Rural Vermont hosts "Farmers Tell Their Stories" - April 8th, MONTPELIER

FARMERS TELL THEIR STORIES!

Rural Vermont Launches 30th Anniversary Series of Events on April 8th in Montpelier

To honor a rich and gutsy thirty year history and to connect the dots between good public policy and good food, Rural Vermont is launching a year-long  “Farmers Tell Their Stories” series. The first event is on Wednesday, April 8th at the Capital City Grange, located at 6612 Route 12 South on the Montpelier/Berlin line. Farmers and friends will take the stage and present a variety show featuring their personal and collective experiences through story, poetry, song, and skits!

Preceding the storytelling will be a potluck at 5:30 and Rural Vermont’s Annual Meeting at 6:30. The storytelling program begins at 7:30 and there is a $5 admission. Whether you’ve been a Rural Vermont member since the beginning or you’re hearing about the organization for the very first time, we look forward to sharing this special event with you! Everyone is welcome.

The storytelling will honor some of the people and accomplishments that make up Rural Vermont’s long history, as well as expose the dark underside of the local food movement and offer solutions. The program will offer plenty of food for thought, along with humor, hope, inspiration, and an invitation for everyone to play a role in defining Rural Vermont’s next thirty years.

The audience will learn about Rural Vermont’s earliest days from the organization’s founder and current day Senator Anthony Pollina, and then be transported back to 2006 with Board Member Emeritus Dexter Randall and previous director Amy Shollenberger for a high-stakes vote during one of Rural Vermont’s most contentious campaigns. Farmer-leader Mara Hearst will share her journey from farm fields in Dorset to the halls of the Statehouse. Folks can expect to be both entertained and shocked when some of the current-day issues stifling our farmers and our food system are highlighted in an original song composed by farmer-musician Jonathan Falby and a skit written and performed by farmer-puppeteer Zach Brandau. And we’ll be reminded of the triumphs and struggles that have defined Rural Vermont through a poem performed by farmer-lyrical artist Jeffrey “Frey” Ellis and based upon content the Rural Vermont community will provide in advance.

For more info and RSVP (coming soon!), visit this page.

Since 1985, Rural Vermont has been amplifying the voices of farmers and advocating for a fair food system. Through education, organizing, and advocacy, we work to create scale-appropriate, commonsense public policy that helps rather than hurts our family farms and preserves Vermont’s cultural heritage of neighbors feeding neighbors. Share this vision? Stay informed and get active by signing up for Rural Vermont’s mailing list. Better yet, build our people power and join Rural Vermont today!