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Maharishi International University to host Farm Harvest Festival Saturday
FAIRFIELD — Maharishi International University’s Regenerative Organic Agriculture Program (ROAP) will host its inaugural Farm Harvest Festival on Saturday, Sept. 30.
The event, free and open to the public, will be held at the MIU ROAP Farm, located just north of Reiff Grain & Feed on North Highway 1. The event will feature an impressive musical lineup, educational speakers, self-guided tours of the farm, a treasure hunt and food from six local vendors.
Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and to car pool if possible because of limited parking space.
This is the first time the MIU ROAP Farm has hosted a festival of this kind. Why start now? According to organizers Muna Askar and Abby Cyr, it’s to celebrate the farm’s bountiful harvest.
“This has been the most abundant harvest the farm has ever had,” Askar said.
Cyr added that their initial idea was to hold a potluck at the farm.
“It got bigger and bigger,” she said.
The festival will last at least seven hours, from 3-10 p.m. and feature live music from start to finish. The musicians who have agreed to perform include Apocalypso Tantric Noise Choir, Dave Tamkin, Noah Mizelle, Amine Kouider, Nisan Alva and Tim Britton.
The musicians will take a break from 4-5 p.m. so attendees can listen to a panel discussion with a few experts in regenerative agriculture and members of the farm’s staff.
Guests will have a multitude of food options to choose from between 3:30-8 p.m. Mira’s Café, the new restaurant on North Main Street, is the main caterer for the event, serving its organic and vegan dishes. Taco Dreams will set up a booth where it will sell burritos with locally sourced beef. Everybody’s Whole Foods is providing squash soup, and Breadtopia will be selling its breads. Hedge Apple Kombucha will be selling its kombucha, too. Radiance Dairy is offering free ice cream.
The MIU ROAP Farm will allow attendees to go on a self-guided tour, including a website with a virtual map with information about specific plots. The farm will have a couple of scavenger hunts, too, one for children and another for adults. Askar and Cyr said the nearly two-acre farm grows just about every vegetable under the sun, from leafy greens like lettuce, kale and arugula, to tomatoes, okra, beets, carrots and potatoes, just to name a few.
Apart from the music, food and tours, the farm is hosting a bevy of other activities such as a bounce house for kids, a petting zoo, corn hole, apple bobbing and other outdoor games. There will be a program on how to pot your own plant, and an art wall where attendees are invited to show off their creativity.
The purpose of the farm is multidimensional, since it not only teaches MIU students about how to farm in a regenerative fashion, but its produce is also sold as a source of revenue for the program, or given away to local charities like The Lord’s Cupboard or Golden Magnolia’s soup kitchen. The farm has agreements with 46 people who are participating in a community supported agriculture (CSA) this year, where they receive a portion of the farm’s harvest every week. The farm’s staff also sell its produce at the Fairfield Farmers Market every Saturday in Howard Park. Not only that, but a number of local businesses rely on the farm for produce such as Stephenson and Fishback Cider House, Broth Lab, Taco Dreams, Breadtopia, Veraison Wine Bar and the MIU cafeteria, Annapurna Dining Hall.
Cyr and Askar are both students in ROAP, Askar as an undergraduate and Cyr in the master’s program. The two said that there’s no better way to raise awareness of the ROAP farm than through a party.
“We want to teach the community about regenerating the land,” Cyr said. “We like to say that we’re growing future farmers.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
