Can you believe we are into the festive, sparkly month already? The sleigh bells are starting to jingle..
The Cultivate team embraces the new season with hope and joy and, as we step into December, we reflect on the past year whilst looking forward to the New Year and our ambitions for 2023.
Summer seemed to go by in a flash with busy outdoor family shows and our exciting involvement in The Somerset Food Trail. We've had some lovely feedback and positive conversations with audiences and partners. If you did come along to any of our Cultivate events we can’t thank you enough.
With Christmas planning, and all the thinking it requires, we will certainly be mindful of supporting our local producers, farms, and local artisan producers when considering our Christmas food shop!
If you didn’t know, the Crewkerne Farmer’s Market will be held on Saturday 17 Dec from 9am – 1pm and runs the third Saturday of every month. A great place to find your fresh, local and delicious vegetables and treats to make the most tasty and sustainable Christmas lunch! More info here.
We also recommend you pop into The Sunshine Bindery, where you can find amazing hand-crafted cards, calendars and more! Our gorgeous ‘Buy Local Eat Well’ postcard was designed and produced here by Mell Oliver.
What's coming up in 2023?
An Evening with Graham Harvey: Muck, Microbes and Re-Making Paradise
Friday 27 January
For more than 30 years, Graham Harvey wrote scripts and story-lines for the Radio 4 series, The Archers, whilst campaigning passionately for nature-friendly farming. Cultivate is delighted to be welcoming him to Norton Village Hall, in an evening of fascinating and intriguing conversation around his experiences in farming and his new book “Underneath The Archers”.
Delicious and local food tasters will be on offer, as part of the ticket price, made by Sue and Penny from The Cookhouse. Learn about this fantastic local producer, and mother and daughter duo, who are based on the farm at Flaxdrayton where Take Art live!
There will also be a chance to find out more about the Norton village shop and all the great, local food produce you can buy there.
What could be sweeter? If you have a lover of The Archers to buy for, this event could be a great Christmas present and something to look forward to in the New Year.
To find out more and to book tickets click here.
Fresh Fiction - Call Out for Short Stories
Theme: Spring - Change, Renewal or Rebirth - Food and Farming
Sunday 16 April at The David Hall 7.30-9.30pm
Fresh Fiction is a series of new short story nights performed live by writers at The David Hall, South Petherton, Somerset. Original short stories are hand-picked by a team to create an evening’s entertainment celebrating the short story.
Cultivate is supporting Fresh Fiction’s April Spring themed event and welcomes stories of food and farm from across Somerset and surrounding counties. Writers may like to explore change, renewal or rebirth. Send up to 1500 words (preferably less) based on the theme in advance to submit@novelnights.co.uk
For all the information and guidelines for writers click here.
To find out more about the event and other events from Fresh Fiction click here.
Sustainable Food Somerset
Cultivate partnered with The Somerset Food Trail 2022, which was a celebration of locally-produced, delicious and sustainable food. The 2022 Festival featured more than 190 farmers, growers, food producers, cafés, pubs and restaurants with Cultivate bringing an arts and culture flavour in partnership with venues in South Somerset. Check out the food trails film of what was involved:
Our ambition is to continue working with the Sustainable Food Somerset in the 2023 trail and beyond.
Save the date for the next trail which will be between 14 – 30 July 2023 and follow the theme of ‘Somerset Feasts’.
An evaluation of the Somerset Food Trail 2022 festival can be found on the food trail’s website along with updates and information for next year. Cultivate can’t wait to get thinking and feasting!
Cultivate Connects
Farming, Food & Creativity with Diverse Communities
Recently we invited Jusna Mustafa from Somerset’s Community Council to visit Flaxdrayton Farm to talk about Cutlivate’s work and making our projects more engaging for diverse communities. Jusna was also filming for our new Cultivate promotional film, produced by Richard Tomlinson, we can’t wait to share this with you in the New Year!
A personal thanks to Sue Foreman and Penny at The Cookhouse for feeding the Take Art team and other tenants based at Flaxdrayton Farm. Sue & Penny’s meals are always a hit and a tasty treat on a Thursday lunchtime!
Wishing you a happy and bright Christmas!
From Katy & Mark at Cultivate, we hope you have a wonderful, bright and jolly Christmas.
Please, when you can, buy local and support your local growers and businesses this Christmas. We can’t wait to bring your more Cultivating events and activities in 2023 and look forward to seeing you on the other side!
Until then,
The Cultivate team x