Local First producing Fork Fest

Local First producing Fork Fest

Courtesy Local First

More than 30 local food and beverage vendors will be on hand at a food festival in town this week.

The eighth-annual Local First Fork Fest, presented by Brewery Vivant, will be held this Friday from 5-9 p.m. at Romence Gardens and Greenhouses in Grand Rapids, at 265 Lakeside Dr. NE.

The event will feature live music, butchering and cocktail-making demonstrations, an artists market and dozens of local food and beverage producers, growers, grocers and restaurateurs.

“Eating local is one of the best ways to shift your dollars to local businesses,” said Elissa Sangalli Hillary, president, Local First. “Fork Fest helps introduce our community to new and long-standing entrepreneurs and the deliciousness they create.”

Tickets

Tickets, $15-$45, are available online and at the door.

All food samples, one drink ticket, non-alcoholic beverages and entertainment are included in admission.

Event details

Wayfinding signage and a large print map will help orient guests and help people with specific dietary needs.

New this year, Local First and Lions & Rabbits have organized an artists market that will feature 20 local makers selling clothing, leather goods, jewelry, ceramics, woodwork and more.

Louise Earl Butcher and Long Road Distillers will demonstrate their skills in butchering and cocktail-making.

Live music will be provided by Fork Fest veteran and local bluegrass band Fauxgrass.

The event will also provide waste-sorting stations, staffed by the West Michigan Sustainable Business Form, in the hopes to again make Fork Fest a zero-waste event.

Proceeds will go toward the Local First Educational Foundation.

Food vendors

Ada Pour House

Beacon Hill

Brewery Vivant

Byron Center Meats

CitySēn Lounge

Daddy’s Dough

The Green Well

Field & Fire

Gravity Taphouse Grille

Heffron Farms

Irie Kitchen

Koeze

Lindo Mexico

Long Road Distillers

Louise Earl Butcher

Love’s Ice Cream

Madcap Coffee Company

MeXo

Old World Olive Co.

Schuler’s Chapbook Café

Slow Food West Michigan

The Søvengård

Supermercado Mexico

TerraGR

Thousand Oaks Golf Club

Twisted Rooster

Uccello’s Ristorante

Zoko 822

Beverage vendors

Brewery Vivant

Long Road Distillery

Fenn Valley Vineyards

Pux Cider