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We hope that you will consider joining us at this year's Farm 2 Fork Festival in Saranac Lake on Saturday, August 31st. Vendors will be set up and available starting at 9 am with food being served starting at 11 am.
This year’s theme will be “Victory Gardens.” We are working to incorporate the history of local gardens and encourage local citizens to participate. We are committed advocates for our local farm community and are actively engaged on many levels to make consumers aware of the importance of supporting our local agriculture. In the tradition of the Adirondack Green Circle who started the festival, we continue to strive to “leave no trace” in all our endeavors. That means that we use real flatware at the festival and no plastic. Creating as little waste as possible is our continued goal. The Farm to Fork Festival will be using proceeds of this event to put back into the community through ANCA’s FarmShare Fund. This grant program supports a vibrant regional food system that is healthy for our communities, our farms and our environment. The goal of the fund is to encourage initiatives that promote our region's farms and their products while improving food security for low-income families. The Adirondack Green Circle started the event which was a project of the Ausable Valley Grange Farmers’ Market Committee. In addition, a pickle bar and an artisan beverage bar are included in the $15 tasting ticket price. There will also be a $12 vegetarian option. The Green Circle dissolved in 2016 so a group of us who couldn’t bear to see the event die have taken over. In the past, well over 700 visitors flood Riverside Park that Saturday of Labor Day weekend to hear music and workshops on stage and to partake in a food tasting.
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SARANAC LAKE — The 2017 Farm 2 Fork Festival will be held here at Riverside Park on Saturday, Sept. 2.
This year’s theme is Adirondack Cookout. The menu includes grilled Mace Chasm sausage, vegetable lasagna, Dak & Dill Pickles, salsa, coleslaw, garlic and herb roasted potatoes, and apple crisp. “Our menu reflects the diversity of products available from local farmers and showcases how easy it is for consumers to turn those products into home cooked meals,” said Hannah Gibbons-Arthur of the festival’s organizing committee. “We’ve got live music, great food, funs and games—what more do you need?” The inaugural Heirloom Award will be handed out at the festival, honoring a local person that goes above and beyond to support local farmers and local food. The first recipient will be Farm 2 Fork Festival founder Gail Brill of Saranac Lake. “From running the Adirondack Green Circle to organizing community events like Farm 2 Fork, Gail proves over and over again that her heart is here in Saranac Lake, and that she’s deeply committed to expanding support of local foods and farms,” said Jacob Vennie-Vollrath, also a member of the festival’s organizing committee. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in conjunction with the regular Saturday farmers market. It’s organized by a local committee of volunteers, with help from Adirondack Farm to School. Farm 2 Fork is proud to once again partner with Taste NY, launched by Governor Andrew Cuomo and run by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to highlight the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages produced throughout New York State. The musical act for this year’s festival is Maribyrd, who’s known as “New Jersey’s Joni Mitchell.” She plays acoustic guitar, mandolin, a little bass, and loves singing harmonies. Play ADK will be onsite, too, with founder Rob Carr offering up play-based interpretive activities for children. The Saranac Lake Village Farmers’ Market runs throughout the day; visitors are encouraged to purchase goods from vendors and try some of the day’s recipes. Additionally, Saranac Lake’s lively downtown is just a short walk from Riverside Park. This year’s festival is sponsored by Adirondack Health, Mike Foote State Farm, Taste NY, and Select Sotheby's International Realty. North Country Public Radio is media sponsor for the event. For festival updates, visit www.farm2forkfestival.com or visit our Facebook page, Farm 2 Fork Festival in Saranac Lake. For more information about the Farm 2 Fork Festival, or to get involved, please contact Hannah Gibbons-Arthur at hmgibbon@gmail.com. 2016 Farm 2 Fork Festival set for Sept. 3 SARANAC LAKE — The seventh installment of the annual Farm 2 Fork Festival will feature a new twist.
