SPAC Partners with Pitney Meadows Community Farm & Skidmore College for its “Cultivate Series” to precede the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival, with FREE events that explore Sustainable Agriculture, Health and Environmental Justice
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Saratoga Performing Arts Center announced that it has partnered with Pitney Meadows Community Farm and Skidmore College to present its new “Cultivate Series” on October 1-3 in advance of its reimagined Saratoga Wine and Food Festival on October 4-5.
(See this post for the latest details about the Wine and Food Festival )
Featuring experts including Soul Fire Farm co-founder, author, activist and farmer Leah Penniman; author of Fasting and Feasting Adam Federman, and Ayurvedic expert and classically trained chef Austin Peltier, the Cultivate Series will offer four free events in the community that explore sustainable agriculture, health, and environmental justice.
“Our new Cultivate Series was created to enhance our reimagined wine and food festival with free, public events that will explore sustainability, and socially-conscious cultivation and consumption. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Pitney Meadows Community Farm and Skidmore College, two incredibly important institutions in our community,” said Elizabeth Sobol, President & CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Kicking off the series on October 1 at 7 p.m. will be The Science of Life: An Introduction to Ayurvedic Cooking with Austin Peltier, a presentation on the core concepts and cooking methods of Ayurveda, a 5,000 year old wellness practice originating in India that seeks to create a strong, balanced, and healthy body through a thoughtful and focused diet. Following the presentation there will be a tasting that incorporates the guiding principles of the Ayurvedic practice.
Leah Penniman, a Black Kreyol educator, farmer, author of Farming While Black, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY, will lead a workshop entitled Building a Just Food System with Leah Penniman on October 2 at 3 p.m. and a lecture, Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming and Food Justice on October 2 at 7 p.m.
Closing out the series on October 3 at 7 p.m. is a lecture by Adam Federman who will discuss his biography Fasting and Feasting about Patience Gray, one of the true pioneers of the return to slow food and foraging – and an inspiration for what has become the farm-to-table movement.
The Cultivate Series events are all free, however reservations are required. Visit spac.org for details.
CULTIVATE SERIES SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
TUESDAY, OCT. 1 | 7PM:
The Science of Life: An Introduction to Ayurvedic Cooking with Austin Peltier
- Skidmore College Fallstaff Pavilion
Austin Peltier will delve into the practice and cooking methods of Ayurveda, a 5,000 year old wellness practice originating in India that seeks to create a strong, balanced, and healthy body through a thoughtful and focused diet.
Chef Peltier will offer a presentation on the core concepts of Ayurveda and associated cooking techniques, followed by a tasting that will incorporate the guiding principles of the practice. Participants will be encouraged to participate in a Q&A following the tasting.
Visit spac.org for details or register here.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2 | 3PM:
Building a Just Food System with Leah Penniman
- Pitney Meadows Community Farm
Building a Just Food System with Leah Penniman will feature games, stories and theater activities focused on the concept of Food Justice at Pitney Meadows Community Farm on October 2 from 3 – 4:30pm. Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol educator, farmer, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2011 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim a sense of ancestral connection to land.
Visit spac.org for details or register here.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2 | 7PM: Leah Penniman Presents Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming and Food Justice
- Pitney Meadows Community Farm
Leah Penniman will discuss her new book Farming While Black, and how to be a part of the movement for food sovereignty, helping to build a food system based on justice, dignity, and abundance for all members of the community.
Visit spac.org for details or register here.
THURSDAY, OCT. 3 | 7PM:
Fasting and Feasting with Adam Federman
- Pitney Meadows Community Farm
Adam Federman will lead a discussion about his biography Fasting and Feasting, which tells the remarkable life story of Patience Gray: from her privileged and intellectual upbringing in England, to her trials as a single mother during World War II, to her career working as a designer, editor, translator, and author, and her travels and culinary adventures in later years. A slow food and foraging pioneer, Gray is considered the true grandmother of what has become the farm-to-table movement. Her influence, particularly among chefs and food writers, has had a lasting and profound effect on the way society views and celebrates food and regional cuisines.
A Q&A and book signing opportunity will follow the talk.
Visit spac.org for details or register here.
The 12866 
2 Replies to “The Hunt For SPAC’s October Episode 1: Cultivate (Partners)”