By Carol McCracken (Post # 2,405)
The public is invited to attend a day of food related activities – “Phoenix Fare” – on Thursday, September 17th in East Bayside. The day begins at 8:30 am and concludes at 7:00 pm at the Boyd Street Urban Farm in Kennedy Park. The “Phoenix Fare” kicks off the Brownfields Area Wide Planning Grant – East Bayside. The event is hosted by the City of Portland, Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) and Cumberland County.
The free day of activities will start at 8:30 am at Merrill Rehearsal Hall with a presentation by Ryan Wallace, from USM’s Center for Business & Economic Research on food as an economic driver for the Portland region. The morning centers on the film premiere of Scaling Local, a documentary by GPCOG’s own Caroline Paras, on Portland area food manufacturers that are growing in size with an inspiring commitment to the triple bottom line. Businesses to be featured include Rising Tide Brewing Company. Following the film, there will be an open question and answer session for the companies participating in this segment of the event.
At noon, local historian Allan Levinsky will talk about Portland’s Great Fire of 1866. This is a subject with which he is very familiar having written a book on the subject that was published last year.
In the afternoon, there will be opportunities for self-guided foodie tours in East Bayside. The day concludes at the Boyd Street Urban Fermentory in Kennedy Park where the mobile lab from the US Environmental Protection Agency will offer free screenings of backyard soil from 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Residents who want to bring soil samples to be tested can pick-up a free kit from the Portland Public Library or from Portland City Hall.
Earlier this year, East Bayside was selected as one of 20 neighborhoods in the nation for a $200,000. Brownfields Area – Wide Planning (AWP) grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The planning process is in collaboration with GCOG and the City of Portland.