Dear
Colleagues,
I wanted to
let you know that I just joined the team at Slow Food Nation and to share with
you our exciting plans. I look forward to working with you all on this inaugural
American event at the center of a movement with national impact and global
implications.
Over Labor
Day Weekend (August 29 to September 1,
2008) Slow Food Nation will transform San Francisco’s Civic Center
and Fort Mason as tens of thousands of local citizens and visitors, farmers and
food artisans, political leaders, environmental advocates and health-care
experts, educators and artists, and parents and children gather to experience
the largest celebration of food San Francisco has ever witnessed. The first-ever
event of its kind in America, Slow Food Nation will present an extraordinary
range of activities for all ages, including a farmers’ market showcasing
hundreds of California growers and artisan producers, tastings and feasts,
chef's demonstrations, an urban farm, a music festival, a major conference on
food values, social justice and the environment, and workshops, forums, films
and interactive exhibits, all highlighting food that supports an agricultural
system that is good, clean and fair.
The world's
most pressing questions regarding health, culture, the environment, education,
social justice and the global economy are all deeply connected to the food we
eat and how it is produced. By creating a framework for a deeper environmental
connection to our food, participants will learn how everyday choices affect our
well-being, our culture and the health of the
planet.
The four-day
event will feature:
Food for
Thought: Wendell Berry, Marion Nestle, Carlo Petrini, Michael
Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Vandana Shiva, Alice Waters and many more will share their vision
for a good, clean and fair food system. Forums, workshops, film screenings and
participatory panels for all will further the
discussion.
Marketplace: A vibrant showcase of
hundreds of local and sustainable growers and artisanal producers featuring
fresh, seasonal produce and foods.
Taste
Pavilion: Savor
hundreds of American artisanal foods, including meats and cheeses, olive oils,
breads, pickles and chutneys, jams and honeys, microbrews, wines, and more. Taste workshops will provide an in-depth gastronomical
experience.
Victory Garden: A vital and diverse
urban farm to be planted by the community in the heart of the
city.
Slow On the
Go: Famed street food from the
kitchens of new immigrant cultures, displaying the rich diversity of culinary
traditions in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Seat at the
Table: Dinner for 500 around the Victory Garden to celebrate urban-rural
partnerships.
Changemakers
Day: In collaboration with Roots of
Change, hundreds of nonprofit leaders and activists will convene to share best
practices, learn new approaches and inspire a new generation of
ideas.
In addition,
Slow Food Nation will host a music concert and offer slow dinners at renowned
restaurants, slow journeys throughout the Bay Area and slow hikes to explore the
agricultural landscapes that support this region.
Stay tuned
for more information/watch for our soon-to-be re-launched web site and let me
know how we can work together to bring these important issues to the
table.
All best,
ns
Naomi
Starkman
Communications & Policy
Director
Slow Food
Nation
609 Mission
Street, Third
Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
415.369.9950-o
917.539.3924-c
Slow
Food Nation
August 29 -
September 1, 2008
San
Francisco/Civic Center
& Fort Mason