Activities

12:30 – 1 p.m.
Join Chef Channon Mondoux as she shares a traditional French Canadian crepe recipe and talks about the influence her Meme had on her cooking style.

11 – 11:45 a.m.
Stop by to watch Tip Maddux create beautiful masterpieces with food. The plates that she creates will be used for the food photography workshop inside the classroom.

11 – 11:45 a.m.
Trent Thompson and Bridgett Blough
Join Trent and Bridgett from Of The Land, and learn about their mission to cultivate a resilient food system on their 20 acre organic farm in Battle Creek. Using the power of a story, they sell produce, prepared foods, and events on their property, which also serves as a convening point for other farmers and the community. Learn about some of their strategies and their mission forward to make healthy food accessible for everyone.

11 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 – 2 p.m.
Join forager and mycologist Garbrielle Cerberville on this interactive walk around the site and explore edible plants that are available in our region.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Stop by the composting station led by students from the Office for Sustainability of Western Michigan University, and learn about the basics of converting your food scraps into highly valuable soil amendment - compost. Meet the worms that are champions of this process in their vermicomposting bins!

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Get excited about this growing season by planting your very own herb that you can take home and keep at your windowsill, or transplant in your outdoor garden.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Samuel Lawrence
Join Sam from MSU Extension’s 4-H program for a fun gardening activity with your little ones. 

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
As you walk away from the main event space, hike up the little hill on the property and enjoy an activity where you get to create your own art piece out of native grasses and flowers growing on the hill.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
As you walk by the apiary, stop by the info booth to learn about these fascinating insects, and opportunities for Beekeeping education at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Create your own piece of art that can later grow into beautiful native plants. By mixing clay, soil and native flower seeds, you can shape a little sculpture that, after dried, can be used to plant more native plants in your area.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Open Roads
Open Roads Bike Program is a non-profit youth development organization that focuses on empowering youth through bicycles and bike mechanics. Get a free bike tune-up, air, and safety check. Grab a t-shirt or a sweatshirt and support their program.

12 – 1 p.m.
Join Sustainable Food Systems Director, Rachel Bair, on this interactive tour of the beautiful property of the Food Innovation Center, learn about its history, its purpose, and the vision forward.

12 – 12:45 p.m.
Aubrey Rodgers
Kalamazoo Valley’s Aubrey Jewel Rodgers, chair of Applied Arts and Media Technologies is welcoming you to this interactive and playful workshop on food photography. Come see what kind of design you can make with food and your camera. Bring your own camera (any camera works). 

Aubrey is not only Chair of Applied Arts and Media Technologies, but a Kalamazoo Photographer who shares her talents, skills and time in supporting the arts community. She has been teaching photography to all ages and skill levels for over 20 years in Kalamazoo.

1:15 – 2 p.m.
Channon Mondoux
How does a poor Canadian kid with no formal culinary training become a chef, food writer and historian and manifest their work in video, written publications, a multimedia e-book, a Food Network competition and food styling and photography for numerous publications? Join Chef Channon Mondoux for a fun and insightful look at how early television cooking programs influenced her work and approach to cooking.

12:15 – 1 p.m. 
Crescendo Academy of Music