Date: May 20th
Time: 5:00pm ’til sunset
Location: Green Gate Farms

Slow Food Austin invites you to join us for a special happy hour at Green Gate Farms. We will enjoy wines from family owned Viu Manent Winery and spirited creations from our special guests Bill Norris, the master mixologist at Fino, and David Alan, the (in)famous Tipsy Texan. Delicious appetizers by Cake & Spoon and El Locavore will be served al fresco using farm ingredients so fresh, we don’t even know what they are yet! We request a $10 donation to cover the cost of the gnosh, while all the proceeds from the wine and cocktails will go to Slow Food Austin.

Lawn chairs and closed-toe shoes are encouraged.

You don’t want to miss this fantastic happy hour featuring food, toddies and tunes at Green Gate Farms so put it on your calendar and let us know you’re coming!

RSVP to karlal@slowfoodaustin.org

A special thanks to our audio providers, Ideal Productions. Make your next event an IDEAL event.

Date: March 27th
Time: 11am – 2pm
Location: Stryk Dairy

You’re really from somewhere when you live on a road named after your family. Bob Stryk’s grandfather was running the family dairy in Schulenberg before industrialization drove all the small Texas dairies out of business. With true farmer innovation, Bob and Darlene Stryk have found the niche direct markets that enable them to continue this tradition and milk their Jerseys on a small, intimate scale. The Stryks offer raw milk to a small but growing and passionate group of locals, and they have built a loyal clientele for their own hand-crafted cheese, including a traditional Czech specialty, ‘koch kase.’

Raw milk has been in and out of the news with increasing frequency. The City of Austin is considering passing an ordinance allowing its sale within city limits, in response to federal and state regulatory pressures to stifle it. Bob and Darlene have a few things to say on the subject, naturally. Come out to the dairy, meet the herd, taste the milk, and decide for yourself. Participants will take home a selection of the dairy’s products. Limited spaces will fill fast!

Please RSVP to education@slowfoodaustin.org to coordinate ticket purchase.

Date: April 10th
Time: 10am – Noon
Location: Springdale Farm

Local farms come in all sizes, big and little. The new buzz words – “spin” farming, urban farming, “pocket” farming – are embodied in Springdale Farm, a 78702 4.8-acre patch cultivated by Paula and Glenn Foore. The couple has rescued a little bit more of Austin’s fertile river bottom from impervious surface and runs the city’s newest community-supported agriculture (CSA) operation. Tour attendees will learn how the couple stopped dreaming and started practicing their brand of “sustainable urban farming,” right here in Austin. Attendees will receive a box share of spring vegetables featuring fresh herbs. Limited spaces will fill fast!

Please RSVP to education@slowfoodaustin.org to coordinate ticket purchase.

Huge thanks to all who came out to our first happy hour of 2010 at Cipollina Bistro last Thursday. We had a full house, sold out of all the wine and raised over $500 for Haitian relief efforts!

Thank you to Pioneer Wine for donating the amazing bottles of wine and, of course, to Cipollina for being such fantastic hosts. Next month’s happy hour will be at Fino. Stay tuned for details!

Check out the great photographs taken by one of our leadership team members – Marshall Wright of Eatthislens.com.

Saturday, January 16, 2010
11am – 2pm
Yonder Way Farm
Tickets: $25 single/$40 couple/family (includes sampling of farm product (i.e. meat, produce, etc.)

Slow Food Austin (SFA) Farm Tours offer a signature opportunity to forage food items directly from area farms, in the context of an informative tour showing how and where the items were grown or produced, and introducing the people that produce them.

Goals of Tours:

* Increase understanding of the contributions area farmers make to our local food community
* Offer opportunities to sample local foods
* Increase understanding of Slow Food Austin’s goals to promote our local food culture and encourage conscious and appreciative enjoyment of it
* If possible, provide food for thought – novel discussion topics and angles on local farming

SFA is launching our farm tours with a bang – come with us on January 16 to meet Jason Kramer of Yonder Way Farm, an ambitious and exciting operation along the lines of Joel Salatin’s pastured salad bar beef farm, Polyface. Jason raises pastured pork, beef, poultry and eggs, and is completing construction of an on-farm commercial kitchen from which he plans to serve barbecued pork, sausages and other eatables. In the best farming tradition of cooperation, Jason also offers organic produce and milk from two other neighboring farms.

Yonder Way Farm [directions]
5500 Hwy 105
Brenham, TX 77833 (1 hour 45 min from Austin)

Tickets are SOLD OUT.

The tour carpool will leave Austin at 9am on January 16 (depature location TBD). Expect to return to Austin by 5pm
For more information, send an email to education@slowfoodaustin.org.

Thursday, December 3
6:30pm – 10:30pm
Barr Mansion

Join Slow Food Austin and the Austin Permaculture Guild at the Barr Mansion, for a community potluck celebrating local food, and a presentation about Citizen Gardener, one of the best things to happen to Austin gardeners in a long time.

Got a dish for 6-8 that you’re proud of? Make it with local ingredients? Consider it your ticket to this potluck in the glass barn behind the Barr Mansion, a beautiful landmark event destination.

During the evening Austin Permaculture Guild will launch its latest class of certified permaculture graduates, and APG director Dick Pierce will present a slideshow about Citizen Gardener, a how-to-garden-in-Austin program.

RSVP
For directions to Barr Mansion, visit www.barrmansion.com

Happy Holidays!