EarthFest at White Barn Farm: Saturday 4/20, 12pm - 4pm

EXCESSIVELY LONG EMAIL ALERT!  Hey, y’all! We have picked a real challenging day for our EarthFest at the farm this year. Saturday, April 20th is the second weekend in April Vacation for anyone on a school schedule. It is the day before Easter for anyone preparing to host guests. AND it is Little League Opening Day in Wrentham.

We are hoping that we can still convince anyone who will be around to make it a point to stop by White Barn Farm and enjoy some aspect of our EarthFest Day. This is a crucial fundraising day for us! And an opportunity for us to share our passion and commitment to making the world a better place. $10 per car. Walkers and Bikers Free. $2 per Activity ticket. Park on the Summer Farmstand side, a friendly Wrentham Policeman will help you safely cross 1A. EarthFest is 12pm to 4pm. Note the 8am Trail Run and 10am Yoga Class are "pre-EarthFest."

• IF YOU EAT FOOD . . . If you did go away for April vacay and happen to be back Saturday, and have returned to an empty fridge – White Barn Farmstand has got wholesome good food for you to enjoy. We are going to have plump red radishes, tender arugula, pea tendrils, and spicy mustard greens, all just in time for this market. Mike’s Micros is rounding out the offerings with his impressive range of vitamin-packed power-full microgreens. Gather yourself a week’s worth of amazing salads, sandwich embellishments, pizza toppings, you name it. The farmstand will be stocking Brown Bear peanut and almond butter, Narragansett Creamery cheeses, Pat's Pastured frozen meats, eggs, and more!

I am desperately trying to change my mantra from “I can resist anything but temptation” (normally it is kind of a joke, but also a little too true) – to “Do today what feels good tomorrow.” Perhaps I have shared before my concurrent passion for whoopee pies and chocolate brownies (not to mention white wine and rosé) and my type 1 diabetes. Those foods are not good choices for a diabetic and, let’s be honest, really any human body. So get your WBF produce and feel great tomorrow!!!!

Anywho . . . Ha! Just to remain in balance we are going to be selling those little Wright's Dairy Farm chocolate milks, Iggy’s Bread & Pastries and hosting other sweets vendors as well – including The Fudge Lady and the Biscotti Lady from Bellichi’s Best biscotti. Maybe even the 4Paws Animal Shelter Bake Sale! Harms Family Farm will be selling their Massachusetts Maple Syrup and offering maple syrup tastings all day. Everything in moderation! Jordan Brothers Seafood Truck will be there from 12pm-2pm only! We are so lucky to live near the coast of some of the best fishing waters around. Experience seafood selected by a dedicated family of professional fishmongers who do things like taste the scallops raw before they buy them for their customers. Fish is an excellent protein, the sea is full of all sorts of magical micronutrients (one of my farming idols uses diluted seawater as a foliar spray on his plants), and fish is so easy and fast to prepare. Pat dry, season with salt and pepper, drizzle w/ olive oil – grill or roast, finish with lemon and fresh herbs/or not. Properly searing scallops will have to go in the next email. Pre-order is not required but available by emailing jordanbrothersseafood@yahoo.com

• IF YOU NEED EGGS . . . . If you are making any sort of egg dish for Easter – the Farmstand will be stocked with the beautiful Birchwold Farm Fresh Eggs, from hens raised right here in Wrentham – at that cute yellow house kind of across from Joe’s Rock. We are also ordering in Pat’s Pastured Eggs to make sure the egg supply is abundant. Katy Riley, from Treehouse Farms in Millis can’t bring her goat or rabbit this year, but she IS bringing her bantam rooster and some fluffy little chicks! Plus her flock of laying hens are producing eggs that she will have available as well. If anyone remembers our chicken house on wheels and are curious of its whereabouts – Katy has it. Katy is a cool person to follow on Instagram. (Because I’m sure you need another distraction on your phone.)

