Featured at The
Fiddlehead Festival

The new DuBois and King building in downtown Randolph, which replaced an abandoned elementary school, was the result of a unique public-private partnership. Representing the partners are, from left, Julie Iffland, executive director of the Randolph Area Community Development Corp., Joe Boyd, president of the Chamber ofCommerce, and William Bauman, president of D&K, one of the state's largest engineering firms.

Story telling, wild edibles and heirloom vegetables will be important parts of the upcoming Fiddlehead Festival that will be held on Saturday, May 5 at the VTC campus in Randolph Center. These educational features will be presented in the Old Dorm Lounge and Conant building.

All Fiddlehead Festival events, except the Farmers Lunch and evening concert, are free.

Life on the Farm will be a panel discussion moderated by Gregory Sharrow, program director at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury.. Senior members of the local farm community will tell of their life experiences, recall the many changes that have occurred during their working lifetimes, and their visions for the future.

Wild for Vermont: Preparing Spring Edibles from Woodlands and Waterways is a session that will be hosted by three aficionados of wild food, Tom Bivins, Les Hook, and Nova Kim. They will tell you where you can find fresh foraged greens and early spring edibles. You will also learn about proper preparation methods. Tom Bivins, a Bethel resident, is executive chef of the New England Culinary Institute and Les Hook & Nova Kim are from Wild Organics of Albany, Vt.

Heirloom Vegetables: Sharing Stories of Seasons and Seeds. As recently as 70-years-ago, the diets and activities of many rural Vermonters were shaped by the seasons and what they needed to do to feed themselves. Today, many people are returning to the practices of eating seasonally, root cellaring, and saving their own seed because of a desire to conserve older varieties and reduce dependence on petrochemicals. In this workshop, Ginger Nickerson will explore the significance of particular heirloom varieties for Vermont communities in the past, and Rebecca Beidler and Jeffrey

Ellis will share stories about eating seasonally and saving seeds today. Seeds will be shared so you can experiment with heirloom varieties on your own!

Following these sessions there will be a Farmer’s Lunch at 12:30, offering good food, live music, and door prizes for light-hearted contests. After the Farmer’s Lunch is completed, the auditorium floor will be cleared for an old fashioned barn dance.

Learning presentations continue in the afternoon as activities move to the VTC grounds. Planned activities include antique engines, a demo of a chicken plucking machine, hand milking of cows, plowing demonstrations, a sugarhouse tour, pasture walk, and a tour of the VTC farm buildings.

Activities will move to downtown Randolph in the late afternoon with a gallery exhibit of Vermont art at the Chandler Gallery, a nature walk on the Randolph floodplain, a chicken pie church supper at the United Church of Randolph, and an evening concert performance by George Woodard and Friends at the Chandler Music Hall.

George Woodward, an organic dairy farmer, actor, and filmmaker presents an unforgettable evening of music and memorable commentary which is always enjoyed by sell-out audiences. Tickets are available at Chandler.

Go to www.fiddleheadfestival.com for the latest Fiddlehead Festival event schedule and news. Watch the April 26^th issue of "The Herald", for a 24-page Fiddlehead Festival Program Guide.

Don’t Miss Out!

Area businesses and organizations can become part of Randolph’s very first Fiddlehead Festival!

Advertising spots are available in the Fiddlehead Festival Program Guide, that will be inserted in the April 26 issue of The Herald, and widely distributed elsewhere. They’ll also be available at the Festival itself.

Don’t miss this chance to support Central Vermont’s newest Festival and get powerful recognition and visibility for your business or organization at the same time. With a handsome four-color cover and fascinating festival info, this is a great new publication to be part of.

Call The Herald at 728-3232 or email Ads@OurHerald.com to discuss this unique advertising opportunity.

PIXS

Pix1 caption: Greg Sharrow of the Vermont Folklife Center will moderate a panel discussion with senior community members who will share their memories of "Life on the Farm".

Pix2 caption: Mr. Nova Kim and Les Hook, expert wildcrafters from Albany, VT, will talk about preparing Spring edibles from woodlands and waterways.

Pix3 caption: Mr. Chef Tom Bivins of the New England Culinary Institute will talk about preparing foods that can be found in the upcoming Spring season.

Pix4 (?) caption: Ginger Nickerson, Rebecca Beidler & Jeffrey Ellis will share stories of heirloom vegetables.