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Video from WTNH’s Good Morning CT segment with Annie Rourke on Saturday, September 1.

Bountiful late summer and early fall harvests of vegetables and fruits from CT farms will be transformed by chefs across the state at more than 80 restaurants, schools and caterers into special menus during the first ever Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week.

Running from September 26 through October 2 this celebration of fresh and healthy, locally grown food and wine is a new event conceived and organized by the CT Dept. of Agriculture and falls on the 375^th birthday of our state. We still have working family farms that were established in the 1600s!

leFarm in Westport and Sugar & Olives in Norwalk are two Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week participants that are dedicated to regularly sourcing local and sustainably grown food.

Vegans, vegetarians, and meat lovers all have wonderful choices for a relaxed sit down meal or a casual lunch or dinner to go. The diversity of options, from burgers and pizza to heirloom tomato soup and grass-fed filet of beef, makes it easy for diners to find something that suits them.

There is a fantastic diversity of high-quality food grown and made here in CT. In addition to vegetables and fruit, our farms provide us with beef, lamb, pork , poultry, fish, cheese, eggs, yogurt, honey, maple syrup, and wine. Some participating restaurants have announced mouth watering yet affordable, multi-course prix fixe dinner menus for Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week. Please make your reservations early. Click here for a complete list of participants, menus and special events.

Many participating schools and restaurants are members of the CT Department of Agriculture’s Farm-to-Chef Program, a program that since 2006 has helped connect farmers with chefs dedicated to regularly sourcing CT Grown foods.

Lunch and Dinner at the Farm!

• Sport Hill Farm in Easton is hosting mobile, wood-fired brick oven caterer Skinny Pines for a pizza lunch on Oct. 1 featuring toppings fresh from the field. Click here for more information.  Reservations should be emailed to farmer Patti Popp at farmgal596@yahoo.com.
• Chefs a l’Orange Caterers is holding a farm to table dinner at Treat Farm in Orange on Oct. 2. The seasonal menu will showcase Treat Farm’s vegetables and other locally sourced foods.   For more information, or to purchase tickets, please contact Heather Bucknam at 860-658-4253.

Visit www.CTGrown.gov and www.CTFarmToChefNetwork.typepad.com for more information including a list of participants, menus and special events.

LiveGreenCT! is a fun-filled, family festival that celebrates eco-friendly living, caring for the environment and protecting our natural resources. This two day event is being held at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk on Sept. 18-19 with over 125 exhibitors in all areas of sustainable living and features many free events and activities.

This free event runs from 10-4 on Saturday and 11-4 on Sunday and the $5 parking fee benefits SoundWaters & Norwalk Seaport Association. Come for a delicious lunch or snack  made with local and sustainably grown foods and bring your reusable shopping bags to shop the Westport farmers’ market. You will find these Westport farmers’ market vendors at LiveGreenCT!:

• Sugar & Olives (lunch vendor)
• Bake Local (fresh baked goods featuring local ingredients)
• Skinny Pines (lunch vendor)
• Boxed Goodes
• Moorefield Herb Farm (organic her plants)
• El’s Kitchen
• Arogya
• Izzi B Cupcakes (allergen-free cupcakes)
• Raus Coffee
• The Little Chocolate Company
• Ladies of Levita (fresh cheese and yogurt)
• Boxcar Cantina (lunch vendor)
• Sport Hill Farm (organic vegetables)
• Nothing But (premium, handmade granola bars)

One of the easiest ways to live green is to choose local and sustainably grown food because they require fewer food miles (less fossil fuels), less packaging, less storage, and are fresher and more delicious and nutritious. The following special guest speakers will wow you with their knowledge and inspire you to eat green.

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  Special guest speakers Michel Nischan and Marina Marchese will also be signing their wonderful books for guests at LiveGreenCT!

  Michel Nischan, James Beard award-winning chef and author, local food advocate, and founder & CEO of Wholesome Wave will be a guest speaker on Sat. at 1:00. Michel was just named Best Locavore Chef 2010 by CT Magazine and his new cookbook, “Sustainably Delicious”, will be available for sale and signing. Wholesome Wave is an organization committed to bringing fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables to residents of inner cities, including Bridgeport CT, through its innovative Double Value Coupon program;

• Marina Marchese, founder of Red Bee Honey, will be leading a honeybee and honey discussion immediately following the 1:00 screening of the documentary film Vanishing of the Bees. Brush up on your honeybee and honey facts because 20 lucky audience members who correctly answer Marina’s trivia questions each will win a bottle of her honey courtesy of Whole Foods Market Westport. Marina will also be selling her single-source honeys and holding a book sale and signing of her book “Honeybee: Lessons from An Accidental Beekeeper”, which made the Washington Post’s 2009 Books We Love list.

