Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under. $2 coupons can be obtained at participating businesses (look for the posters in their windows, I think).

This is the fourth year for the event, which is sponsored by the Corvallis Independent Business Alliance (CIBA), the First Alternative Co-op, and the Corvallis Odd Fellows. The next two dates in the series are June 5 and July 3.

Community member Dora MacGamwell transplants onions at Oregon State University's student-run organic farm during last year's Hoo Haa. Photo by Lynn Ketchum.

By Tiffany Woods, 541-737-2940, tiffany.woods@oregonstate.edu
Source: James Cassidy, 541-737-6810, james.cassidy@oregonstate.edu

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The public is invited to enjoy free food and live music at the eighth annual Earth Day Hoo Haa on a student-run organic farm on the outskirts of Corvallis on April 22.

The festivities, sponsored by Oregon State University’s Organic Growers Club, will take place from 3-7 p.m.

Attendees are welcome to bring a turning fork to help till the ground and plant beets, greens, lettuce and 10,000 onions. During the event, they’ll be able to tour the two-acre farm, listen to live music, play disc golf, watch a bubble artist, learn about soil, and see how chickens in mobile coops are used to till the earth. Pony rides and face painting will be available for children.

A variety of local musical talent will be showcased, including Future Roots and a folk-rock group known as Jory Tellers.

For dinner, southwest vegetable stew will be served. People are encouraged to bring their own bowl and silverware.

Organizers also ask visitors to leave their dogs at home.

Starting at 3 p.m. a free shuttle van to the farm will depart from the OSU Bookstore approximately every 20 minutes. It will stop along the way at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture and the Student Sustainability Center where other Earth-friendly activities will be featured. To drive to the farm, take state Route 34 east after crossing the Willamette River, then turn left onto an unnamed dirt road after the Trysting Tree Golf Club. Drivers are asked to park on the east side of the dirt road.

For more information go to http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/organic_grower.

The Cooped Up event is a self-guided tour taking place from Noon to 4pm. See various types of coops and speak to homeowners about their experiences in raising backyard poultry.

Tickets are $7 per person if purchased in advance, or $10 per person on the day of the event. Children 12 and under tour for free.

Advance tickets & maps are available at the north and south First Alternative Co-Op locations as well as the Corvallis Environmental Center (214 S.W. Monroe Ave). According to a notice in the Gazette Times, tickets are also available on the day of the event at 3615 N.W. Polk Ave.

Be sure to wear your rubber boots! Boots will be washed at each site to avoid potentially spreading pathogens between coops.

Proceeds from this event benefit the Starker Arts Garden for Education (SAGE). SAGE is a one-acre education garden on land donated by the City of Corvallis. The garden is run by volunteers and delivers all of the organic produce grown in the garden to local food banks and soup kitchens.

Disappointingly, the Salem City Council rejected ordinances that would have allowed chickens within city limits. I wonder if the opponents of the plan have ever actually visited any normal backyard chicken coops. Their arguments seem to be based heavily on fear-mongering.

Wine Country Thanksgiving –More than 140 wineries and tasting rooms in the Willamette Valley will be open during Thanksgiving Weekend (most open 11am-5pm, November 27-29, but hours may vary, so call ahead). Meet winemakers, experience special tastings and enjoy specialty food and live entertainment. Click here for a complete list of participating wineries and tasting rooms.

I made sweet roasted rosemary acorn squash this week, and it was fabulous.  You should try it immediately. Go ahead, I’ll wait here…

Heavenly Harvest Farm in Corvallis is having their Harvest Festival through Saturday.

The College of Agricultural Sciences at OSU is once again hosting the Food for Thought lecture series, beginning Tuesday, November 3rd at 7pm. These free public lectures are held in the LaSells Stewart Center’s Construction & Engineering Hall on the OSU campus.  Lectures include time for audience discussion and refreshments are provided.

Check out this special issue of Oregon’s Agricultural Progress: Food in Oregon.

That’s all for this week — I’m going to try to make this a regular feature of the blog, so please stay tuned!

(photo credit: “Cristom Vineyards” by pete4ducks)