Food Patriots
Creative Chicago and Good Food
Image Posted on
-
- Sara Chapman of Media Burn
-
- Tempestt Hazel of Sixty Inches from Center
-
- Tempestt Hazel of Sixty Inches from Center
-
- Sausages
-
- Catherine Ann Confections
-
- New Hollard Brewery
-
- Chicago Diner
-
- Fancy Ham
-
- Good Eggs
-
- Curiosity
-
- Mo’ Rub
-
- Unlikely Customer
-
- Cave Chick
-
- Red Meat Market
-
- Food Patriots
-
- Grace and Luza
-
- Save the Bees
-
- Breslin Farms
-
- Pleasant House
-
- Stephanie Douglass
-
- Cuteness
Good Food Fest 1013
We had a great time at the Good Food Festival last weekend. This was our second year covering the event and my sisters, Grace Kozlowski and Luza Tatgenhorst joined us this time. Grace came for info on growing her own food. Luza went back to eating vegetarian so she was curious about recipes and things. Diana and I were thrilled that they made the long trek out to the UIC Forum because it’s proof that there’s a food revolution happening in our family… or they just wanted to see this guy.
We were all excited to see Rick Bayless and had to scheme to try his spinach salad with mushrooms and chorizo. It was delicious but Luza couldn’t try it cause of the chorizo.
We ran into some friends there. Jeff Spitz was doing outreach for Food Patriots. The chicken lady from Mary Horan’s documentary brought one of her hens. A former CTVN instructor, Nathan, had samples of his North Coast Organics products and our new acquaintance, Chad Rubel, talked to folks for his food blog. It felt good to see so many people working toward sustainability in their own ways. There were a lot more people than last year, lines at most of the vendors and much less room to walk. There were also rotating presentations in the hallways with entertaining information on a variety of topics, including fermentation and compost.
This year we spent most of our time in the trade show. We brought home some ancient heirloom popcorn and pine nut pesto that we both enjoyed last year. Luza found some hot pepper jelly, salsa and who knows what else. Grace made a bunch of new friends and potential collaborators. Diana also got a sample of NCO’s Minty Vegan Lip Balm. She’s likes it because it’s a little grainier than other lip glosses and it stays on for a long time.
There was some worry last year that the drought would discourage farmers, gardeners and other Good Food Revolutionaries but that wasn’t the case. Caring about food and nutrition is now mainstream. Rahm Emmanuel is even using food initiatives to cover up the fact that he’s gutting public schools. The idea is taking root. A new economy is emerging from the rumble of our last financial collapse. Solutions are all around us and they’re taking hold. I’ll leave you with this video about the future that is at our fingertips.
Indulge in Batavia
One of the first undertakings The CG Project took on was a collaboration between us and People Made Visible where we presented a selection of documentaries called Growing Your Own. It featured short films about people that are taking more control over our food sources. Filmmakers included myself, Jeff Spitz, Arlen Parsa, Mitch Wenkus, Mary Horan, Patrick Lile and Grant Guiliano. The subject of Grant’s film about a Permaculture program at The University of Massachusetts went on to be honored by President Obama as one of his Champions of Change.
This year, People Made Visible invited us to present another series of short docs about food for Indulge, a gallery show at Water Street Studios in Batavia, IL. This time we narrowed the field to a smaller group of filmmakers that keep alive the tradition of exchanging knowledge about growing food. The Cinematic Garden and The Patio Gardeners will contribute a few videos from this painful growing season and Jeff Spitz will let us screen some excerpts from Food Patriots. For dessert, we’ll have a short film by Mode Project. The Donut Vault is about small bakery with an old world business model.
The screening will take place during an open studio event Saturday, July 21st from 6 to 9 pm at 160 S. Water Street in Batavia, IL. Come for the show and say to see work by the artists of Water Street Studios.
Imagine: hotdogs, funnel cakes, gummy bears, chocolate cake, bananas, ice cream, strawberries, crab legs, oysters, pasta, salads, water, beer, wine and champagne. Then imagine: 5-star restaurants, diners, food trucks, concession stands, farm stands and of course all you can eat buffet. Are you hungry now? This exhibition will take a closer look at one of our basic needs through the eyes of contemporary (perhaps starving) artists. Welcome to the smorgasbord. – A. Holm, People Made Visible
theCGproject 