Free Screening of Vanishing of the Bees at 1:00 on Sunday

About Vanishing of the Bees:

Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables.Vanishing of the Bees follows commercial beekeepers David Hackenberg and Dave Mendes as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill pollination contracts across the U.S. The film explores the struggles they face as the two friends plead their case on Capitol Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean in the quest to protect their honeybees.

Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alternative reasons for this tragic loss. Conflicting options abound and after years of research, a definitive answer has not been found to this harrowing mystery.

For more information about LiveGreenCT!, please visit the event web site.

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For Immediate Release

SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE PIONEERS INCLUDING DRESSING ROOM FOUNDER MICHEL NISCHAN FEATURED AT TWO-DAY LIVE GREEN CONNECTICUT! FESTIVAL

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NORWALK, CT – (August 16, 2010) – Scot Weicker and Daphne Dixon, co-founders of Live Green Connecticut! announced a partial list of featured guests and a sampling of the newest exhibitors for the September 18^th-19^th Festival to be held at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk.

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  Michel Nischan, Founder & CEO of Wholesome Wave

  Michel Nischan, Dressing Room restaurant owner and founder, James Beard award-winning cookbook author and chef, sustainable food pioneer and CEO of the non-profit Wholesome Wave. Michel will be speaking at 1:00pm on Saturday, September 18th and signing his latest book, “Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time.” For a complete profile of Michel Nischan, click here.

• The Westport Farmers’ Market is bringing the market to the festival! Bring your reusable bags to shop for CT Grown fruit and produce and specialty foods like cheese, granola, coffee and tea.  Lunches featuring locally grown meats, poultry, cheeses, vegetables and fruits are available from market vendors Sugar & Olives, Boxcar Cantina and Skinny Pines.

• Special screening of the documentary film Vanishing of the Bees at 1 pm on Sunday.
  

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  Marina will be signing her book "Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper", which made the Washington Post's "Books We Love 2009" List

  Marina Marchese, Red Bee Honey Founder, Beekeeper and Author will be speaking on Sunday, September 19^th at 2:30pm following the screening of Vanishing of the Bees. Brush up on your honeybee and honey facts because 20 lucky audience members who correctly answer Marina’s trivia questions each will win a bottle of her artisan honey courtesy of Whole Foods Market Westport. The Martha Stewart Blog just posted a story about Marina & Red Bee Honey! For a complete profile of Marina Marchese, click here.

• Newman’s Own,  Ducky Life Tea, Yumnuts and Catch a Healthy Habit have joined the list of exhibitors.

• Peace Tree Desserts and Taste by Karla Sorrentino will be serving their delicious foods using local ingredients. Peace Tree Desserts offers lovingly crafted desserts made using local ingredients and environmentally conscious practices to Fairfield County and the surrounding areas.

• Planet Fuel will be sampling and exhibiting delicious, low-sugar, organic juices for kids with no preservatives, additives or refined sugars. A portion of proceeds from Planet Fuel product sales goes to conservation groups working hard to protect habitats around the world.

• Snow Natural Soda + Vitamins All the fun, exuberance and delicious indulgence of soda without any of the unhealthy ingredients. Samples will be available.

• Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, will be sharing information about the upcoming Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week sponsored by the CT Dept. of Agriculture. Sugar & Olives, Boxcar Cantina and Skinny Pines, mentioned above, are all participating in this special event highlighting the quality and diversity of CT Grown to be held during the week of September 26-October 2, 2010.

Weicker and Dixon stated: “We are so proud to have all of these wonderful businesses and organizations participating in Live Green CT!  We are showcasing the best of Connecticut and there is a lot of excitement from our exhibitors and speakers. The message of our event is spreading, and people throughout the state are talking about it and looking forward to joining us September 18^th and 19^th at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk.

Live Green Connecticut! will take place at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk, Connecticut September 18^th and 19^th. Featured attractions and exhibits include marine ecology and nature center exhibits, wind and solar displays, farmer’s market, hands-on kid’s activities, environmental and conservation organizations and speakers, alternative fuel vehicles, landscape and garden centers, green careers and education, eco-art, eco-fashion, entertainment, food and beverages, the SoundWaters Schooner and so much more!

Proceeds of Live Green Connecticut! will benefit the Norwalk Seaport Association, SoundWaters, Norwalk River Valley Trail and the Calf Pasture Beach Wind Power Project.

Live Green Connecticut! will be a fun-filled two day festival which will promote education, business, non-profit organizations, green technology, recycling, conservation, health and wellness, climate protection and sustainable living.  Eco-friendly businesses will showcase their green products and services. Individuals and families will come away with money saving ideas and tax incentive opportunities.

In order to be environmentally sensitive, Live Green Connecticut! has established an interactive website for the schedule of events, exhibitor information, registration and news leading up the festival.  Please visit: www.livegreenct.com.

