June 20, 21

In Belfast, explore the bounty of farm and sea at Maine Fare

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 2:30pm

BELFAST — Maine Fare "celebrates the bounty of Maine" on the Belfast waterfront June 20 and 21. The event brings two full days of educational and tasty ways to explore the Maine food industry. General admission is free.

Having originally started in Camden led by volunteers, Maine Fare has been in existence for eight years.

This will be the third year Maine Fare has been held in Belfast, where it has been held since gaining organizational support from Maine Farmland Trust, a statewide nonprofit that seeks to advance the future of farming in Maine through different avenues, such as conservation of farmland and programs that help farmers with business development.

This year Maine Farmland Trust partners with Penobscot East Resource Center a nonprofit focused on supporting the fishing viability and economy.

Ellen Sabina, of Maine Farmland Trust, says the event will be "educational and fun, and accessible for everyone." There will be speakers, presenters, and chefs, kids' activities presented by Food Corps, and Tanglewood 4H, great music, and art integrated into the event.

This will be the first year that there is a keynote presenter. Paul Greenberg, the James Beard Award Winner and author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, will speak on Friday with another sustainable seafood advocate and author, Barton Seaver.

They will talk about the state of the oceans and what to do to move towards more sustainable seafood production. The presentation will take place at the boathouse, where most of the speaking presentations will be held. Steamboat Landing Park will host an open air market with vendors from all over the state selling Maine food and some crafts.

Chef demonstrations will be going on throughout the day. Some presenters include farm-to-table pioneers Chef Kerry Altiero, of Café Miranda in Rockland, and Primo's James Beard award-winning chef Melissa Kelly.

There will be farm tours at four different local farms. Guests are encouraged to sign up for tours in advance and will be bussed to the farms. Some events may require a registration fee and some will need to be signed up for in advance such as cooking classes and cocktail hour food tastings. Sabina reports some events are already filling up.

There will be music on Friday night hosted by the Belfast Free Range Music Festival. Olas is a unique Maine folk group that has Flamenco inspiration. They captivated a packed house when they played at Belfast's Free Range Music Festival in 2013. Admission to the music will be $10. Proceeds will support next year's Belfast Free Range Music Festival.

The Flamenco inspired music shows the diversity of the offerings at Maine Fare.

“We are highlighting different cultural influences in Maine food. Long Grain will do a cooking demonstration making Thai Spring Rolls and another presenter will be making tortillas with Maine grown corn," said  Sabina.

Art has also been integrated into the weekend. Lexicon of Sustainability creates vibrant photographs overlaid with text that support the idea that a body of language is needed in order to build a more sustainable future. These prints will be on display around the event. There will also be interactive street art posters that people can fill in.

One of the tasting events offered this year will be a pairing of Maine oysters and Maine beers. Four Midcoast oyster farmers will be shucking and sharing their oysters to give the community a chance to taste test a variety of different flavors and then cleanse their pallet with a Maine craft brew before sampling more.

Kellie Peters of Norumbega Oyster will be there socializing with guests and talking about the oysters and how they grow them. She and her husband, Eric, started their business in 2006 on the Damariscotta River. They are full speed this oystering season enjoying a fun and rewarding business that's "all based on how hard the farmer's work." They are hoping Mother Nature allows things to go smoothly this year.

Peters says the Damariscotta River is known as one of the best areas for the taste of oysters which she says are "slightly briney and delicious."

Peters explained it will be fun to sample many different oysters because the flavors can vary greatly based on the salinity and amount of food in the water, for the oysters. Farther up the river the oysters are a bit sweeter and farther south, a bit more briny.

We have different farms in different locations, some might be a little less or a little more salty than different locations in the estuary," she said.

Peters has published a children's book, Farming on the Sea, about the entire process of oystering from growing the seed in the hatchery to harvesting. The book features pictures of the family on the farm. She will have it at the Maine Fare to show interested guests.

"It will be great to see the community support and to see how many people come out to an event that really features local food and seafood farmed in our area." Peters said. "It will be a fun opportunity to learn about all the different seafoods and sea creatures grown on aquaculture farms that people don't even realize, like seaweed, muscles, oysters, clams, finfish. It's a huge industry."

Maine Fare kicks off Friday morning and will offer "good food and food for thought" throughout the weekend with free admission for all. For the full schedule of events visit the Maine Fare website.