Boston Local Food Festival Fun

Today, my roommates, boyfriend and I made our way to the Boston Local Food Festivalat the Waterfront near South Station. My boyfriend is visiting from east Tennessee so we wanted to explore Boston through the city’s transportation system, which is always fun. Taking the Red Line to South Station then walking to Congress Street and crossing the bridge took us there pretty quickly. A giant inflatable Hood milk carton marked the festival to everyone walking in that direction. The fact that the festival was right in front of the Children’s Museum also helped.

Andreas and Kristin sporting their chicken tattoos.

A free admission and zero waste event, the Boston Local Food Festival had local restaurant-catered food (for $5 and under!), local produce from small farms, workshops, information panels and cooking demonstrations (complete with a butcher how-to). Boston-oriented organizations like the Harvest Food Co-Op and the Trustees of Reservations shared information (and temporary chicken tattoos!), while farms from all over Massachusetts like Miles Smith Farm sold beef, burgers, and more by the pound. The festival was pure organic bliss!

So my group split up fairly quickly as we each found sites we enjoyed. My boyfriend learned how to hack a cow leg to pieces; my roommates enjoyed all the food that was free; and I failed at my burger quest but enjoyed chocolate ice cream made from Batch instead. We did agree that of all the advertising we saw, the most successful tactic were the chickens that some of the farms and organizations brought. Seriously, who can resist a mama chicken with her little ones waddling around?

Mama chicken and her chicks grabbing people's attention.

We also got to “enjoy” some local music–older women waving their hips to Indian pop and off-beat eco rapping–performed at the stage in one corner of the festival. Also, the fact that the Harpoon Oktoberfest event (which was a couple blocks away) was also happening added another bit of unintended entertainment to the festival. I had the pleasure of seeing and even meeting a couple people who had pregamed for the other event and accidentally found themselves in the wrong place, asking everyone who passed where the beer was before stumbling off somewhere else.

Overall, the Boston Local Food Festival was a pretty fun event. I learned a fair amount, my roommates had a good time, and my boyfriend got to see an interesting part of Boston. For anyone who enjoys interesting food, local business/organization information,  and fun demonstrations (and chickens!) the Boston Local Food Festival hits the spot.