The Tenth Annual Tooting Foodival - 4 weeks to go! All welcome & here's Part Two of the plans

Hello all and it's four weeks until the Tooting #Foodival2017 on Saturday 16th September!

In last week's blog post we shared Part One of the Foodival plans: all about food and cooking (surprise, surprise). We're inviting you to:

• donate locally grown produce
• enter the Top Tooting Cook Competition
• come along to The Big Feast

Today we're sharing Part Two of the plans: all the other wonderful activities that are happening right in the heart of Tooting as part of the 2017 Foodival. These activities are all about:

• growing
• sustainability
• creativity
• community 
• and fun 

All these activities are complementary to the Foodival's purpose of celebrating local growing, sustainable food, local cooking and the local community (the whole community including nature as well as people) - all done in diverse creative, refreshing and participative ways.

Timings to follow as the schedule comes together across the twin venues of Mushkil Aasaan at 222 Upper Tooting Road SW17 7EW and part of Hereward Road right next door.

What are we offering for all ages to come and enjoy and explore?
As well as Donating Local Produce (appear in our traditional 'I Grew This' poster!), the Top Tooting Cook Competition and The Big Feast, we're grateful to all our partners who are offering:

Stalls
Sales of locally-made Jams and Chutneys; Upcycled Crafts; Local Honey (plus an observation hive of 16,000 bees - nearly the same as Tooting Ward's population).

Jeni's Crafty Arts
There will be a series of hands-on creative workshops led by local makers.
In one workshop you can come and make ladybird and lacewing hotels out of plastic bottles...learn about beneficial insects and create a safe place for them to roost and overwinter.

Music
By artists from The Sound Lounge.
 

A sculpture to help check in with nature

The Story of Rewilding
A hands-on and imaginative storytelling event that introduces children to environmental thinking.
Join Andy to create amazing props with recycled materials and become part of the Story of Rewilding narrated by Emily our local storyteller.
Families are particularly welcome to participate together.

Spoken Word
With a food and growing theme - you can join in, surprise us!

The Green Stage
Three 45 minute workshops: Composting and Power of the Humble Earthworm; Autumn and Winter Gardening; Seed Saving and Propagation (with some more topics up our sleeves if we need them...).

Stands for meeting and discussion with local projects
Stands for Tooting Community Garden (explore how to make teas from your garden plants); for the Wandsworth Food Partnership, Carbon Conversations and more. Hear about 2017's Pollinator Paths Wandsworth project that has sown the seed for creating a growing network across the borough. Learn about the Gardens of Refuge project with our partners CARAS, and about Transition Town Tooting's plans (bring us your ideas!).

Our pop-up Big Bed
Made from a big recycled shipping container, the Big Bed will showcase vegetables and flowers grown in Tooting by the beneficiaries of Share Community garden. And you can help decorate the planter on the spot.

Whew!
There's bound to be lots here to catch your interest - we'll share the schedule soon and you can plan your day.
Or just come along and see what you find, have a chat and enjoy the atmosphere.

Woven through all these activities and more will be judging for the Top Tooting Cook, cooking and eating together at The Big Feast and admiring the displays of locally-grown produce. See last week's post for the timings for those events.

If you have any questions, or would like to volunteer in preparation or on the day or in follow up, please email Malsara Thorne at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com
Please share the #Foodival2017 plans by following Transition Town Tooting on Facebook and Twitter - thank you!

'I Grew This!'

The Tenth Annual Tooting Foodival - 5 weeks to go! All welcome & here are the plans.

Saturday, 16 September 11am - 5pm at Mushkil Aasaan, 220 Upper Tooting Road (close to Nando's) 
We are thrilled that the award-winning and free Tooting Foodival organised by Transition Town Tooting will be celebrating its 10th year this September.

The Foodival highlights the diversity of healthy and sustainable produce that can be grown, cooked and enjoyed in Tooting & nearby.
We welcome all growers and cooks and everyone of all ages who comes to take part!
All the Foodival events will be inside Mushkil Aasaan and also outside on part of Hereward Road right in the heart of Tooting.

There are several exciting strands to the Foodival:

• We invite you to donate some fresh local produce which you've grown - timings below
• There's the Top Tooting Cook competition for local individuals and cooks, using the donated local produce (info below)
• There's Volker's Saturday Menu which will be cooked live by our fab chef, also using the lovely local produce (info below)
• There will be a great range of practical and fun growing, sustainability and creative activities (more info soon) 

Donating locally-grown produce:
There are wonderful crops being grown right here by many people!
Foodival is about sharing the love, not necessarily donating big volumes - so please don't be shy to share some of what you've grown.
All donations gratefully received from 5pm to 9pm Friday 15th Sept, or from 10am to 11am Saturday 16th Sept at Mushkil Aasaan, 222 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW.
Or let us know when you would like us to collect.

See Volker's Saturday Menu below for some special donation requests.
There are still five weeks to go, so get out the watering can, the nettle tea or whatever it takes! Ready, steady, GROW!


The Top Tooting Cook competition: 
Open to anyone living, growing or cooking nearby & free to enter. 
Full details about collecting ingredients and how to enter - click here for the flyer

Why enter? It's a fun way to celebrate local food; you can try out your skills; you meet others who are interested and share recipes; it will be fun; there'll be media coverage..and there are prizes!

Prize categories:
1. A dish made with apples and pears
2. A savoury dish
3. A pudding, dessert or cake
4. Pickles, preserves, jam, jelly or chutney

Foodival produce donors will supply the seasonal ingredients (or grow your own!) for you to cook and serve to our panel of hungry judges. You can collect ingredients at Mushkil Aasaan from 7pm to 9pm on Friday 15th Sept, or from 10 to 11am on Saturday 16th Sept.

Dishes need to be delivered by 2:00 pm on Saturday 16th, and judging follows.
Winners announced at 3:30pm!
Then the audience can taste as well - and get the recipes soon after.

  
Volker's Saturday Menu:

Volker, our very own in-house gourmet chef at the Foodival has created a very special seasonal 3 course menu for this year’s Tooting Foodival. He's asking the green-fingered of the great South West London public to donate their locally grown produce.

• Starter: Sizzling Pakoras Ingredients needed: Onions, cauliflower, courgette, spinach 

• Main course: Rainbow vegetable stir fry Ingredients needed: Onions, carrots, potatoes, turnips, peas and any other vegetables including tomatoes, garlic, herbs

• Dessert: Fruity Crumble Ingredients needed: Any fruit – apples, pears, plums, berries, grapes, bananas (yes we've had them donated, locally-grown!)

Volker will cook the dishes live and answer questions so you are able to make these at home


Details of the growing, sustainability and creative activities to follow.

Contacts
For more info on Foodival, please contact Malsara Thorne via email
There's more info at the Foodival blog - click here
Please share on social media, and use the hashtag #Foodival2017

We hope to see you, and thank you very much - The #Foodival2017 Team.