For 2016, Farm 2 Fork presents the “BBQ Under the Big Top,” a celebration of local food and farmers infused with a circus atmosphere. “We wanted to shake things up this year,” said Gail Brill, who heads up Farm 2 Fork’s all-volunteer organizing committee. “In past years, we’ve featured a local menu, served up by our home cooks and featuring ingredients from producers across the region. This year, our team will serve up a barbecue menu for herbivores and carnivores, showcasing products from local farmers. To add to the festive environment, we’re bringing in some classic circus activities, including a dunk tank, stilt walkers and more.” Farm 2 Fork is a collaboration of the Adirondack Green Circle and the AuSable Grange. The festival’s mission is to expand support of local foods and farms, and promote food awareness in the northern Adirondacks. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at Saranac Lake’s Riverside Park, concurrently to the regular Saturday farmers market. Farm 2 Fork is proud to once again partner with Taste NY, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s program, run by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to highlight the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages produced throughout New York State. In past years, Farm 2 Fork’s menu featured local food prepared by home cooks. This year, home cooks and local chefs will team up to offer a barbecue menu, grilled fresh at Riverside Park. All meats and produce will come from local farms. The menu also includes pickles, slaw, grilled corn on the cob, grilled veggies and frozen yogurt. Big top activities include a dunk tank, which will offer a chance to dunk Peter Crowley of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Bob Bayruns of Ace Hardware, Doug Haney of Cycle Adirondacks, and Connor Celeste of the Winter Carnival Court 2016. Stilt walkers Pete and Amy Nelson of Keene will provide entertainment, and face-painting and temporary tattoos will be available for kids and adults. The musical act for this year’s festival is Slow Pony, a duo consisting of Savannah Levin and Eli Argo. They will also be performing at Hobofest the following day, Sunday, Sept. 4. The Saranac Lake Village Farmers’ Market runs throughout the day; visitors are encouraged to purchase goods from vendors and try some of the day’s recipes. Additionally, Saranac Lake’s lively downtown is just a short walk from Riverside Park. Adirondack Green Circle events are always “leave no trace.” To that end, Farm 2 Fork has partnered with North Country School and Camp Treetops to use its composter to take care of any food waste generated by the event. This year’s festival is sponsored by Apex Solar, Casella, Taste NY, and Sotheby's. North Country Public Radio is media sponsor for the event. For festival updates, check back to this site or visit our Facebook page, Farm 2 Fork Festival in Saranac Lake. For more information about the Farm 2 Fork Festival, please contact Gail Brill at gailbrilldesign@gmail.com. The 2015 Farm 2 Fork Festival was the biggest to date. Thanks to our amazing local farmers and the many visitors to Riverside Park, we were able to serve more food than ever before. The weather was perfect, and our new partnership with HoboFest helped promote tourism and business in downtown Saranac Lake.
 SARANAC LAKE — Home cooks will serve up a diverse array of farm to table dishes at the sixth annual Farm 2 Fork Festival.
This year’s menu features an Adirondack Mediterranean theme. The festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Saranac Lake’s Riverside Park. A collaboration of the Adirondack Green Circle and the AuSable Valley Grange, the festival’s mission is to expand support of local foods and farms and promote food awareness in the northern Adirondacks. “Our local farmers are critical to the region’s economic vitality and overall well being,” said Natasha Bristol, a member of the festival’s organizing committee. “Farm 2 Fork’s goal is to showcase the bounty our farmers produce in a fun, accessible way. The recipes that our home cooks share are easy to replicate and, as always, consist almost entirely of local ingredients.” Farm 2 Fork is proud to once again partner with Taste NY, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s program, run by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to highlight the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages produced throughout New York State. This year’s Taste NY vendors include Gristmill Distillers (Keene), ADK Bloody Mary Tonic (Tupper Lake), Forever Wild Beverage Co. (Lake Placid), Nine Pin Cider Work (Albany) and many more local beverage companies. The festival’s marquee attraction is a colorful, diverse lunch featuring food prepared by home cooks. Tasting tickets cost $15 and include hand-cranked ice cream, pickle bar, and sips from the artisan beverage bar. Festival goers will be encouraged to “graze” at the home cook stations, rather than line up like past years. With Hobofest taking place at Riverside Park on Sept. 6, Farm 2 Fork will preview one of the following day’s acts: Matt Heckler of West Saugerties. Heckler will bring his brand of Romanian gypsy music to the stage starting at noon, and will be joined by ADK Hot Club, a gypsy jazz trio consisting of Alex Marklund and Bobby Davis on guitar, with vocals by Stephanie Sears, who also plays clarinet. This year’s festival includes a food art competition, face painting by the Saranac Lake High School Green Team, and vendors and informational booths stationed by local producers and organizations, including the Essex Farm Institute. The Saranac Lake Village Farmers’ Market runs throughout the day; visitors are encouraged to purchase goods from vendors and try some of the day’s recipes. Additionally, Saranac Lake’s lively downtown is just a short walk from Riverside Park. This year’s festival is sponsored by Taste NY, Paul Smith’s College, Casella, Prime Lending and Ace Hardware. North Country Public Radio is media sponsor for the event. For festival updates, visit www.farm2forkfestival.com or visit our Facebook page, Farm 2 Fork Festival in Saranac Lake. For more information about the Farm 2 Fork Festival, please contact Chris Morris at (518) 524-4320 or chrjmorris@gmail.com.
