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Tips for a Fun Filled Local Foods Weekend

Local Foods Weekend is fast approaching! While it may seem like “just another fall weekend,” in fact it’s a uniquely curated extravaganza with an incredible range of experiences into the farms and food system of the region. Over 30 public events hosted by food producers and businesses participating in Local Foods Weekend on September 8, 9, 10 offer you a chance to connect with and visit one or multiple locations. Here’s 6 tips to create a memorable weekend.

1. Discover different event activities

With so many options to choose from, we don’t want you to feel overwhelmed to plan your Local Foods Weekend experience. Think about what you’d like to see or do. Do you have a big family and want to find children’s activities? Is eating great local food a top priority? Do you love hands-on learning? Each business event is categorized by “activity type,” and many events are associated with multiple types. The 9 different categories of activity types include: 

  • Children’s Activities
  • Demonstration
  • Free Samples
  • Guided Tours
  • Live Music
  • Open House
  • Plein Air Viewing
  • Prepared Foods
  • Workshop

You can look for the activity types in the brochure found on the website here and check out the activity icons next to each event listing. These listings are also organized by day and time in the brochure, which can help narrow down events to attend. 

A brochure listing of events over multiple days.
Check out the Local Foods Weekend brochure on the webpage to find activities you’d like to attend.

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Save The Date for Local Foods Weekend 2023

Local farmers and food businesses are busy working in the fields and kitchens to bring delicious food to our plates, pantries, and freezers. Whether you make a salad with greens you picked up from a farmer’s market, cook a roast from the farm down the road, or enjoy meals at restaurants sourcing ingredients from our area’s growers, you are participating in our fabulous local food system. 

To highlight these valuable members in our community and give them the credit and support they deserve, join us on September 8th, 9th, 10th, 2023 for the second Local Foods Weekend! The weekend consists of different public events hosted by local farmers and food businesses. It is a 3-day celebration of the products and the people that grow, raise, sell, or prepare food in and nearby St. Lawrence County and is organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County. Every eater can play an active role in building a resilient local food system, and here’s a chance to learn more about the many farmers and food entrepreneurs involved. 

Visit one or more of the 30+ events at locations across St. Lawrence County. There’s something for all interests including children’s activities, special menus, free samples, guided farm tours, workshops, open houses, and more. 

Photo of a woman standing at her market tent with assorted herbs, vegetables, holding sunflowers.
Ashley Campbell of Trout and Heron in Potsdam is ready to welcome visitors to her new educational facilities with garden-centered creative children’s activities during the weekend.

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Versatile Cooking in Summer

My favorite time of the year is here – summer. I love the warm days, fireflies, bonfires, farmwork, and of course, the fresh local food the season brings to us in abundance. Now is the easiest time of year to support our producers and eat refreshing fruits and vegetables. All the area outlets, from CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms, farmers’ markets, farm stands, and natural food stores, are filling their shares, stands, and shelves with produce. We are once again able to enjoy big bunches of leafy greens, salad mix, carrots, garlic scapes, radishes, turnips, snap peas, onions, berries, and more as the season progresses.

An outdoor fire in a fire pit, with the moon rising over a background of pasture and forest.
My husband and I enjoy watching the moonrise with bonfires on summer nights.

Summer also brings full schedules. With the nice weather I find myself needing or wanting to do all sorts of different things – work in the orchard, fix fencing, mow the lawn, preserve fruits and vegetables, plant flowers, go canoeing, take my dogs for a hike, visit with family and friends – the list goes on! Prioritizing fresh food can slip lower on my activities to do, even when it’s most available. That means easy-to-make but versatile recipes are key to my summer eating. A favorite recipe we enjoy at home is Dragon Noodles. When you google “Dragon Noodle recipes”, there are many different variations that pop up and often have an Asian flavor influence. Our version stems from a friend’s recipe my husband learned while working on a vegetable farm in New Jersey. It consists of rice noodles, a stir fry of vegetables, a protein source, and a peanut sauce.

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