What a great weekend we had at the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Puyallup, Washington! With so many workshops, demonstrations, exhibitors and keynote presentations, there was no shortage of things to see and do at the fair. For those of you who couldn’t join us–or couldn’t fit all the excitement into one day–here’s a snapshot tour of what happened at the fair.
The first day started off quiet and cool…
…but as the morning waned (and the temperature rose!), the crowds showed up. Mother Nature was on our side, and we had beautiful warm, sunny weather (for at least the first day).
Visitors attended workshops on more than 10 different stages. At the Organic Gardening stage, Shelley Stonebrook, associate editor at MOTHER EARTH NEWS, showed visitors 10 different ways to make garden planning easier.
Meanwhile, Amy Turnbull of Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese gave demonstrations on how to make mozzarella and fresh ricotta (pictured) at the Eating Well stage.
Even the kids had their own stage, the Tree House Club, where they learned about bees, made cheese and ice cream, and participated in arts and crafts projects.
Over in the Centennial Tent, visitors could interact with a variety of heritage animals, who were just as interested in us as we were in them!
(Well, I guess some of them were more interested in sleeping. It was pretty warm in the Centennial Tent, creating perfect napping conditions for Red Wattle hogs Rudolph and Frosty.)
Inside the main hall, hundreds of exhibitors displayed their wares, which included everything from hemp purses and baby clothes to composting toilets and insulation.
Vendors included local artisans and producers as well as familiar faces from nationwide sponsors such as Bon Ami, makers of eco-friendly home cleaning products.
Good food certainly wasn’t in short supply. MOTHER EARTH NEWS called on local food vendors to share their tasty creations for the weekend. Fair goers chowed down on organic donuts from Mighty O Donuts, organic gyros and lemonade from Athena’s Gyros and blackened salmon burgers made from 100 percent wild-caught fish from Ballard Brothers Seafood and Burgers (pictured).
Inside the exhibition hall, cheese plates from Mt.Townsend Creamery, piled high with several different kinds of cheese and bread slices, were in high demand.
The MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR Bookstore sold hundreds of favorite books and products.
Authors such as Dan Chiras, Sherri Brooks Vinton and CarolEkarius, signed books for fans.
At the end of the day, it was pretty exhausting trying to fit everything in!