The Folk & The November - Farm, Fork, Family
NOVEMBER 2013
FARM, FORK, FAMILY
diary of a little city
ii
JESSI LEMAY Director - The Folk & The Lore, Inc.
It was my goal, when planning November’s event, to tap into what is on everyone’s mind: food and family. The history of one family gathering around a table, surely, would turn up some stories; but what could we drum up by asking a community to tell those familial dramas. This was where my mind began, but upon asking and searching, inquiring and getting down right nosy, I found something even more interesting: the story of food as activism, right here in our community. The simple act of where you buy and where you grow your food, and specifically, what you eat, has powerful implications. Bigger implications than saving the Earth, although that would seem to be a noble quest. What I discovered was how food brings us together. Wendy Baroli, Head Farmer and Co-Owner of Girl Farm, raises pork that Mark Estee, owner of Campo, uses in his dishes. Before I realized the connection, I had commitments from each of them to tell their stories on stage. Matt Johnson, Co-Owner of Imbib (a sponsor of ours), is a member of Girl Farm, who also used to work with Jeff Bryant, Director of Urban Roots (featured on our Local Foods Movement Film). Over and over, I learned how tightly knit this community is when the common thread is food. And isn’t that what we are doing with The Folk & The Lore, Inc.? Creating tighter connections through a common thread, storytelling?
On a chilly morning, I set out to meet with Katy and Kyle Chandler-Isackson. If there had to be one moment, during the making of this event, that really surprised and stopped me in my tracks, it was the time I spent talking to Kyle. He and his wife, are fundamentalists of a sort, but one cannot help but admire their commitment to their beliefs and how that permeates everything they do. In a neighborhood in North Reno, a family of four lives a humble, but lovely life off of less than $6000 per year. They grow and raise their own vegetables and meat, live without power, without a vehicle, and you know what? They love it. It is the living embodiment of their beliefs. More than that, Katy and Kyle have encouraged friends to buy homes in their neighborhood (a neighborhood, that according to a Reno Police Officer, has over 100 separate gangs). I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a more pure example of grassroots change, than the one in which families, one by one, turn a gang-riddled neighborhood into a community of people focused on sustainable agriculture. It wasn’t my goal or my desire to create our November event to focus on food as activism, but I am learning, quite fast, that I will never be able to control or dictate Reno’s story. I can only create a forum and vehicle to share these tales. Farm, Fork, Family was the perfect event to let me know that I am the right track with The Folk & The Lore, Inc. I think Reno is ripe, not only for visual storytelling, but for a way to gather, to listen, and to share.
Warmly, Jessi LeMay
Photo Series
The Urban Bee Keeper Photography by Jessi LeMay Featuring Dan Bailey with Dharma Bees Dan Bailey is a Bee-Keeper that has hives of bees through-out Washoe County. He produces honey, beeswax, and is also educates the public about benefits of bees. His beard is pretty amazing too.
Short Film
Back To Where I Started
Short Film
Amber's Guests
Photo Series
Textures Photography by Jessi LeMay Photographed at River School and Girl Farm
Short Film
Local Foods Movement
Short Film
Grassroots Reno
Photo Series
Home is how we change the world Photography by Jessi LeMay Featuring Katy and Kyle Chandler-Isacksen (This is the beginning of an ongoing series about grassroots movements in Reno. Katy and Kyle started the organization BE THE CHANGE, and the changes they want to see in the world begin right in their home. Raising pork, growing vegetables, bartering and trade are just a few of the methods they use in their effort to live a life free of “non-violence.� It is hard not to be impressed with their tenacity and passion.)
November’s Storytellers Wendy Baroli
Carolyn Chapman
Mark Estee
Michelle Roberts
The Reluctant Pig Farmer a story about finding your passion through hard lessons, pig friendship, and the cycle of life and death.
Carolyn told a tale from her own family history about driving cattle through Indian country and the tragic events that unfolded.
The owner of Campo (among other restaurants) regailed us with his story about working under Alice Waters, and the question she asked that changed his life.
During her travels and research while working on her PhD, Michelle eats a variety of exotic foods, and then takes her life into her own hands when nature calls.
Nathan Rosenbloom For a family that once sat and ate together, nearly every night, the journey back to the table was an unorthodoxed and storied one.
“
, ‘Do you use local .”
?’... -Mark Estee
“
... ” -Nathan Rosenbloom
-Wendy Baroli
-Carolyn Chapman
“
...
... ” -Michelle Roberts
Major Sponsors
In-Kind Sponsors
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