Each year, the agricultural exhibitors at the festival offer amazing, locally grown and produced products that celebrate the plentiful bounty of the North Quabbin and surrounding regions. Through on-going demonstrations and workshops they showcase the methods for growing your own garlic, making herbal products, growing mushrooms, roasting chiles, and promoting pollinators.
Below are some of the wonderful farmers and farm products that have been part of our festival family in past years. This is not a current list for 2022. You may find some of them at area farmers markets and other events, so do enjoy their websites and support local food and farms year-round! There are some great videos here too!!
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- American Chestnut Project, Spencer, MA: The presentations here will provide you with some American Chestnut History, a Description of a Local Restoration Project, and information about the Role of Chestnut Trees in Regenerative Agriculture.
- Balky Farm, Northfield MA: sheepskins and goat hides, wool felted items, rovings, yarn, meat, preserves, wreathes
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- Birch Moon Farm and Farmshoes, Shutesbury MA: herbal body care, custom shoes
- Bug Hill Farm, Ashfield MA: fruit shrubs, black current cordial, chutney, conserves. Visit the sweet story of the organic fruit farm.
- Clearview Compost, Orange: compost education and small bags of compost
- Clearview Farm Garlic, special guests featuring softneck varieties!
- Dancing Bear Farm, Leyden, figs and fig trees, garlic, veggies. Learn about root pruning and the figs at Dancing Bear Farm.
- Diemand Farm, Wendell, sheep, poultry, turkeys, eggs, catering, barbeques, and a small herd of beef cows. Learn about this family farm from the family members.
- Foxtrot Farm, Shelburne Falls MA: fresh and dried herbs, teas, bouquets, salves. Watch the story of this beginning farm — Breaking Ground.
- Grass Hill Alpacas, Haydenville MA: knitted alpaca products. Watch the cute alpacas.
- Hettie Belle Farm, Warwick MA: grass-fed, organic meat and poultry CSA
- Jay’s Wicked, Ware MA: BBQ Sauces, hot sauces, cider tonic and spice blends.
- Just Roots, Greenfield MA: fall produce, bike powered root washer, and more. Learn about the growth of Just Roots Community Farm.
- Kitchen Garden Farm, Sunderland MA: Garlic, root/fall veggies, sriracha, salsa. Learn how they made a success of growing specialty vegetables and hot peppers.
- Little White Goat Dairy, Orange MA- check their website for 2022 offerings!
- Maple Mama Beverages, Wendell MA: Bottled Craft Maple Spritzers
- Montague Chili Roasters, Montague MA: on-site green chile roasting
- New England Wild Edibles, fresh and dried mushrooms, jerk seasonings
- New Salem Preserves, New Salem MA: Apples, preserves, and cider. Owner Carol Hillman welcomes you to her orchard and cider shop here.
- Niemi’s Apiary, Athol MA: Honey, beeswax candles, beekeeper’s handcream
- Old Friends Farm, Amherst MA: ginger, turmeric, garlic, veggies, shaved ice sodas
- Popple Camp Alpaca Farm, Phillipston MA: Alpaca knitted products
- Real Pickles, Greenfield MA: Raw, local naturally fermented pickles and krauts, pickle pops. Here’s an introduction. They are committed to promoting human and ecological health by providing people with delicious, nourishing food and by working toward a regional, organic food system. Take a tour of their processing facility. Learn about their values.
- Seeds of Solidarity Farm, Orange MA: Assortment of garlic for planting, garlic braids, fall veggies, handcrafted meditation benches, rustic furniture. Farmer Ricky Baruc recently did a webinar for the Northeast Organic Farmers Association on No-Till Gardening and Farming with Cardboard, Cover Crops, and Tarps. Deb Habib created Recipes for Wellness, a 40-page booklet distributed widely throughout this region to promote strategies for wellness to families and elders facing hunger. Learn more about this farming couple through their recently published book, Making Love While Farming: A Field Guide to a Life of Passion and Purpose, which can be ordered from worker-owned Levellers Press. They will be holding Garlic Saturdays at their farm between September 12 and October 10, 12 – 5 PM where you can purchase culinary and seed garlic, braids, and just say hello. There will be a pop-up artist at each event as well. Garlic is also available at their farm stand along with greens, tomatoes, and handmade products. Learn about the garlic harvest.
- Simple Gifts Farm, Amherst, Organic produce and meat from sustainably farmed animals. Here’s how they got started. Watch skinning a greenhouse.
- Senny’s Sweets, Wendell MA: carmel and maple syrup apples, maple syrup lollipops, maple syrup!
- Sokoki Falls Farm is a nursery, ecological landscaping service, and forest garden nestled in southeastern Vermont. We believe perennial food, medicine, and resource crops are key to a verdant future. We specialize in chestnut, pawpaw, hazelnut, persimmon, heartnut, walnut, hardy pecan, mulberry, elderberry, and other perennial crops.
- Sweetwater Farm, Petersham MA: Produce and seeds. Visit Sweetwater Farm.
- Sweet Birch Herbals, Montague MA: teas, tinctures, salves, and Full Moon Ghee. Treating inflammation with herbal medicine.
- White Buffalo Herbs, Warwick MA: Handmade organic herbals, teas, and aromatherapy products. A – Z of Herbs.
- Woodcock Farm, Belchertown MA: fleece, roving, yarn and hand-knitted and woven products
Who domesticated whom? The Great Goat Taming.