John Francis leads celebrants up to the top of the meadow for a harvest celebration.
Harvest and Courage Celebration at Knoll Farm
Knoll Farm, Waitsfield Vermont - In what can only be classified as one of the most beautiful days of the year, local RRSN members attended the Harvest and Courage Festival in Waitsfield Vermont. The festival featured speaker John Francis, Jeh Kulu - Dance and Drum Theatre, the film " The Man Who Grew Trees", children's puppet making, and a harvest lunch.
The Center for Whole Communities is located on a pristine farm overlooking the Mad River Valley in Waitsfield. Under this clear autumnal sky, particpants heard John Francis talk about his 22 years of walking in protest of the oil spills in the San Francisco bay. He also spoke with joy and humor about the 17 years of his own self imposed silence. During this period of silence, he obtained undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degres not to mention a period of teaching as well. He has devoted his life to protecting the environment. John discussed elements of his book Planetwalker to an enthralled audience and afterwards he led a parade to the top meadow for a celebration in the sun.
About Knoll Farm, according to their webpage....
"KNOLL FARM is a working family farm of hardwood forests and hillside meadows overlooking the Green Mountains in the Mad River Valley of Vermont. Our land and buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, and conserved by the Vermont Land Trust. The farm is the site of public programs such as art and music festivals, natural history workshops and yoga classes, and retreats for conservation activists. The farm also produces organic vegetables for sale at the local farmer's markets, Icelandic lamb and wool, blueberries, honey, eggs, and chickens. "
During the Harvest and Courage Celebration, Ann Day was introduced. It was Ann who owned and worked Knoll Farm and who also was responsible for donating it to the land trust. Ann spoke about her continued connection to this land and its beauty.
Travelling from Hubbardton, Michael Horner arrived later in the day to be back at Knoll Farm. Michael was greeted by Ann with a warm embrace as we learned that Michael also too had lived on Knoll Farm with his family when he was a teenager. Michael is currently taking the "Discovering a Sense of Place" class in Rutland as offered by Rutland Sustainability Network though the Vermont Earth Institute.