A Local Folkus » johnrife

On the Road

John — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:29:43 +0000

Murphy and I have officially hit the road. We packed up Kodi (our travel trailer) and gassed up the Fox (our Ford F150) and headed north. Not too far on the first day but we did make it up to Brunswick, GA. And I think we’d both agree it was a good stop. We visited Mary’s road side produce Van, Spanky’s seafood on the river, The Georgia Pig BBQ and enjoyed a swim at out very plush Coastal GA RV Resort. Check out the images below for a view into our life on the road.

Road Trip 2010 – Brunswick, Charlotte and Harrisonburg, VA

Farm to Table Retrospective – Central Flrorida Locavores FTW

John — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:45:26 +0000

What an exciting time to be a Locavore in Central Florida. It appears that during our baby hiatus the movement has grown real roots. There is no better example of this than at last Sunday’s Farm to Table event at the Enzian.

The excellent people over at Ourlando cooked up this idea of showing a thought provoking film like “Food Fight” (Which was excellent BTW) and paring it with the outstanding locally sourced kitchen creations of Chef Josh Oakley. I want to say a few things about the event but I figure the best place to start is with Lance Turner’s opening words before the “Food Fight” film. So poignant! I love this guy’s passion!

We particularly salivated over the pulled pork sandwich. Turns out the pork came from Jim Wood’s happy pigs at Palmetto Creek Farms. As Kamrin and I are part of the omnivore contingent championing of our local food scene it was refreshing to meet Jim after the movie and see that being a Locavore doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a vegetarian. In addition to ethically raise pork, Kam would like to mention that when she stepped out with our daughter during the film and she talked with Trish at Deep Creek farm. They are out of Deland and offer grass fed and finished beef and lamb.

We were more than happy to wash down our lunch with a Blonde Ale from Orlando Brewing and a glass of delicious herbal tea from Dandelion CommuniTEA cafe. Also sipping on some Austin’s fair trade coffee afterward was a nice pick-me-up after leaving the sleepy darkness of the theater.

It was also great talking to some of the other family farmers among the tents and tables wrapped around the Enzian. We had fun hanging with the Green Flamingo Farms community and talking about small scale sustainable farming. Also loved their homemade business cards made out of the backs of cereal boxes.

Finally got to catch up with the peeps over at Lake Meadow Naturals our source for Cage Free, Free Range, Free Roaming and Locally produced eggs. We picked up a flyer and are sure to get out there with our camera a vlog about it soon. Until then you can check out the video posted on Big Wheel’s site. Oh yeah we talked with Tony from Big Wheel Provisions too. Oh let me mention that I just got their e-mail about their offerings at tonight’s Audubon Park Community market and I can’t wait to pick up some of their lentil soup made with their proprietary local vegetable stock and herbs.

So much more to say. But that’s enough when I have a research paper due this evening. Procrastination how I love and hate you. Grrrrrr.

Oh oh I also want to mention Gus with My Yard Farms. These guys take the typical grass covered lawns and convert them into edible landscapes. Awesome.

Ok back to work John. Seriously…..

Farm to Table – an Ourlando Local Food Alliance event at the Enzian

John — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:55:20 +0000

Kamrin and I are heading over to the Enzian next Sunday for the Farm to Table event. Besides catching up with our locally focused friends, we are both excited to see the showing of the film Food Fight. Oh yeah we’re also pretty stoked about eating the tasty locally sourced food prepared by Chef Josh Oakley and washing it down with organically brewed beer from Orlando Brewing.

This is the first time since the birth of our little girl that we’ll have the opportunity to reconnect with the Orlando’s locavore community and get caught up with what is happening with the local food movement. Speaking of which, Julie did a great show on the topic this week on Front Porch Radio and it was a great primer for me to get my head wrapped around who the players are and what progress has happened since my 2007 Locavore film. Take a listen to her show here.

Ourlando is the chief organizer of the event and the goal is to raise awareness about our existing local food sources and encourage the locavore lifestyle. With a little networking and some passion we can build a wonderful local and sustainable food economy. This will be a great opportunity to meet local farmers and local food purveyors. I’m sure the talk around Eden bar after the film will be worth the price of admission.

Hope to see you all there.

Farm To Table – an Ourlando Local Food Alliance event

Sunday, November 15, 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM  $18 @ the Enzian Theater

Buy your tickets online here.
Featuring the the documentary “Food Fight” by Chris Taylor and food by Chef Josh Oakley.
Tickets: $18, includes hors d’oeuvre, beer, coffee and tea.

Talking Community with Julie Norris on Front Porch Radio WPRK

John — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:02:31 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on one of my favorite radios shows Front Porch Radio. Every Wednesday at noon the host Julie Norris serves up an hour’s worth of interviews and insights regarding the cultural scene in and around Orlando. Julie is also the proprietor of the seriously influential Dandelion Communitea Cafe, a delicious vegan friendly restaurant off Colonial Dr and if you’ve seen my Locavore film than you saw Julie sharing her wisdom about the local food movement and know why I call her Miss Local.

Julie has a new partner in crime co-hosting the show and it was a pleasure to get to meet the very affable Jeremy Seghers. The three of us, no wait Maya was in Julie’s arms, kicked off the show by discussing how the community developers/leaders of Orlando are beginning to harness the power of social and digital media to keep their base informed and inspired. She also let me pimp a community round table I had put together with Florida Creative’s founder Ryan Price, called “A New Media Think and Drink: Focus on Community”. Julie was one of our distinguished roundtable members and it was awesome to talk community with her while we were on the air.

Then to my surprise Thomas Thorspecken the sketchbook toting urban sketcher popped in. Since January Thor has been posting his incredible sketches daily from a wide variety of cultural events in Central Florida. It was a pleasure meeting him and becoming acquainted with his work, mission and website. Please check out his phenomenal work at Analog Artist Digital World.

Additionally a photographer and journalist from Winter Park Magazine were on site to do an article about WPRK. What better show than Front Porch to best capture the local importance of WPRK’s presence on the airwaves.

Check out the podcast here.