Welcome to our May 2021 Newsletter!
Farm News: New Mama Farm Faces, 2021 Events, Our New B&B
Welcome back, dearest members! We are so excited to kick off the 2021 season and to have you and your families back in the fold. Speaking of families – Elettra and Caleb are expecting the arrival of their second son on June 11th! Elettra will be on maternity leave for the first part of the summer, but she leaves you in the very (even more) capable hands of our new hires, Emily Pilkington and Freya Wiedemann (Elettra’s sister). Let’s get to know these two lovely ladies!
Did you just read the word “events”?
As in a group of people gathered together in one place?!
Yes, you read that right! As many of you know, we had a couple of very successful dinners at the farm in summer 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. These dinners helped us to realize that there is a way to have beautiful and celebratory gatherings that are fully COVID-compliant. With this blueprint in mind, we created a 2021 event schedule with concerts, children’s music classes, dinners and more that will help us to convene as a community, celebrate and support artists, and also stay healthy and safe. The events will always be small (maximum 60 people) with masks and social distancing.
Please check out our “Spotlight On” section in this issue to learn more about one of our event collaborators, Oran Etkin. You can also check out Mama Farm’s Event page on our site to see our full event schedule, book tickets, and even enquire about farm rentals for your own private event. (www.mamafarm/us/events)
In The Weeds with Early Girl
As many of you already know, farmer Patty Gentry rents land from Mama Farm for her Early Girl Farm operation. While we are technically two separate entities within the same plot of land, Early Girl and Mama Farm work closely together on everything, including our new and improved CSA member pick up area. This year, our members-only CSA pick up area will be just beyond the herb beds and include a shaded farm market area, as well as Early Girl's pop-up dosa stand! A dosa is a thin crepe made from a fermented batter of basmati rice and white lentils. They are healthy and delicious and will be filled with Early Girl's own incredible vegetables and farm made chutneys.
It’s basically the perfect, healthy grab and go snack once you’ve loaded up on your CSA bounty. We will offer delicious beverages to compliment your dosa including the popular Colombe Cold Brew Coffee (black or with oat milk).
Mama Farm’s Full Moon Series will feature a different musical artist of Oran’s choosing on weekends of the full moon on May 29, June 26, July 24, August 22 (all Saturdays). Each Full Moon concert is designed to be a transportive event to delight attendees under the moon and stars and empower emerging artists from around the world.
On the following (Sunday) mornings, Oran will be hosting his famous Timbalooloo music class for children and a delicious farm-fresh breakfast will be served. Dates for the Timbalooloo classes and breakfasts are May 30, June 27, July 25, and August 23. You can purchase tickets to any event by going to Mama Farm’s event page (MamaFarm.us/events).
Oran's music can be heard on concert stages around the world and numerous recordings including a Grammy Award Winning compilation. His Paris concert was chosen by Libération as a top musical highlight of the year, describing it as "a concert of weightlessness, class, spark, inspiration and sharing.” In his travels, Oran often collaborates with traditional artists - from mbira masters in Zimbabwe to gamelan musicians in Indonesia.
In his enchanting Timbalooloo music classes, instruments from around the world come to life and speak the language of music so that children learn to understand music as a conversation between instruments (for example his friend Clara Net and her mother Big Mama Tuba).
Through fun games, stories and songs, children of all ages playfully engage with rich musical and cultural heritage – from Tito Puente to Mozart, Willie Nelson to Herbie Hancock. Inspired by the way children learn languages intuitively, Timbalooloo strives to foster a natural fluency in the language of music!
Liz Sorts Your Biz: Mama Farm's New Advice Column
Among our many talented and wonderful CSA members, we have a certain admiration for the all-knowing “Liz” (pseudonym). Liz is revered by their friends for doing the absolute best advice on literally anything from personal issues to finance to ethics and beyond. Members can submit their most pressing questions via our small intake box at the CSA pick-up.
Keep reading for Liz's inaugural moment of enlightenment.
Dear Liz Sorts Your Biz,
My wife drives me CRAZY with her iPhone. She only likes to talk to her friends on FaceTime and if by chance they actually call on the phone normally, she takes the conversation on speakerphone – at full volume! I don’t want to hear her convos or her voice anymore. I can’t work. I can’t focus.
I think I want to divorce her actually.
– Shoot Me In the Eye-Phone
Dear Eye-Phone,
I feel your pain. We need to have the honey talk. We have a couple of options: Buy a soundproof door or, more fun: when she is on Facetime walk by in your underwear (or naked if you're courageous), give her a big kiss and ask her friend a question you overheard her talking about. You will have three different outcomes. Mission accomplished, wild crazy sex or sent into the cold zone for a week. Whatever you decide, you are on your own. Good luck and have some fun.