The Good Festival in Bushwick Celebrated Local Food, Artists and Musicians

Saturday in Bushwick was buzzing with local sounds and sustainable eats at The Good Festival, a celebration of local farmers, artists, musicians, and chefs that make an extra effort to be eco-conscious. The host, Local Roots NYC, recent winner of Entrepreneur of the Year award at the city’s Neighborhood Achievement Awards, promotes a more sustainable way of eating through a unique community supported agriculture program and seasonal events that bring local purveyors directly to the consumer.With a giant inflatable bee hive, live music, and beer, it was a great perfect way to spend a Saturday. Here’s a highlight of the vendors at the Good Festival this weekend:

We had a chance to sample a verity of honeys from Sweet Thing & Wild Thyme Honey. The owner was showcasing a colony of bees in a glass case doing what bees do best, making honey. The varieties are infused by foraging seasonal ingredients from their upstate farm. Apple blossom was reminiscent of  biting into a freshly picked apple and the onion blossom has been said to be a sweet remedy in disguise.

With all this honey talk Festooning appropriately provided a giant inflatable bee hive so you can really feel like you are part of the local colony.

The Textile Arts Center provided an interactive flower workshop. Pounding a vast array of flowers and plants on natural paper with hammers, Sewing Seeds was a crowd favorite. The gorgeous hues of pedals and leaves were vibrantly transferred onto the paper exemplifying the power of natural dye in plants.

Fleischer’s was there to talk meat and their sustainable efforts in one if the most acclaimed butcher shops in the country. They discuss the importance of nose to tail and their products including soap made of beef tallow. A fine example of high quality and little waste, Fleisher’s proves all it takes is a little creativity.Lucas Volger named his book Veggie Burgers Every Which Way, he meant it. There are so many delicious recipes with ingredients that can be found seasonally and year-round. The mini burger samples he was cooking could convert any carnivore.

Diana Kuan of The Chinese Take-Out Cookbook provided a simple demo on how Chinese restaurants get their dumplings so darn perfect! Kuan also offers more in-depth classes at the Brooklyn Brainery and West Elm locations.

For more info on Local Roots and to find out about their next event, follow them on Twitter @localrootsnyc and Facebook