When you think of living more sustainably, do clucking chickens, flavorful fresh herbs or muddy feet sloshing in a pit of building clay come to mind?
They’re just a few of the things attendees can experience at the Mother Earth News Fair April 11-12 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road. The Fair runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Fairgoers can participate in several activities throughout the weekend, including:
Live Poultry Processing: Organic farmer Joel Salatin and Featherman Equipment’s David Schafer will show how to harvest chickens humanely, safely and efficiently, regardless of the number of birds to be processed. 9:30 – 11 a.m. Sunday only
Hands-On Country Skills: Artisans from the John C. Campbell Folk School will demonstrate blacksmithing, woodworking, spinning and dyeing, weaving, basketry, broom making, and cooking with fire using an outdoor brick oven.
Kid’s Activity Yurt: Laurel Nest Yurts invites children to bring their imagination and energy with music, arts and crafts, dress up, and other activities.
Cooking with Fresh Herbs: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange teaches techniques and recipes for cooking with herbs that are easy to grow and use. 4 p.m. daily
Alternative Energy Vehicle Show: Alternative-fuel vehicle designers, builders and drivers will display their cars and answer questions about ownership, operation and more.
Building with Mud: The Natural Cottage Project will show attendees how to mix building clay with their feet and sculpt a miniature earthen house by hand. Regional natural building experts will answer questions as well.
Draft Animal Forestry and Tiny Timber Houses: Ian Snider of Boone demonstrates logging with draft horses. Ongoing; full workshop 4 p.m. Sunday
“Self-sufficiency covers a lot of ground, and we want to expose our attendees to as many aspects of it as possible,” says Andrew Perkins, the Fair’s director.
In addition, the Fair will offer more than 150 hands-on workshops on organic gardening, cooking and food preservation, renewable energy, homesteading, small-scale livestock, green building, natural health, green transportation, and related topics. Local and national experts will lead the sessions.
Attendees can also find children’s activities; country skills; vendor and livestock demonstrations; more than 300 vendors; and local and organic food options.
Weekend passes cost $25 in advance and $30 at the gate. Children 17 and under get in free. To purchase advance passes, go to MotherEarthNewsFair.com or call toll-free 800-234-3368.
Mother Earth News Fair sponsors include Biltmore, Botanical Interests, Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, Carolina Farm Credit, Coconut Bliss, Deltec Homes, Earth Tools, Ford Motor Co., Gaia Herbs, Ingles Markets, John C. Campbell Folk School, Kapstone Farm, King Bio, Klean Kanteen, Mockingbird Meadows, Mountain Rose Herbs, Outback Power, Premier 1 Supplies, Sierra Nevada, Split Second Log Splitter, Star Seed, Theo Chocolate and Yanmar America.