Have I got a Tweet deal for you....

most photos here are from @rickerwoodward -Thanks

So, it's been a while. The old (slow) g4 with a broken "A" key doesn't exactly call out, "type on me". Tonight, the little guy spoke up and here I am. I will try to pick words without, you know, the letter.

Just a few weeks ago I got this big idea. Big ideas happen with me pretty often, and I swear they are all winners, really amazing ideas, but alas not everyone will concur with my constant little inspired plans. This time, I think it was either really good or they just had no clue what I was talking about, and I tricked them.

I felt this uncontrollable urge to hold a tweetup. Tweeter, Twitter what are these funny words...

In Just under 3 weeks I took an idea, to completion. I had this idea that social networking is a powerful community builder, but it was still either on a non professional level or the overly tech-savvy website builder with CPU-envy. I began to think, how cool would it be to bring together the techie with say, farmers and restaurateurs and just people who are "foodies" for a night? What if the people that work so hard to maintain the rural Vermont landscape and keep farming alive meet the people that are working towards advancing Vermont's technology fields. This was my goal. I think it went pretty well.

here is the text from the e-vite distributed nearly exclusively on twitter:

The Vermont Locavore Tweetup is an opportunity to meet face to face the people behind the Tweets! Foodies to Farmers, Artist to Legislators everyone is on Twitter! Enjoy an evening with local foods, music and participate in seminars, win prizes and general discussions on where Twitter may go. Even if you just would like to learn you are welcome.

Vermont Techno-Foodies Unite!

Yes, you know you are one. Vermont is full of them and it just might be the future of our state. Let's all come together Wednesday, March 27th for a night of discussion, workshops, music, prizes, fun and of course food!

Aside from techno-foodies there is going to be a guy who is riding his bike across country tweeting along the way, some people that drove a Ford Fiesta nearly around the world, there will be sign makers, webby people, innkeepers, slackers, students and everyone in between. This is truly going to be a unique evening.

Please register and rsvp
(we want to be able to accommodate everyone)
if you do not rsvp I ask you bring a bag of non-perishable food or at least 10 dollars I will donate to the local food shelf.

Come early if you like there is 4 acres of organic vegetable gardens to stroll, or just come relax anywhere on the 145 acres.

music by:
Phineas Gage

Food by:
American Flatbread
Misty Knoll
Vermont Herb and Salad
Hartshorn Farm
Vermont Yak Co.
Defreest Farm Beef

PRIZES!!
Cooking Class for 2 from The Store
Gourmet Basket of food and cooking gadgets from The Store
9 book library from Chelsea Green
Speakers from Smalldog Electronics
iPod accessories kit from Smalldog Electronics
America 24/7 book from from Smalldog Electronics
Coffee Goods from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
2 Tickets to the A Taste of the Valley
and more.... WOW!

Tweeting Stations by:
Smalldog Electronics

Seminar by:
Chelsea Green

Sustainable sewing demo by:
The Bobbin Sew Bar and Lounge

and soo much more...



for directions please visit http://www.theroundbarn.com/directions.htm
There will be a really "Tweet" deal on rooms at our Inn, inquire for the rate.

thanks, and see you soon!

Charlie
roundbarnfarm on twitter


Check out the pics and the links about the tweetup below.


This is the crowd watching the demo on sustainable sewing given towards the end of the evening, they were awesome, really sewing has never been so cool. http://thebobbin.com/
The next picture down is a 2011 Ford Fiesta, yes 2011. It is part of a special project by Ford nd driven by two Vermonters, the car had just finished a big cross-country trip just a few hours before arriving at the Tweetup. Check out Fiestavus here: http://www.fiestavus.com/



The Great Vermont Locavore Tweetup
check these out, Brian has some great pictures to give you a feel for the night.


The Tweetup Song!
Follow Nathan
Valley Reporter
Brian's Pictures
Jesse's Twitter Presentation
Vermont Commons 1
Vermont Commons 2
The Dinner Hour
Rachel's Blog
Valley Futures
Burlington Free Press
Seven Days
Blellow event listing
RickerWoodward Blog

Iron Kids

This past weekend I went up to the Vermont Jr. Iron Chef Competition. Maria, my friend and a former intern at the Round Barn Farm was volunteering with one of the teams. This was only the second year the competition took place, though I see great potential for the future (I really was jealous that nothing like this existed when I was in school). The teams were judged on a few categories but all needed to use local products and make recipes that could be replicated in a school cafeteria. Things really have changed. Bye bye fish sticks and boiled hamburgers.
I didn't wait to see who the winners were that day, but here are the results as sent me in an e-message from Maria, but really congratulations to all the kids for doing the work!

"BHS/Healthy City recipe was Polenta Pizza with Curried Winter Harvest Hash. The local ingredients were butternut squash (prepared), cheddar cheese, celeriac and cornmeal (and maybe the potatoes, too ... not sure).

CVUHS Redhawks won Most Creative with their apple pizza and Twin Valley HS in Wilmington won Best In Show with Huevos M??? (Something ... Read More involving eggs and corn tortillas, but I couldn't hear over the crowd. They were the team with the decorations and sombreros at one of the corner tables). The pizza concept is apparently a good one for cafeterias ... go figure! :-)"

and by the way, Maria's team was the first one listed there (and pictured with the pink bandannas) - BHS - Nice Job!!

I think I can see a Round Barn Team next year....

Good as Gould

Tonight, I stopped by my neighbors, which is different then "the people that live next door", I think in Vermont, neighbor has a bit of a different meaning. While out taking a trip to town, I stopped at Keith Gould's Farm a few miles from my house. He named the Farm after the Vermont state bird, the Hermit Thrush. Keith has had the Hermit Thrush Farm since 1976, a bit of a gentleman farmer (he was a professor of english until he retired a few years ago), Keith has maple, and honey (if you're lucky enough). I saw the big white clouds of steam and smoke billowing from the shed and decided I needed to participate in the old Vermont tradition and pick up some fresh maple syrup. Keith, set me up with a nice warm jug of grade A dark (I wanted B, but he insisted I try it, we'll see, so far -it's pretty sweet. He has 1000 trees tapped and from what I'm told you can get a half gallon from each tree, Keith said he has already made about 150 gallons. "it's been a great season", Keith said. Keep up the good work Keith, and I am going to try not drinking all the syrup!