A release from forumite Leslie Stewart ...
Race for Forecastle Food Doesn’t Favor the Swift
Partnerships with Slow Food Bluegrass and Salvation Army Enhance Affordable, Healthy, and Sustainable Festival Food Choices
LOUISVILLE, KY – Forecastle made festival food history when it banned junk food and styrofoam containers at its 2006 music, art and environmental activism event. This year’s three day gathering on Louisville’s Riverfront Belvedere, July 25-27, will take the healthy and sustainable concept a giant leap forward by featuring only locally raised produce and meats. The festival is partnering with Slow Food Bluegrass, the Kentucky chapter of Slow Food USA, a non profit food education group dedicated to promoting local farmers and producers of high quality food.
Supervising Forecastle’s culinary expansion is Alexander “Sandy” Nixon of Louisville’s food and beverage manufacturing incubator, the fb3 Development corporation, and its subsidiary, Eclipse Foods. Nixon will supply equipment and food, much of it purchased from members of the Community Farm Alliance.
Menu items from a new main stage area food court will include grilled meats such as Kentucky Bison bratwurst and Green River Cattle Company all natural antibiotic/hormone free ground beef burgers, and grilled vegetables including corn.
The Salvation Army and Slow Food Bluegrass Terra Madre Café, in the environmental area, is named after the annual Slow Food International event in Turin, Italy. The Café menu will include examples of street foods from around the world such as Asian style noodle stir fry with tofu and vegetables, black bean corn salad, and grilled quesadillas, and the menu will change daily to offer variety and to take full advantage of the freshest ingredients. Gelato Gilberto will also be on hand with their handcrafted Italian style ice creams, Havana Beverage Company will sell their locally manufactured colas and non-alcoholic mojitos, and the Bluegrass Brewing Company will feature their handcrafted beers.
Chef Timothy Tucker runs the Salvation Army Culinary Training Program, and proceeds from the two previous Forecastle festival food sales have funded the food sanitation certification portion of the program. This year, the trainees are also actually earning wages, some for the first time in their new culinary careers.
Mark Williams – co-founder and convivium leader of Slow Food Bluegrass and corporate Executive Chef at Brown-Forman, is enthusiastic about the venture.
“We’re excited about partnering with Forecastle to help create a new paradigm for festival food,” he said. Williams is equally excited to provide quality, locally produced food at an affordable price. Complete meal packages will be available for under $10; a la carte items will be $5 or less.
“Healthy, sustainable food should be available to everyone.”
Nixon, Tucker and Williams will all serve as delegates to Terra Madre 2008.
Tickets for the festival are on sale through TicketWeb, Ticketmaster, and select regional outlets in participating cities including ear X-tacy Records in Louisville, CD Central in Lexington, Euclid Records in St. Louis, Grimey’s in Nashville, Indy CD & Vinyl in Indianapolis, Landlocked Records in Bloomington, and Shake-It Records in Cincinnati. Advanced tickets range from $15 – 20 per day, day of show tickets range from $18 – 23. Two-day and three-day passes also available, as well as a limited number of VIP passes. More information is available at http://www.forecastlefest.com.