What a difference a week makes when it comes to fall weather. The first edition of the Festival Terre Ferme Farmland Festival, which took place on September 25-26 in Godmanchester, enjoyed bright sunlight and above-average temperatures. The mercury then dropped about 15 degrees C in one week, and Mother Nature conjured a deluge just in time for the inaugural Fall Flavours Festival in Ormstown this past weekend. Both events have, however, been deemed successes by organizers, with many lessons learned for next year – perhaps the most important being that there is an avid audience for events that bring agriculture, and culture, to the forefront.
The organizers behind the Farmland Festival used rural culture and agriculture as a foundation on which to build an event that broke down barriers. The bringing together of different cultures is not new to this region, and while the recipe has not always worked, the Farmland Festival managed to combine local producers with international, indigenous and intercultural artists in such a way that it was at once educational, refreshing, and necessary, given that there are so few opportunities to connect with such diversity of cultures in person in the Valley.
The Fall Flavours Festival was just as indispensable in that it also extended the possibility of building bridges between agricultural producers and consumers. Farmers know all too well that there is value in ensuring that people know where their food comes from and how it is produced. Much work is being done to encourage this type of opportunity and the LBA managed despite low numbers to create an event that was just as valuable for producers as it was for those who came through the gates. Both festivals served as a valuable reminder that we as a community need to be ready to cross such bridges going forward if we are going to grow together as neighbours and friends.
Sarah Rennie