LOCAL FOOD, LOCAL MUSIC

Earlier this month, my husband and I ventured to southern Ohio for our first Nelsonville Music Festival.

Lured by a line-up that included Wilco as well as my all-time favorite band, Calexico, we were looking forward to checking out some new favorites too like Sharon Van Etten and Lucious. Four days of fun-filled song and dance ensued that will inspire us to plan on an annual pilgrimage to Nelsonville each May for years to come.  

We couldn't travel to this neck of the woods (or any neck of the woods for that matter) without doing a little local food foraging as well.
At the festival we were impressed to find our good friend and dairy evangelist Warren Taylor staffing the Snowville Creamery booth. All weekend, festival goers got turned on and tuned in to Snowville's fantastic dairy products with generous samples.

Here our pal, Matt enjoys his first taste of Snowville chocolate milk.  At the neighboring booth, we found more dairy refreshment from none other than Jeni's who offered an assortment of festival flavors including my personal favorite, Salty Caramel.

On tap we found craft beers from Jackie-O's Pub & Brewery in Athens as well as selections from Great Lakes Brewing Company.

Locally roasted coffee, hand-thrown pizza, and a variety of ethnic foods made for tasty festival dining. But it had to be the deep fried Laurel Valley Creamery cheese curds at Grateful Cheds that stole the show -- in terms of food, that is.

No trip to southern Ohio is complete with out a trip to the Athens Farmer's Market, a weekly expression of this rich and dynamic local food community. So, on Saturday morning, we took a break from music and ventured to the market. The market did not disappoint. A glimpse of the produce soon to be ripening up north was on display as was an impressive variety prepared foods from iced coffee to steaming bowls of heirloom beans -- served in beautiful, hand-thrown pottery bowls for sustainable, delicious al fresco market dining.

My favorite market find though had to be the lacto-fermented salsas and other inventive products made by Integration Acres. Their pawpaw/raspberry "pawpawpsicle" was instantly refreshing on this warm, early summer morning and made me smile. I'm convinced that every Saturday should involve at least one. Wish I had bought more.








The route to visit friends involved an unexpected backroad "shortcut" that afforded us a glimpse of the deep beauty this region is known for. Moody skies, rolling hills and serene pasture. This gorgeous landscape is another reason I won't be waiting too long to return to Southern Ohio.