Skip to content
Home > 2012 Annual Winter Guild Gathering

2012 Annual Winter Guild Gathering

by localgrowers on January 14, 2012

Animal husbandry workshop with Luke Rhodes

Saturday, January 21, 2012
9am – 5pm
Harmony School, 909 E. 2nd St.

On Saturday, January 21st, the day of the 2012 Winter Guild Gathering, there was ice everywhere — preventing a number of the Winter Market farm vendors from making it in to Harmony School. Nevertheless, we had a very successful day, with almost 50 participants, including volunteers who helped with lunch and snacks.

At the Winter Guild Gathering, local growers offer a dynamic series of workshops. Throughout the day, professional and backyard growers participate in discussions and lectures, learn new skills and techniques, and network with fellow gardeners and small farmers. The 2012 WGG topics included fruit tree planting and care, urban agricultural methods, diverse livestock management, beekeeping, composting, an update about the Indiana New Farm School, an info session about LGG’s new website (Here we are!), and a discussion about aggregating products for a viable local distribution system. Each session was led by local experts, with time for questions and conversation.

We sold Winter Guild Gathering tickets here at our site via paypal, at the Bloomington Winter Farmers Market (at the LIFE Farm stand) and at all Bloominfoods locations. The 2012 ticket cost was $20 for LGG members and $25 for non-members. A home-cooked lunch prepared with local ingredients was served at noon, with afternoon snacks of banana bread, brownies, and farmer cookies, courtesy of Bloomingfoods. Those who bought tickets before January 15th saved five dollars, making the price $15 for members, $20 for non-members.

In the morning, the Winter Guild Gathering ran at the same time as the Bloomington Winter Farmers’ Market, from 9am to noon. There was plenty of time between workshops to shop and to visit with the vendors there.

Many thanks to those who got together for friendship and knowledge-sharing on this cold Winter’s day! Click here for a collection of photos from the 2012 Winter Guild Gathering.