that I used to scalp tickets at Alpine Valley back in the late 80s, so I have seen a LOT of shows. Still, some favorites stand out in my mind to this day:

1) Cake in Chicago, July 2006
I blogged about this show back on my old Myspace page, maybe I’ll dig it out and repost it here in WordPress. It was with Ms Mary, and it was a perfect night, seeing my favorite band live for the first time outside under the stars. I sang along with strangers until I was hoarse, went to a loft party after, and the whole next day I couldn’t shut up about what a great time I had had.

2) Live at Summerfest, July 2007
Another perfect night… I love love love this band and this was my first time seeing them as well. Terry (the guy who shared my room in Puerto Vallarta) got me up so close to the stage (he is a former Deadhead, he was a real pro) and I swear I almost got some Ed Kowalczyk sweat on me. Speaking of bodily fluids….

3) Billy Idol at WI State Fair, August 1984
We got in the front row, my sister and I, long before the show started and the crush of people moved in. He was doing some baby dribbling thing with his lips into the mic and hanging over the crowd and I got some drool in my hair. I swore I would never wash it again. I was 14 and it was my first real show.

4) Soul Asylum at the Riviera in Chicago, mid 90s sometime in the fall?
Dale and I went, along with some of Dale’s kids (Carmen was there… was James too? Chris or Andy?) and his friend Jamie and her boyfriend. Little 5’2″ Jamie was taken down by a 6′+ 300+lb bouncer when she was caught trying to record the show and both she and her boyfriend spent the night in the Chicago jail, but we STILL had so much fun. I remember tossing booze bottles out of the cab on the way there, and by the end of the show I was wearing only fishnets, Docs, a black miniskirt and a bra. I still can’t hear “Without a Trace” without seeing that sea of heads bouncing up and down in that smokey venue. Flaco y Rosa!

5) Billy Idol at Oneida Pavillion Nights in Green Bay, August 2004
20 years later I was as excited as a teenager to see him again, and he put on an AWESOME show. He looked great for his age… we hung around after the show and scored some autographs and pictures. I was swoony for a week.

6) INXS with Ziggy Marley and Cheap Trick at Alpine, mid 80s
What a bizarre lineup. There were the “new wave” kids, the mullet rockers and the rasta dudes all out there. The only show I ever got my classic-rock lovin’ friend Jodi to attend with me. Had I known we had such limited time with Michael Hutchence on this planet, I would have made a point to see more shows. And no, the “new” INXS is NOT the same .

7) REM at Alpine, a September evening in the late 80s
I know it was September because I was in Madison for Harvest Fest that day, then drove over. I went alone, first show I had ever gone to alone (none of my friends were into REM). Amazingly enough in this HUGE parking lot of cars, who parks almost right behind me than two guys I went to high school with, one of whom was sort of a cousin (related to my former stepdad). Both big “jocks” in school, part of the crowd that mocked me and my friends for our little goth girl appearance back in school, now in college at Madison and all “enlightened” and shit. Still, they were trying so hard to impress me (despite having brought a pair of girls along) that they snuck me in from my crappy lawn seat area to the 11th row, and shared a few joints with me, and later offered me a place to stay with them in Madison. I was too cool to do that though, and took off for home, feeling just a little vindicated. Oh and the show rocked as well. Much better than when I saw them at Marcus in Milwaukee and Michael Stipe picked his nose and flicked the booger into the crowd. WTF? ugh.

8) Five Card Studs at Summerfest, June 2007
I got my own personal shout out, Mr Cesar Palace called me “a thousand miles of sexy” in front of a HUGE crowd. I danced my ass off (as I do at all their shows), and Tracy dumped a drink on a girl’s head to top the night off. Is that the definition of fun or what?

9) Five Card Studs at Lulus, St Patrick’s Day 2007
Again, danced my ass off… at first nobody was on the dance floor but me, so one by one I grabbed people out of the audience and pulled them up there to dance… before you knew it I had the floor PACKED… even Laurel was dancing! Cesar gave me his Guinness hat at the end of the show, which I brought back to my envious friends in our hotel room who couldn’t handle the 18 hours of drinking that I managed that day!

10) Los Straitjackets at Oneida in Green Bay for NYE 2003
I was in the front with my camera and they kept posing for me. Later they autographed Dale’s shirt. I’ve seen them 4 or so times since (and they are spectacular with the Pontani Sisters as well!) but that first time was the best.

11) B52s at Summerfest, mid 80s
Was out in the sun all day at Alpine scalping tickets for the “Stars and Guitars ” show, then we all hopped in my car over to Summerfest to catch the B52s who put on a GREAT show. I passed out on the grass early on only to be woken by security people (wasn’t drunk, just exhausted–long day) and my friends were nowhere to be found! They were up a few rows, dancing up a storm. I went up to join them, security said we couldn’t stand in the aisles, so we improvised and danced up and down the aisles and the stairs. It was a blast!

12) Eddie Money at Summerfest, early 90s
Who knew he had so many songs? Who knew we knew all the words? Who knew I could stop a fight from breaking out by telling a guy that I too was from Eau Claire? Who knew you could skinny dip in Lake Michigan? We still call him “Edie Monet” since he played the old Jazz stage that night. Saw him again recently at a show… sorry dude but you should have quit while you were ahead.

13) Spooner at Crystal Corner in Madison, early 90s?
Cool to see Butch Vig and Doug Erickson in their pre-Garbage days, even though I wasn’t a big fan of Spooner (Dale was). Just was mostly cool because of a) Jumpy Man, b) Dale peeing in the alley and c) Butch Vig stopping a song 30 seconds into it to berate the bass player for being out of tune, while Dale was trying to explain to the guy how he had fucked up his tuner. heh

14) Marques Bovre and the Evil Twins at Crystal Corner in Madison, early 90s
More Jumpy Man, and “I Like Gyrls (Who Like Gyrls)”. ‘Nuff said. Got to meet Marques Bovre a few years ago when he played the Feel Good festival with Dale… I was truly starstruck and couldn’t even begin to tell him what an amazing songwriter that man is.

Hmm… seems a little top-heavy with recent shows… I’m sure there are many more from my past I am just forgetting now, in my old age. Huey Lewis put on a surprisingly good show in the 80s, even though I was “too cool” really to like that sort of music back then. I’ve seen Violent Femmes a few times, but the shows themselves weren’t all that great for one reason or another. Aerosmith and Cheap Trick at the Arena in Green Bay were not bad, but still, nothing to write home about either. I think I’ve seen Cheap Trick 100 times by now, by the way…

The Guns N Roses show I went to in the early 90s at Alpine was such a mudfest I just went back to some guy’s hotel with him instead. I even remember a Krokus and Dokken show at Old Mill Center in Eau Claire in the mid 80s where my mother would have DIED if she saw what I wore, and my older boyfriend snuck me into the beer section with him. But the show itself sucked ass.

Lately I’m not too excited about anyone out there, really. I’ve been to some local shows, some good, some not so good. I see Duran Duran is even playing, I guess I could relive my teen years again for a night, surrounded by a bunch of other swooning almost-40 year olds… heh.

On to the Fun

cbroxton — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:41:00 +0000

Here are a few after the costume came off and she got serious about playin’

Stephanie as ... "Stephanie" from Lazy Town

cbroxton — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:38:00 +0000

We had such a great time at our annual Harvest Festival at church. Here are some photos of the girl for you to enjoy!

Much love