Shortly after we decided to create our own homestead, we also subscribed to the Mother Earth News magazine. They publish six times a year and we often read the entire magazine to see what other people are doing. Another activity that the magazine sponsors is the Mother Earth Fair all over the U.S., where you can see the ideas in the pages up close.
Although they don’t have a Fair in Florida yet, there are several locations where we can visit. The first fair that we attended was in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, high in the Allegheny Mountains.
Planning for the Fair
Since we decided to go at the last minute, it took some online research to find a place to stay that wasn’t too far away from the fair. With our plane tickets purchased and car rental reserved, we looked forward to receiving the schedule for the weekend. Seven Springs had 13 different seminars every hour and a half from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon! The amount of information to check out was completely amazing!
We had a hard time picking the talks we would attend! Sitting on the plane, we were still deciding on our must-sees, but the schedule changed before the weekend started and we adjusted accordingly.
Our First Experience
We purchased weekend wrist bands ahead of time and were invited to watch the film, “Polyfaces,” on the Friday morning before the fair started. That in-depth look at Joel Salatin’s family and farm was a great introduction to the entire experience.
By noon on Friday when the fair opened, vendor booths and exhibits filled the convention center and spilled out into the parking lots and grounds. We had an hour to look around before the talks started. My husband and I headed in different directions to find out more about wood stoves, cob buildings, fruit trees, tools, bees and poultry. That night it was a treat to soak in a hot tub at our hotel!
Saturday morning, we took in the same seminars, starting with Marjory Wildcraft’s presentation on growing your own food. She was one of many excellent speakers at the Mother Earth Fair, and we met her in person afterwards!
Saturday afternoon we learned about goats, grazing rotation, gardening with chickens, butchering livestock, and earth plasters. Between talks, we visited with vendors and tried samples from different booths. It was a busy day!
Joel Salatin Seminar
Sunday morning, we attended a talk by Joel Salatin. He is an exceptional speaker with stories that will affect you emotionally and force you to think. In his first seminar, he explained the math behind his farm production. We also caught his second talk at the end of the fair, which was just as entertaining.
Our Second Mother Earth Fair
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to attend every seminar, or purchase all the books and products that are available. This is why we attended our second Mother Earth Fair in Fredericks, Maryland this past year for another amazing experience!
At the Maryland fair, we learned about recognizing goat diseases, how to join leather, straw bale gardening, energy management in emergencies, and catching wild swarms of bees. We also spent time talking with other homesteaders about their livestock, in particular goats and pigs.
Joel Salatin Again!
Joel Salatin was at this Mother Earth News Fair also and joined a panel to discuss legal issues for small scale farmers on Saturday. As a result, I purchased his book, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal. We also caught part of his Sunday talk about how a frog might view the changes that are occurring in the world. We had a great time at this fair and look forward to our next one.
Those fairs sound like a great time! Plus all the like-minded people you get to meet and things you can learn. Maybe I’ll get to go with you one of these years. I’m sure there’s things that would interest me from the Chef’s point of view. I’ll have to put it on my list.
Every Mother Earth Fair we have gone to has been an amazing experience!