Announcing a Day of Rural Pageantry and Performance in the Catskills
“Agrarian Acts” to Feature Creations from a New Generation of Sullivan County Farmers
Highland Lake, NY – Agrarian Acts is a contemporary county fair and production celebrating the multifarious ideas, enterprise, and creative work of a New Generation of Farmers. This event is scheduled from 12 PM – 5 PM on Sunday, September 25 at the NACL Theater in Highland Lake, NY. The day kicks off at noon with a potluck lunch, part of NOFA’s 2nd Annual New York Locavore Challenge Campaign (www.nylocavorechallenge.com). Please bring food to share!
Presented by NACL (North American Cultural Laboratory) and The Greenhorns, the day’s featured performances will include a screening of the new documentary film The Greenhorns about the struggle and valor of young farmers in America, by Severine von Tscharner Fleming; live performances by NACL; the stage adaptation of the children’s story Cornplosion! by Carly and Scott Sell; The Vagabond's Vaudeville, a play about the life of poet and rambler Vachel Lindsay, by Charlie Traeger; and NACL’s stage play for all ages, The Little Farm Show.
Inspired by the tradition of the country fair and carnival, traveling Chautauqua, and vaudeville stagecraft, Agrarian Acts joins the revival of the long American institution of rural celebration and community improvisation.
Throughout the day, a crowd of more than a hundred will view photographic art by young farmers, hear Kurt Knuth and friends delight with bluegrass and old timey music, and enjoy facepainting using natural dyes. Workshops include stilt walking with Brett Keyser and seed saving with the Dirt Diva. Audiences will be invited to sing work songs from around the world with Bennett Konesni, barter garden produce at a Crop Swap, listen to entertaining and enlightening Soap Box Speakers, compete in a lettuce-eating contest, and hug a piglet from Majestic Farm. Farm and food system organizations including The Greenhorns, Pure Catskills, and Shop Local/Save Land will share their organizational missions and resources. A full and detailed schedule will soon be available. This is an event for everyone.
Sponsors/Friends of and Collaborators in Agrarian Acts include NACL, The Greenhorns, Pure Catskills, Shop Local/Save Land, The Watershed Agricultural Council, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Farmhearts, and many area farms and farmers.