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For more information on the festival, please contact:

Scot Weicker & Daphne Dixon, Co-Chairs
W: (203) 536-9377/(203) 536-4695
Email: info@livegreenct.com

Live Green Connecticut!
P.O. Box 59
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
203-536-9377
203-698-1766 (fax)
info@livegreenct.com

For media inquiries, please contact:

Peter Barhydt

Aberdeen Associates, Inc.

W 203-618-1709

C 203-252-4768

Peter.Barhydt@AberdeenAssociates.com

This Saturday, July 24, 2010 is …

NATIVE & HONEYBEE DAY

At Audubon Greenwich

Enjoy an afternoon at Audubon Greenwich this Saturday when the local beekeepers harvest honey and the Audubon screens two ground-breaking films that investigate answers to what is causing the colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honeybee colonies. Below are all the details about the day’s  events. Note: RSVPs for the films are required b/c the space is limited!

Honey Harvesting: With the Backyard Beekeepers Association

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Visitors are invited to stop by to see how the honey is taken out of the hive and bottled. Help “spin” the honey from the wax combs. Honey may also be available for purchase (while supplies last). All ages. No charge. No RSVP required. Downhill in the red barn. Sponsored and staffed by the Backyard Beekeepers Association.

Film Screenings: ‘Vanishing of the Bees’ & ‘Nicotine Bees’

4:00-7:00 pm

A double-feature of films dedicated to the native bees and honeybees we all depend on.

In 2005-2006, something happened and a sharp, catastrophic collapse of bee colonies in dozens of countries occurred simultaneously. This was unlike anything seen before, even by the oldest beekeepers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. And contrary to popular belief, the jury is not out on what happened. It seems that bees are now being bombarded by pesticides made of synthetic nicotine that is bonded with cyanide. This new material hit the market in 1995 and in 2005, when the patents expired, many companies around the globe released their versions of the same chemicals. Ever since, bees and other insects have been paying the price for this new class of poison. And since these systemic pesticides spread throughout the whole plant (pollen, nectar, leaf, etc.), there is no escape for honey bees or the hundreds of other native bee species that plant depend on for pollination. So, … Come learn what the world’s top beekeepers and scientists have discovered since CCD started and then you can decide for yourself what the causes of honeybee die-offs are.

Space is limited. Advance tickets required. RSVP to Jeff at 203-869-5272 x239. Just $15/person includes admission to both films and refreshments that will include ‘mead’ wine (made from honey) and bee-inspired snacks between movies.  PLUS – DVD copies of ‘Nicotine Bees’ will be available for purchase for just $15.

Vanishing of the Bees is a 2009 documentary film by Hive Mentality Films & Hipfuel Films, directed by George Langworthy and Maryam Henein. The film is touted as the most important film since An Inconvenient Truth and takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and spiritual implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. The feature-length documentary narrated by Oscar nominated actress Ellen Page examines the current agricultural landscape and celebrates the ancient and sacred connection between man and honeybee.  The story centers around the sudden disappearance of honeybees from beehives around the world, caused by the poorly understood phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. Although the film does not draw any firm scientific conclusions as to the precise cause or causes of CCD, it does suggest a link between the Neonicotinoid group of pesticides and CCD. NOTE: THIS WILL BE THE FIRST PUBLIC SCREENING OF THIS FILM IN THE U.S.A. PRESS CONTACT FOR THIS FILM: Maryam Henein at 323-640-9710.

Nicotine Bees is a 2010 documentary film by Kevin Hansen. The goal of the film is to get to the truth about why the honeybees of the world are in big trouble, and why our food supply is in trouble with them.  The answers are clear – and have been for several years. They filmed on 3 continents to find out the real reasons why bees are in catastrophic decline – and why many people don’t want the real story to be told. The answers have been right in front of us: the worldwide, simultaneous die-off’s of honeybees – with a strange set of behaviors seen everywhere. With the continuing bee collapse, one third of our food supply is at risk – yet despite the clear-cut scientific data, especially from Europe, in news reports this is issue is still called “mysterious.” The answers are clear-cut from evidence from Europe and the US, from observations of similar effects from Europe to Canada to India, and in dozens of states across the US. The film systematically rules out the other possible causes of this massive die-off to find the one underlying explanation that really works: all over the world, at the same time, with the same bizarre behaviors: bees simply leave their precious honey and young bees behind. They don’t come home and Nicotine Bees is ready to show what has happened. PRESS CONTACT FOR THIS FILM: Kevin Hansen: 505-818-7217.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FILMS AND THE ISSUES SURROUNDING NICOTINE-BASED PESTICIDES, VISIT:

www.nicotinebees.com & www.vanishingbees.com

FOR SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES ABOUT THE EFFECT OF NICOTINE-BASED PESTICIDES, VISIT:

http://pierreterre.com/page/critical-evidence

Audubon Greenwich

613 Riversville Road
Greenwich, CT 06831
Phone 203-869-5272
Fax 203-869-4437