Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra "Otra Noche Habanera"
The fourth annual StoryHarvest
Festival community celebration, featuring free food, music, art activities and more, took place on a beautiful Saturday afternoon (
September 27, 2014) at
Freedom Square in
North Troy NY.
Alex Torres & His
Latin Orchestra performed their amazing original blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms including salsa, merengue, cha-cha, bomba, plena
and Latin jazz.
Just as farmers reap the harvest, providing sustenance for all, it was time to celebrate all our harvests--the results of seeds sown through art, education, agriculture, tolerance, and everything we do to build strong, healthy communities.
Folks brought their own lawn blankets and chairs, plus food to share in the community potluck. Celebrating the power of food to connect community, there were delicious offerings from the
Chefs'
Consortium, a "stone soup" featuring harvest bounty of local farmers, a barbeque, a visit from
Capital Root's Veggie
Mobile, plus other delectables!
Art activities included painting
Freedom Flags,
Troy Alley
Action chalk-painting "intersection art," photos with
Brenda Ann Kenneally, silhouette painting with
Anastasia Robertson, and more! There was a bike activity station with Troy
Bike Rescue, and the folks from
Transport Troy,
Transition Troy and Solarize Troy shared important information about striving for our sustainable future!
We celebrated community with the PreRamble folks, and inaugurated the move of the
ARK Community Charter School Peace Pole to Freedom Square!
Co-sponsored by NATURE Lab,
Friends of Freedom Square, Chefs' Consortium, Troy Bike Rescue, PreRamble, Transport Troy, Transition Troy, Troy Alley Action,
Troy Little League,
United Ordained Church,
Capital Region Pride Center,
Capital District Community
Gardens,
Stone Industries, Ark Community Charter School,
Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Troy Drug
Free Community
Coalition.
Food donations from
Oakwood Community Center,
Farmers Market, 9
Mile Farm, Dennison Farm, Our Farm
CSA, Stewarts,
Albany (
Beta Pi
Lambda) chapter of
Alpha Phi Alpha,
Black Queen Angus and more!
Thumbnail photo by Jon
Flanders.