• IF YOU ARE A TRAIL RUNNER OR FITNESS ENTHUSIAST . . . . Farmer Chris is leading a trail run from the parking lot at the summer farmstand the morning of EarthFest. He is one of Graham’s T-ball coaches so the run is going to be at 8am so he can be part of the opening day parade. C’mon all you go-getters. Chris’ love for life and activity is infectious. If he doesn’t inspire you, no one can! Meet at 8am at the farmstand. (free) • IF YOU ARE INTO YOGA . . . . We are hosting a pre-EarthFest yoga session with Karen Ring, who has been part of the White Barn Farm team in some aspect since 2010. She is a student and amazing teacher of yoga. She teaches the anatomy portion of yoga teacher trainings, has worked as a personal trainer, and even been a bodybuilder! Her instruction style is very precise, anatomically accurate, alignment oriented, and often including full Sanskrit yoga pose names. This is not a beginner’s yoga class. It is not exactly gentle. We are calling it Strengthen and Lengthen Yoga. Karen is a wonderful instructor and teaches regularly at Franklin Yoga & Wellness, Tuesdays at 4:30pm. (If you go to that class you could even run into me, Farmer Brittany from Upswing Farm, or Laurene Hulbig host of our Wine & Design series). Class is at 10am at the barn – outside if it’s nice out, in the right side of the barn if it’s not. Bring your yoga mat, any props you like, water and $15 for Karen.

• IF YOU ARE A GARDENER The very first seedlings grown in White Barn Farm’s greenhouse will be for sale. We will also have a few perennials, including peonies and columbine. Anything we are selling can be planted now. These are cold-hardy seedlings. No guarantees that these will be ready enough to sell on 4/20, but we definitely have starts for Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Cilantro, Alyssum, Johnny Jump-ups, and Calendula. Mini 6-packs are $3 each. Our huge annual Plant Sale, May 18 & 19, will feature the debut of warm weather garden faves.

Vermont Compost Products and Neptune’s Harvest organic liquid fertilizers will be available at the farmstand. VT Compost makes excellent, consistent, certified organic, living soil mixes and also makes straight manure compost. If you need soil or compost before EarthFest, arrange a pick-up time with Christy by calling or texting 774-210-0359. Check out sizes, pricing, and even order and pay online if you like.

• IF YOU ARE HUNGRY BETWEEN 12-4 ON APRIL 20TH Come get a hand-crafted wood-fired cheese pizza made by Marty Pearson. Although WBF and Mike’s Micros never use any chemicals on their veggies, we do officially recommend always washing your vegetables anyway (grit, ya know). BUT, a handful of Arugula (or any other greens) on a fresh hot pizza right out of Marty’s stone oven may be just what the doctor ordered! If you are famished at Little League Opening Day, come get a pizza! $10 bucks a pie – a meal for one, a snack for two, and enough to stave off hanger for up to 4 kids distracted by checking out tractors, cranking the popcorn sheller, visiting with baby chicks, getting their faces painted, planting a seed in the greenhouse, running because they see open space, etc. • IF YOU ARE COMPOST CURIOUS . . . Yours truly, Farmer Christy, will be demonstrating how to build a compost pile. Not a structure for holding compost. Just a little brown to green material ratio demonstration, discussion of the magic of microbes, fungi, and all the life that makes our carbon cycle happen. Composting is an excellent way to make your trash can not smell, divert an enormous amount of weight from the landfill, sequester carbon in your own back yard, and feed your soil!! Christy will be answering questions and sharing all the knowledge and resources re: compost that she can muster. 3pm at EarthFest. Gather in front of the barn. 1 Activity Ticket (per adult, kids free)

• IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE PLANTS THAT SURROUND US . . . Jessyloo Rodrigues, herbalist and farmer, will be leading a Family-Friendly Weed Walk around the grounds of White Barn Farm. She and her little boy, Jasper, will take you on a farm tour, identifying wild plants, letting you know which are edible, which have medicinal properties, and answering your questions along the way. She can also explain some of our farming practices and identify cultivated crops you come across. 12:30pm. Meet in front of the barn. 2 Activity Tickets (per adult, kids free) Wear sensible shoes or boots.

• IF YOU WANT FABULOUS FACEPAINTING Becky Sheerin, the artist formerly known as Becky Garcia, who is, like so many of us - a KP graduate (and older sister of my childhood friend, Ally). She has been a professional sign painter and is crazy talented. Just you wait and see! She has designs for all ages, boys, girls, and even biceps if you are wearing your muscle shirt. Ask her about coming to an event or birthday party. 12pm - 4pm. 3 Activity Tickets.

