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In reply to the discussion: WTF? Spain-inspired Great Bull Run coming to U.S. Cities [View all]cali
(114,904 posts)The Strolling of the Heifers
Orly, you have to do something about this, Dwight Miller told his neighbor, Orly Munzing, back in 2001 as they strolled through Millers Dummerston, Vermont orchard.Farmers are slowly going out of business. People dont know where there food comes from. If they knew how hard farming is, theyd support their local farmers.
Munzing took Millers words to heart, and then she had an inspiration. She had recently visited Pamplona, Spain, site of the famous Running of the Bulls. As a way of honoring and supporting local farmers, she envisioned a slower, friendlier, female version of the Running of the Bulls the Strolling of the Heifers. Farmers would bring their heifer calves, lead them up the historic Main Street of nearby Brattleboro, and afterward, there would be a festival where people could meet the farmers and learn about local foods.
Munzing went to work with a team of volunteers, and the first Strolling of the Heifers parade and festival took place in 2002. The word locavore had not yet been invented (it came along in 2005). But from the beginning, the point of Strolling of the Heifers was to support and sustain family farms by connecting people with healthy local food, and by showcasing the farmers and food producers who bring it to them.
Now in its second decade, Strolling of the Heifers has grown from a small-town parade into a regional movement with year-round programs and events. In recent years, the Stroll has expanded its horizon to include not only sustainable agriculture and food systems, but many other aspects of local economic sustainability.
http://www.strollingoftheheifers.com/