StrawFest: A Farm to Fork Festival promoting organic and local produce in conjunction with the Boyne Valley Food Series

We are looking forward to welcoming neighbours, friends and new visitors to Rock Farm Slane this Sunday coming.

At only €5 per car admission, you will be kept busy on the farm meeting our pigs, Dexters cattle, turkeys as well as visiting the veg patch, forest garden and our Glamping and strawbale buildings. We have horse and carriage rides, a strawbale climbing area and fun activities for all the family, as well as a Farmer's Market in the Hay Barn with music and food on offer. Come try our organic Dexter burgers, pork sausages and our wood-fired pizza.

Doors open at 11am and we will launch our Change X Slane Community Orchard at 11.30am.

Book your ticket now online at: www.strawfest18.eventbrite.ie

Schedule of events

11am         Farmer's Market with producers from the Slane Food Circle and wider Boyne Valley Flavours network

11am - 4pm Horse & cart rides with Ronan Clarke and his gorgeous draught horses around the farm and Glamping area (€5/adult, €2.50/child) tickets available here

11.30am  Launch of the ChangeX Slane Open Orchard - to sign up for the meet up please click here: Change X Open Orchard Slane project

12pm - 3pm Music from the talented young Mr Christopher McCafferty (on the piano) and local musicians from Slane (on the Hay Barn stage)

12pm to 4.30pm Organic Dexter Burgers, Organic hot dogs and Pizzas from the wood-fired oven 

• Organic Dexter Burgers in large floury baps with mixed leaves from the organic garden and a range of condiments €8.50 each
• Organic Pork Sausages as hot dogs with mixed leaves from the organic garden and a range of condiments €6.50 each
• Wood-fired pizzas with a range of ingredients from our wood-fired clay oven. Choose your own ingredients and wait for a new taste sensation €10/pizza
• Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate and minerals also for sale

12pm - 4pm Glamping tours - Visit our beautiful Glamping area and see what it's like to stay in one of your yurts or shepherd huts. Check out the views of the infamous Slane Castle amphitheatre which will be hosting another concert in June 2019

12pm        Meet and feed the Pigs - meet our outdoor organically reared sows, our Long White boar and their offspring as we explain how we ethically rear our pigs and our markets. We have lots of fallen apples and we'd love some volunteers to help feed them!

12.30pm  Meet the Dexters - meet our native Irish cattle whose first record was made at Slane Castle in 1840. Learn about their hardy nature and how we keep them outdoors all year round.

1pm Meet the Turkeys & baby chicks! - come and meet the turkeys in the poultry area by the forest garden where our organic turkeys are reared on a mix of fallen fruit and herbs foraged in the Forest Garden

2pm Farm walk with Alex Conyngham (organic farmer and founder of Slane Irish Whiskey) Take a general tour of the organic farm and delve into barley growing for whiskey

                                                                  

3pm Five years on... a talk by Carina Conyngham on the challenges of running an eco-tourism business and how the eco-buildings are fairing after 5 years of wear and tear.

4pm Meet the Producers: meet our talented artisan producers like Hilda's Jams, Boyne Valley Blue Cheese, Cockagee cider, Des Crinion cheese etc. and hear their story. Samples available and Q&A session after each speaker.