• IF YOU ARE FASCINATED BY BEEKEEPING . . . Beekeeping father-daughter duo, Roger and Laura, of Franklin Honey Co. keep some of their beehives right here at White Barn Farm. In addition to selling their local raw honey, bee based soaps, hand cream and lip balm at EarthFest, they will be doing a beekeeping demo at 2pm. Meet on the grassy knoll uphill from the beehives. 2 Activity Tickets (per adult, kids free).

Other Activities WBF plans to host: Crank the Popcorn Sheller, Plant-a-Seed in the greenhouse, Potato Sack Racing, Photo-Op on the Farmall Cub Tractor, Seedling I.D. challenge, and maybe more  . . . 

•Hyphen Designs will be there with beautiful handmade upcycled clothing and an upcycled craft you can make and take home. 3 Activity Tickets. Will from WMR Woodworking will have his beautiful cutting boards and handcrafted wood products .We will also have artisan Kathy Shoop from Woodpile Pottery selling her beautiful works of functional art.

-IF YOU ARE INTERESTED MUSHROOM CULTIVATION . . . Talk to Tim from RI Mushroom Co., the source of that fabulous Chef’s Mix and all sorts of wonderful edible fungi. He will have mushrooms for sale and will have an ongoing show-and-tell about mushroom cultivation. 12pm-4pm. • IF YOU’VE TRIED EVERY NATURAL DEODERANT and still have not found one you like . . . Dab Deoderant will be at EarthFest to blow your mind and make you smell great!

• IF YOU NEED FLOWERS FOR YOUR HAIR, A PLANTER FOR YOUR PORCH, OR A CENTERPIECE FOR YOUR TABLE . . . Spring has Sprung and we will have two floral designers on hand! (Actually three if you count Sheryl, who makes Dab deodorant). Laurene Hulbig Floral Design (Wine & Design Mastermind and longtime White Barn Farm employee) will have Flower Crowns for sale and Spring Planters (great for your place and/or as a hostess gift, hint, hint). A cool new business in Norfolk, Only Prettier Design, a sweet little flower and gift shop located at the corner of 1A and 115, is bringing their Flower Bar on wheels for you to immerse yourself among gorgeous flowers and make a bouquet to take home or give as a gift. • IF YOUR 2ND OR 3RD GRADER HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE EARTHFEST POSTER COMPETITION . . . . Mrs. Moon, the Wrentham Elementary Technology Teacher at Delaney, had the kids do some graphic design for our event. Farmer Chris went to the school yesterday to award the winners and talk about the importance of eating good food and supporting local farms. I’m quite certain he mentioned popcorn and pizza as well, according to the questions I was getting from the Cub Scouts who visited yesterday afternoon! Come see the winning posters on display!

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Actual Earthday is Monday, April 22nd. But as the cliché goes, “every day is earth day.” It is not easy to adhere to moral convictions or to always do what you know is the better choice. Even me! I am a psycho-recycler-fanatic but even I have thrown a recyclable container full of nasty mold into the trash can, fearing instant death by inhalation of botulism particles (probably not valid). I am an advocate of holding your breath, using a rubber spatula, and immediate soapy, hot water if you can muster the courage. It is so hard to eat right, exercise, be a conscious consumer, avoid addicting distractions, keep the house clean, be fiscally responsible, help others, do your best work, not take your partner for granted, be the best parent, what have you. Earth Day is a day for reflecting on our daily habits, finding some new ideas that can help you conserve resources, reuse, recycle, minimize contaminating our environment, and ultimately do our tiny bit to avoid contributing to drastic weather patterns and devastation of our planet. (Did I go too far?) No one is perfect! You will see that organic vegetable growers generate way more plastic trash than we'd care to admit. We all do our best. Come see us at some point during the day, Saturday, April 20th! Family Friendly and Something for Everyone!!! *If you are only zipping in to shop at the farmstand, just tell the parking person and you won’t have to pay $10 to park.

*If you want to volunteer at EarthFest or in another way to help the WBF cause, email us at info@whitebarnfarm.org

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Thank you for reading this absurdly long email! xoxoxo Farmer Christy