The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy held its seventh annual StoryHarvest: A Celebration of Art and Food from Seed to Table! on Sept. 23 in Freedom Square, North Troy. The event was a celebration of community; with food, music, poetry, cider pressing, chair massage, voter registration and children’s activities.
The Villalobos Brothers, a contemporary Mexican ensemble, had everyone dancing and cheering to a blend of folk music and jazz & classical harmonies. (The band’s tune Casita Blanca can be heard on YouTube)
Saratoga Apple donated the apples for the cider pressing. Massage therapist Rebecca Whitehead of Lux Comfort & Health gave free 10-minute chair massages that, I must report, were amazing. There was plenty of free food. Unity House donated and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, and the Sanctuary’s Collard City Growers and Denison Farms donated the produce and eggs. Other local businesses provided house-made pizza, frijoles negros (black beans), soups, kale salad, salsa, greens and rice dishes – the tables groaned from the bounty. Bella Napoli donated a sheet cake.
Patrons could get a library card and learn about food fermentation, food waste, the Green Party, Amnesty International, Troy Bike Rescue and the Collar City Ramble. There was a place to make poetry and a table to make art. You could also be art, thanks to the folks painting faces.
The free event was fun for all ages and left me full – spiritually and physically – very, very full.
For more information on the Sanctuary for Independent Media, visit mediasanctuary.org.
For a taste of the fun, you can watch a video of the 2017 event on YouTube.