The dates for Greater Sarasota’s sixth annual Eat Local Week, a popular celebration of the best of local food and farming in Sarasota and Manatee counties, are now officially confirmed as Saturday, October 22nd through Sunday, October 30th.
Each year, dozens of organizations, led by Transition Sarasota (www.transitionsrq.org), come together to offer dozens of events, including farm and garden tours, farm-to-fork dinners, “reskilling” workshops, educational programs, community discussions, and hands-on activities. In keeping with this year’s theme of “Food Changes Everything,” they will focus on exploring interconnections between food and topics such as health, the natural environment, art and culture, social justice, the economy, and more.
Several events will feature keynote speaker Douglas Gayeton. An award-winning information architect, filmmaker, photographer, and writer, Gayeton is the co-founder of The Lexicon of Sustainability (www.lexiconofsustainability.com), which seeks to advance the conversation about America’s rapidly-evolving food culture by illuminating the vocabulary of sustainable agriculture. He is also the director of the PBS animated short-film series “Know Your Food” and author of Local: The New Face of Food & Farming in America.
Eat Local Week 2016 sponsors and partners include Whole Foods Market Sarasota, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Sarasota Magazine, Sir Speedy Sarasota, The Lexicon of Sustainability, City of Sarasota, Gecko’s Hospitality Group, Hotel Indigo, Manatee Rare Fruit Council, Mattison’s Culinary Group, Ringling College of Art + Design, Tropical Fruit Society of Sarasota, WSLR 96.5 FM Community Radio, Alembics Herbals, All Faiths Food Bank, Alliance for Fair Food, Bradenton Farmers’ Market, Englewood Farmers Market, Florida House Institute, Geraldson Community Farm, Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores Neighborhood Association, Mote Aquaculture Research Park, Newtown Farmers Market, North Port Farmers Market, Ortygia Restaurant, Peace Education & Action Center, Slow Foods Kitchen, UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, US Green Building Council Myakka River Branch, and Venice Farmer’s Market.
For more information about this year’s festivities, please visit www.localweeksrq.org, “like” Greater Sarasota’s Eat Local Week on Facebook, and follow the hashtag #localweeksrq on Twitter.
