Itty Bitty at Eat Real

This coming Saturday we will be at the Eat Real Festival with our goats, Lucy and Ethel. We will be there all day in the "Grow" section, so be sure to come over and say hello. I'll also be judging jams and preserves so be sure to enter your famous homemade goods. Categories include honey, homebrewing, infusions and liqueurs, pickles, and preserves. At 2:30 pm on Saturday, Ute and I will be giving a talk/demonstration on raising urban goats. That should be fun. But personally, I can't wait to gorge myself silly on all the scrumptious goodies from the food trucks and vendors. Here are the details:

Overview:
Part state fair, part block party, Eat Real Festival celebrates good fresh delicious food. With a focus on food craft, street food, handcrafted beers and local wines - all featuring sustainable local ingredients – Eat Real showcases food in all its different forms. But eating is only part of the fun - at Eat Real, you learn how to make it and grow it! From cheese to kombucha, there are dozens of demonstrations that highlight a DIY food lifestyle. No cost for entry, all edible treats $5 or less.

Highlights:
• Food for $5 or less
• Cold craft beer
• 25 top food trucks
• 50 food vendors
• 30 craft food vendors
• Hands-on food making workshops including bread baking, cheese making, jam making, pickling, backyard farming and more!
• Bands and DJs

When: Friday September 23^rd from 1:00 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday September 24^th from 11:00 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sunday September 25^th from 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Website: http://www.eatrealfest.com/event/Oakland/California/2011
Where: Jack London Square - Oakland, CA
Cost: Free entry!

Chickens at Sunset

Holy cluckin' crap am I exhausted. This weekend kick ass urban farmer Esperanza Pallana of Pluck and Feather and I gave a presentation and fielded hundreds of questions on raising backyard chickens.



We asked for it and boy did those questions come. We were a very popular booth,



which may have had to do with the fact that I brought all of my chicks and hens for show and tell. The kids loved it.



And so did the adults. Most were smitten with the vintage camper inspired demonstration coop in our booth designed by John Wright. There were a lot of folks interested in the idea of chickens, but I was thoroughly shocked to meet so many Sunset readers who currently raise their own hens, some of whom have been doing it for years and years.My favorites may have been the friends of Dorothy trio living in Sacramento where one had been raising chickens on the sly for nearly 20 years. Apparently, it has been illegal in Sacramento since the 70s, but they are hoping to change the laws this upcoming month. I wish them the best of luck.

Another highlight from the event was this totally rad chicken coop called the Kippen House (Kippen means "chicken" in Dutch) that had a garden bed for a roof. It was absolutely gorgeous!



I didn't have much time to explore the rest of the festival with all the people wanting to chat chickens. I am so grateful that our friends over at FARMcurious and Dog Island happened to be there too, as they were indispensable in helping out with all the cluckin' questions. By the end of it all we were completely chickened out. I think Esperanza's face says it all.


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Maker Faire Fun

What an incredible and exhausting weekend! The last time I was at the Maker Faire it was about a quarter of the size that it is today. Holy macaroni, I had no idea the event had gotten so big and crazy. It was something like a cross between Burning Man and a Professional Engineers conference: high on geek factor, low on e-bombed ravers. Since I'm a tee-totaler, it was the perfect blend.

On Saturday, I gave a workshop on urban goats and did a little cheese making demonstration. The talk went well, but I found it difficult to make cheese while milking the goat and talking. As a consequence, the milk burned a little giving the cheese a charcoalish flavor. How embarrassing! Whatevs, the goats were a hit.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Brinkerhoff at Dog Island Farm

Photo courtesy of Rachel Brinkerhoff at Dog Island Farm

After the talk, we had a great time parading the goats around, though we could never get very far as everyone wanted to get a pet in. Like I said, the goats stole the show. Thank goodness for Vanessa and my brother, Jan. They came along to help and I don't know what I would have done without them. Thanks guys!

If I had to pick the highlight of the day, this would have been it:

Photo courtesy of Rachel Brinkerhoff at Dog Island Farm

Lucy was so jealous that we got to drive that cupcake. It was pretty awesome. I'm trying to convince Esteban to build us one.

We even made the recap videos of the Faire. Watch Lucy destroy expensive sound equipment.

Um... sorry dude, but I did warn you.

Mark Your Calendars

Itty Bitty will be at the Eat Real Festival this year with a goat and maybe a baby goat...or two or three or four! Be sure to stop by Saturday morning to check out Lucy and her new baby/ies or Ethel, if Lucy is indisposed. I will also be giving a talk on Saturday evening about raising chickens and preparing dishes to use up excess eggs. See the full schedule of events here. There's gonna be loads of really cool stuff going on so be there or be square.

Itty Bitty at Kitchen Table Talks

Hey kids, if you're looking for something interesting to do Tuesday, January 19th, come see yours truly in a panel discussion on urban homesteading. The event is part of of CivilEats and 18 Reasons' monthly conversation series on the American food system called Kitchen Table Talks. The event will be held at Viracocha, 998 Valencia St. at 21st St from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Other panel guests include Kevin Bayuk, who serves on the Board of Directors for the Urban Alliance for Sustainability, and teaches with the Urban Permaculture Institute, Urban Permaculture Guild, and UC Berkeley Extension and Earth Activist Training, and Davin Wentworth-Thrasher, co-founder of the Ecology Center of San Francisco. Tickets are available by emailing ktt@civileats.com . But don't wait, space is limited and word on the streets is that the event is close to selling out.