HomeGrown Festival is this weekend, benefiting Five Points Community Farm Market in Norfolk. If you’ve never been to Five Points, you should go. We need to do a proper feature on them, but it’s a regular collective over there. It’s housed in this fantastic brick warehouse-type space (again, in a good way) full of locally grown delights of all colors and levels of crispy, savory, tart and oh-so-fine. The market shares its home with an iron worker, a film studio, some artists spaces, and a straight shooting pro-soldier activist who roams the grounds like a middle aged father time (just assume in a good way).

There are events benefiting the good market throughout the weekend. I’ll leave you with the schedule, including an event MC’ed by our very own treasure-in-residence Skye Zentz. Before we get to the listings here are Skye’s top reasons to come out and play this weekend (warning: she talks about herself in the third person and uses periods at her discretion. Did anyone call you a treasure-in-residence today? Thought so, so don’t judge):

-Because you want to go do something fun in Norfolk that isn’t being thrown at Town Point Park? (Nothin’ against em…but hey, all those cops and drunk folks get old after a while)
-Because Skye Zentz just learned a Stevie Wonder song
-Because Dominion Root Beer is amazing
-Because Farm Fresh’s produce section is LACKING.
-Because on Sunday you can set your kids loose on the stage for the L’il Sprout’s Open Mic
-Because you care where your food comes from and how it got to your plate
-Because of Friday’s Wine and Cheese event (There’s Jazz too!)
-Because your kids can watch Ratatouille while you shop on Friday evening
-Because there is a Pirate Song Workshop at 1pm on Saturday. (Really. YARR.)
-Because AltDaily’s own Farm-Wife, Kathleen Fogarty will be performing WITH her Farmer Hubbie John Wilson on Sunday
-Because you can walk to the the graveyard and take creepy pictures afterward
-Because it’s almost Halloween time and you probably need a pumpkin to carve your baby daddy’s initials in.
-Because you may never have met Dave Kennedy (The Tap Dancing Terror of Tidewater- yikes!) and he’ll be tappin’ around all day on Saturday.

This is Skye. How do you not trust that little face?

Friday, October 2 -Starting at 5:00 – 7 p.m. A Wine & Cheese Open House to benefit The Five Points Community Farm Market. Light Jazz & Blues entertainment by Amy Ferebee & Regina Scott Sanford & Jackie Merritt.

As the sun sets, around 7:30 p.m., bring a lawn chair and join us for a “Sit In Movie” in the back parking lot. The True Cost of Food, a 15 minute cartoon from the Sierra Club opens followed by a family favorite, “Ratatouille”.

Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. you’ll find displays of local artists and crafters all accompanied by local musicians both inside and out of the farm market and much more!!!. Meet members from The Pepper Lovers Club and The Home Brew Beer Club!

Fresh local produce cooking demonstrations by our Get Fresh Cafe Chef, T.J. Thompson as well as sampling and tastings. Jefferson Vineyards will be the featured for samples and sales as well as Virginia beers. Chat with local farmers and learn more about local honey from our local beekeepers.

Sunday, Oct. 4 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. start the day with Sunday Brunch at the Get Fresh Cafe featuring fresh local produce of the season with a dash of music from local musicians. The Vineyard on the Scuppernong will be our featured vineyard. Stroll the market and check out the works of local artists, sample wines and beers or enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the patio.

For more information please contact Bev Sell farmarket@verizon.net or 640-0300