Photo by Nora Molinaro, For The Miami Student
By Megan Mooney, For The Miami Student
MOON Co-Op market will provide food and activities to community members this Sunday
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) will be putting on its eighth annual MOON Festival this Sunday in support of local farms and the people behind them.
The event is co-sponsored by the OEFFA Miami-Oxford Organic Network chapter and MOON Co-Op market and will provide plenty of entertainment and food options, as well as have an educational component.
"The festival is a celebration of local food," said the local OEFFA chapter president, Harv Roehling.
The event is meant to bring people's attention to Oxford's vast local food resources.
MOON Co-Op market is one such resource. According to their official website, it is community-owned and sells organic, sustainably-raised food, including produce, meat and dairy products. The market works side-by-side with local farmers to provide the community with fresh products.
The event will kick off at 1 p.m. in Uptown Memorial Park with live music from the Jericho Old Time Band and vendors from the Oxford Farmer's Market.
Plenty of activities will be provided for people to choose from.
According to Roehling, there will be informational booths set up, face-painting and other activities for children. In addition, there will be a petting zoo and free wagon rides pulled by a team of mules provided by Ogle and Paul R. Young Funeral Home.
The wagons are handicap accessible and people can get their picture with the mules after a ride around the block.
Food demonstrations from Kona Bistro and MOON Co-Op will take place at 2 and 3:30 p.m. Also, educational speaker Beth Harnist of Adopt-A-Plant will present "Gardening for the Bees-We Need Them!" at 1:30 p.m. and will be followed later by Joe Streit from Double J Farm speaking on "The Advantages of Using Raw Milk."
Of course, food will be available. Attendees can buy a lunch of soup, salad and bread for $5 and apple cider for $1 with refills for .50 cents. There will also be other snacks like popcorn, cookies and cake, as well as anything vendors bring for purchase.
The manager at the MOON Co-Op hopes to "celebrate the harvest and raise awareness of local farmers" and help people understand where there food is coming from through this year's MOON Festival.