Liberty Food Festival Is Ready for its Closeup

Event runs in Bellows Falls, VT, Dec. 11 - 13

By The MAHA Report

National and international leaders in the local food movement will descend on tiny Bellows Falls, VT for the third annual Liberty Food Fest, to be held Dec. 11 -13 at the Bellows Falls Opera House and The Hungry Diner.

Vermont Lieutenant Governor John S. Rogers, who operates his family’s farm in Glover, VT, will host a panel on Cannabis at 3 pm, Dec. 13, at the Opera House. He’ll be joined at the three-day event by a compelling lineup, including self-styled ‘lunatic farmer’ Joel Salatin of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley; Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, of Maine, who co-authored the bipartisan first-in-the-nation Right to Food Amendment; and Chair of the Vermont State Agricultural Committee, Representative David Durfee.

The festivities kick off on the evening of Dec. 11, with a sold-out dinner in Walpole’s popular Hungry Diner restaurant, featuring remarks by Salatin, whose passion for local food systems has made him one of the nation’s most sought-after speakers on the needs of small farmers. Other agricultural leaders include farmer, author and politician John Klar; organic dairyman Pete Miller of Miller Farms; and Leigh Merinoff of Meadows Bee Farm, an innovative school that teaches youth hands-on farm skills.

Both festival days there will be a holiday market in the basement of the Opera House with a variety of local vendors selling clothes, artwork, and food. There will also be live music by renowned local musician, fiddler Randy Miller, and kids activities hosted by Merinoff’s Meadows Bee.

On Friday and Saturday, the event moves to the Opera House with a full lineup of speakers and films. A special dinner will be held Friday night at the Opera House, where attendees will receive warm chili from local favorite Smokin’ Bowls as well as fire-roasted pasture-raised suckling pigs.

Salatin, Faulkingham and Merinoff will attend the dinner, to be followed by a brief screening of work-in-progress documentary, The Right to Food.

For a full schedule and costs to attend the Liberty Food Fest, please click the links. Please also reach out to Graham Meriwether graham@leaveitbetter.com; (802) 428-6778) for more information about the event.