Heirloom Fruit Workshop

Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008
9 a.m - 7 p.m.
Old Sturbridge Village, Mass.

Dear Fruit Growers, Chefs and Food Historians of Massachusetts,

You are invited to attend a workshop on rediscovering forgotten heirloom fruits and restoring historic orchards in Massachusetts. The workshop will take place on November 1, 2008 beginning at 9:00 am at Old Sturbridge Village, with a visit to a local orchard in the afternoon, followed by an heirloom apple tasting event. Co-sponsored by the Renewing America's Food Traditions (RAFT) Alliance and hosted by Old Sturbridge Village, it will feature two heirloom fruit conservationists from Arizona, Kanin Routson and Gary Nabhan, in addition to local experts. The goal of RAFT is to safeguard foods currently at risk in the landscape, and bring a greater diversity of these back to our tables. In the morning, the workshop will highlight the historic loss of fruit diversity; reasons for still maintaining heirlooms; how to begin to identify "unnamed" varieties found in abandoned orchards; historic orchard restoration; and establishing a regional directory of sources of historic scion wood. After lunch, we will journey to an abandoned orchard in Rutland, returning to Old Sturbridge Village for an heirloom apple tasting event. A $25 fee per person includes the costs of materials and lunch. Reservations may be made by contacting Old Sturbridge Village at www.osv.org and must be made by October 22, 2008. We look forward to your involvement; please call Gary Nabhan at 928-225-0293 or email him at gpnabhan@email.arizona.edu if you have questions.

Thank you,
Gary, Suzanne, Christie, Jenny and Leigh

Managed by Slow Food USA, RAFT is an alliance of food, farming, environmental and culinary advocates who have joined together to identify, restore and celebrate America’s biologically and culturally diverse food traditions through conservation, education, promotion and regional networking.

Founding RAFT partners: American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, Chefs Collaborative, The Cultural Conservancy, Native Seeds/SEARCH, Seed Savers Exchange and Slow Food USA

For more information about RAFT visit www.slowfoodusa.org