Slow Food Nation August 29, 2008
San Francisco, California 94123
[also a big garden at Civic Center, various locations]
How is a heritage turkey different from its factory farm counterpart? What is a Blenheim apricot and why should we preserve it for posterity? How can we all enjoy local, affordable, and sustainably produced food? The answers will be apparent at the first Slow Food Nation, a celebration of American food organized by Slow Food USA in San Francisco.
San Francisco is poised to be at the center of a movement with global implications. Experts such as Alice Waters and Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, are anchoring the task force planning the four-day celebration, which will embody the values of the Slow Food movement and illustrate how food and agriculture form a complex global tapestry of cultural, political, and environmental issues. In addition to education through taste, the event will offer a wide range of activities for all ages, including talks, forums, workshops, and films that will teach people the importance of preserving traditional foods and production techniques—and alert them to the broader implications of their eating choices.
A marketplace of around five dozen farmers and artisans from across the country will showcase the range of traditional American foods. Attracted by the simple pleasures of the table, participants will leave having learned how American food production affects global issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, childhood obesity, famine in the developing world, and the disappearance of the small farmer. Attendees will emerge with a broad-based vision of the life-enriching benefits of a sustainable approach to food and life, as well as the tools and personal connections to implement that vision.
Official Website: http://www.slowfoodnation.org/
Added by raines on May 9, 2007
Comments
lu gubrious
Alice Waters will be at Red Hill Books on December 20th at 7:30 pm
holding a conversation regarding her book "The Art of Simple Food" and slow food.
It is not often she makes public appearances that are this intimate in scale.
401 Cortland Ave in Bernal Heights. http://dogearedbooks.com/redhill
sincerely hope to see you there
Jesse Zbikowski
This event is listed for August 29 but the text says May 1.
misswilloughby
Is this event happening August 29th or May 1st?
ccrask
The website says Labor Day Weekend Aug 29th
http://slowfoodnation.org/press.php
spidra
It would be better to edit the home page above to: http://slowfoodnation.org There are more details there, less hunting for them...
raines
@spidra, I just heard as much from their office manager and updated the entry to include the improved link.
@everyone else who commented: the event WAS originally scheduled for May 1 and the text was straight from their website, just not updated when they swapped dates.
@everybody: Write to info at slow food nation dot org if you're interested in volunteering. They need hundreds of volunteers, and with burners outta town, the pool is somewhat reduced.
raines
Here's the official press release, naming speakers:
SLOW FOOD NATION TO TAKE PLACE IN SAN FRANCISCO LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2008
Largest Celebration of American Food in History
On Eve of the Presidential Election, Gathering Sets New Agenda for a
Sustainable and Healthy Food System
Keynote Speakers Include Wendell Berry, Marion Nestle, Carlo Petrini, Michael Pollan,
Eric Schlosser, Vandana Shiva and Alice Waters
San Francisco, CA (June 4, 2008) — Slow Food Nation, the largest celebration of American food in history, will take place in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend (August 29 to September 1, 2008). An unprecedented event, Slow Food Nation will bring together tens of thousands to experience an extraordinary range of activities highlighting the connection between plate and planet. The majority of Slow Food Nation’s events will be free and open to the public; certain events are ticketed. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 4 at www.slowfoodnation.org.
At the peak of harvest season, and on the eve of a Presidential election, Slow Food Nation will bring together local citizens and visitors, farmers and food artisans, political leaders, environmental advocates and health-care experts, community educators and artists. Participants will savor food from across the U.S. at Taste, a 50,000 square foot pavilion; meet farmers and producers at a marketplace surrounding a 10,000 square foot newly-planted urban garden in the heart of the City; learn from visionary speakers; and engage in political discourse to shape a more sustainable food system. Slow Food Nation will also feature a music festival, workshops, films, dinners, hikes and journeys.
"Slow Food Nation will catalyze a huge shift in how Americans perceive and prioritize food. Through the four-day event, we hope to build momentum and demand for an American food system that is safer, healthier and more socially just," said Anya Fernald, Executive Director of Slow Food Nation. "Our founder Alice Waters has set the stage for a delicious revolution through decades of leadership and advocacy and our parent organization, Slow Food U.S.A., has built a wide membership base across America. By creating a framework for a deeper environmental and community-based connection to our food and farmers, Slow Food Nation will help participants learn how everyday choices affect our well-being, our culture and the health of the planet."
Highlights of the four-day event include:
Taste
Saturday, August 30; 11 am – 3 pm; 5 pm – 9 pm
Sunday, August 31, 11 am – 3 pm; 6 pm – 9 pm
Fort Mason/Festival Pavilion
Tickets: $45 – $65
Taste is Slow Food Nation’s grand celebration of good, clean and fair food from across the United States. In-depth taste workshops and hands-on experiences with quality, process and distinguishing flavor factors will connect visitors with the origins and true value of our food. Each of the 15 uniquely designed pavilions showcases a different food through on-site demonstrations and tastes. Featured foods include: Beer, Bread, Charcuterie, Cheese, Chocolate, Coffee, Fish, Honey & Preserves, Ice Cream, Native Foods, Olive Oil, Pickles & Chutney, Spirits, Tea and Wine. The Green Kitchen takes place here, where acclaimed chefs will demo...
spidra
Now that the ticket prices have been announced, I'm scandalized and disappointed. Setting the prices that high ensures that you're preaching to the choir - people who could afford to eat at Chez Panisse and know all about what Alice Waters and others are preaching. The average Americans you'd need to reach & educate in order to effect any real change can't afford $65 for a ticket that allows them in for 4 hours. Shame.
twailes
fyi - almost everything is now sold out, although of course it will still be possible to go to the Civic Center Farmer's Market that is open to all
Foodie55
Good try for 1st time - Taste Pavillion - 4 hours is not enough to eat, learn, and appreciate all the hard work behind each of the pavillions. We had no information and didn't know how to get the most out of our 4 hours. As it was we missed 4 pavillions because we spent too much time at others and wasn't aware that by 2:45, some were closing down.
It would have helped if there was a list of all exhibitors and contact information. I would love to be able buy these products. An announcement 30 minutes before exhibits closed would be helpful. I waited in one line not knowing that it would be my last. For $65,a little more information about what we were getting would have been a "fair trade."
spidra
The organizers ought to be ashamed of themselves. For the prices to the event and for this:
http://tinyurl.com/5efgqz
raines
Edited for date change