... so our incomparable Event Coordinator Gail Brill created this map! 
Check out this poster - it shows all of the awesome brewers and distilleries at this year's Festival, thanks to Taste NY! 
 Back Porch Society SARANAC LAKE – A bounty of locally produced food and drink is on the menu for the fifth annual Farm 2 Fork Festival, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 at Saranac Lake’s Riverside Park.
New this year, local organizers have partnered with Taste NY, a program of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, to highlight the quality, diversity and economic impact of food and beverages produced in the Adirondack region. A collaboration of the Adirondack Green Circle and the AuSable Valley Grange, the festival’s mission is to expand the support of local foods and local farms and promote food awareness in the northern Adirondacks. “What could be more fun than a festival that celebrates fresh food and local farm abundance? Not much, at least for me,” said Gail Brill, event coordinator for Farm 2 Fork. “Partnering with Taste NY is going to exponentially raise the fun quotient at the festival. Local brewers, vintners and distillers are on board. There are so many things happening in New York State and across the country regarding brewing and distilling. It’s an exciting time to see these small companies take hold. This commitment to locally produced, close-to-home foods is the core of the festival and the Saranac Lake Village Farmers’ Market. We are excited to see how this pairing of local foods with local spirits, wines and beer will play out.” The festival runs in conjunction with the popular Saranac Lake Village Farmers’ Market. The event begins with remarks by Brill and Franklin County Legislator Barb Rice, who also serves on the village of Saranac Lake’s Board of Trustees. The morning proceeds with a series of presentations, including Tammy Morgan on Lake Placid’s biodigester project and Drew Matott on using spent beer grains to make paper. Additional speakers will be added as the festival draws closer. Following the presentations, visitors will be invited to take the stage and participate in a “recipe slam.” If you have a favorite recipe prepared from local ingredients, this is your opportunity to share it with the world. Information on how to sign up will be available at Riverside Park on the day of the festival. The festival’s marquee attraction will once again be a colorful, diverse lunch featuring food prepared by eight home cooks. Tasting tickets cost $10 and include hand-cranked ice cream, pickle bar, and sips from the artisan beverage bar. Also new this year is a food art competition. Participants are encouraged to bring carved vegetables or fruit, which will be judged by a group of local farmers. Winners will be announced at 2 p.m. and have a chance to win a Farm 2 Fork cookbook and a $25 gift certificate redeemable at the Farmers’ Market. Live music by the Back Porch Society will run from noon to 2 p.m. The Saranac Lake Village Farmers’ Market runs throughout the day; visitors are encouraged to purchase goods from vendors and try some of the day’s recipes. Additionally, Saranac Lake’s lively downtown is just a short walk from Riverside Park. This year’s festival is sponsored by Taste NY, Casella Waste Management, Paul Smith’s College, Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, Franny Preston of Prime Lending, and Mike Foote of State Farm Insurance. The festival also receives support from private donors through Adirondack Foundation’s crowdfunding website, Adirondack Gives. Special thanks to the North Country Healthy Heart Network for serving as fiscal sponsor to facilitate philanthropic gifts. For more information about the Farm 2 Fork Festival, please contact Gail Brill at (518) 586-1063 or gailbrilldesign@gmail.com. For festival updates, find us on Facebook by searching for "Farm 2 Fork Festival in Saranac Lake." |
