2nd Annual Hootenanny! and Friends of the Farmer Festival

In year two, Friends of the Farmer again feeds the Hudson Valley well and presented the dual celebration of the Hootenanny! Farm Fresh Fundraiser Dinner and Friends of the Farmer Festival. FarmOn! Foundation non-profit organization and public charity is formally organized and announced at the 2nd Annual Hootenanny!

The HOOT! dinner at the Copake Country Club was attended by over 52 family farmers as our guests to meet and eat with patrons at the well attended event. All enjoyed farm fresh food sourced within 5 miles of our plates. New York City’s own Chef David Burke with Royal Caribbean’s VP Chef Frank Weber came together to present the always farm-centric Hootenanny! menu from 100+ local farms.

Dinner was followed by Ronnybrook Dairy ice cream sundae bar by the bonfire and golf cart drive-in movie “Vanishing of the Bees” and “How We Grow” sponsored by Whole Foods Market with 278 guests eating local ice cream sundaes with all the fixin’s from Hudson Valley Fruit Farms.

3,000 adults and children enjoyed a day lakeside at the Farm Fest hosted by the Copake Country Club. Congressman Chris Gibson and the Honorable Didi Barrett addressed crowds while former NBA stars Eric Williams (Boston Celtics) and David Wesley (Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets) provided athletic inspiration in support of the family farm.

International and local celebrities including Rachael Ray, John Varvatos, Gina Gershon, Thom Filicia, Bob & Cortney Novogratz, Stephanie Mauri, Jim Holl and the Fabulous Beekman Boys donated original painted picnic tables to Farm Fest’s live auction event.

Programs

The festival brought over 2,300 people to FarmOn! and raised funds and awareness  to continue the 2nd annual Camp FarmOn! 10,000 dollars were also raised to launch the MILK MONEY initiative in partnership with Hudson Valley Fresh Dairy family farms contracting to bring local milk to school lunch providing nutrient dense dairy from “Cow-to-Kid” in 36 hours!

WIN WIN WIN! FarmOn!