news-record.com

Efforts to promote the consumption of locally produced foods are gaining ground in counties throughout North Carolina.

A community in Stokes County hopes to expand the dialogue by focusing on those topics at a sustainability festival on the grounds of a Hare Krishna temple in Sandy Ridge.
The free festival on Saturday, Jan. 17, will feature speakers, local food and music. Who should attend?

"Anyone with a mouth and a stomach," said organizer Mitra Das . "Each and everyone of us depends on food everyday."

The community held its first festival in November and included workshops on everything from solar photovoltaics and sustainable businesses to finding security in uncertain times.

The centerpiece of the upcoming event will be an afternoon sit-down with local farmers who will share their agricultural wisdom.

Also scheduled:
* Ken Bridle of the Piedmont Land Conservancy will talk about protecting farmland;

* Pat Bush of Handance Farm will provide advice on saving seeds;

* Tony McGee will describe the work at Stokes County Organization for Revitalizing the Economy (CORE), which helps support farming in the area;

* Kirby Wilkins of Reidsville will share his experience with rainwater harvesting and year-round gardening without a greenhouse;

* Susan Andreatta of UNCG's Project Green Leaf will talk about creating a new generation of farmers;

* John and Kay Hartman will share their experience of farming with horses;

* Michael Hylton , an agricultural extension agent, will share what practices work on small farms.