I will be bringing my pottery and essays relating to climate change and they way we talk about invasive species/invasions of foreign people to Wollam Gardens’ Literary Festival on October 19th.  It promises to be a stimulating and beautiful event.  I’ll have plenty of vases for sale which you can then fill will Wollam Gardens flowers.  Get your tickets now.

The third Saturday of October, when the weather starts to turn crisp in the valleys of the Shenandoah Mountains, we’ll be lighting a fire and hosting a literary-and-activism-inspired festival, Grace, Race & Renewing the Commons. With the help of talented speakers and workshop leaders, Wollam Gardens – a sustainable locavore farm and flower destination – will cultivate conversations, ideas, and strategies to think out loud about ways to answer some of the most pressing challenges facing all of us today.
What are some of the historic factors driving conversation in the public square about race, and how can we use those, as well as today’s developments, to create broader awareness and dialogue? In agriculture, what can we do to adapt to changing climate conditions? Can we devise new ways based on old practices to think about sharing common natural resources? What is the role of ordinary citizens in creating dialogue with policymakers about sustaining the oceans and slowing the extinction of species? How might we bring grace to our civic discourse about the opioid epidemic? What is the role of humor in countering alternative facts? Taking inspiration from our three themes of grace, race, and renewing the commons, these are just a few of the questions we’ll be exploring.
In addition, we want you to have a great time soaking up Virginia culture, including locally produced beer, wine, crafts, and art. We we will curate a selection of workshops to teach skills and concepts related to the day’s three major themes. You can learn how to get away from carbon-intensive plastic, or educate yourself about what you can do to create good soil, or how you can produce your own oral family history.
You can talk with local farmers about how they have diversified their businesses, and slip away to engage in a guided meditation to bring a bit more grace into your life. Of course, we’ll also have workshops organized around the seasonal, local flowers that dot the paths and fields of Wollam Gardens.