What originally began in 1989 as a modest walkabout featuring urban cuisine in a rural setting has become an event guests and participants eagerly anticipate year after year. Imagine strolling through a sweet-smelling field sampling dozens of the freshest, most succulent organic creations, accompanied by organic and local wines and beers and you will get a taste of the Feast of Fields event.

While our successful fundraising initiative is intended to be a leisurely, sumptuous experience, the underlying theme of Feast of Fields is the connection between those who grow our food and those who eat it, and the interdependency of all living things.

At the event, organic growers are invited to present their delicious selections of organic products and answer questions about their operations and philosophies. As well, non-profit groups provide additional information about organic agriculture, the environment, fair trade and other related issues. Knowledge is power, and the sense of community is strengthened and energized through this kind of dialogue.

Energy abounds at Feast of Fields. Generous, enthusiastic and talented people make this event popular: from the chefs who create amazing dishes over a simple campfire or gas barbecue to the wineries and breweries that continue to innovate with their products, to the dedicated, hardworking organic farmers who work year round to grow the food we eat to the hundreds of volunteers who are committed to the organic movement.

Of course, there is mouth-watering fare to ensure the event's success. It's no coincidence that Feast of Fields takes place in September, the pinnacle of harvest season. This gives chefs an opportunity to take advantage of the unlimited harvest bounty at their doorsteps, and what they deliver is incomparable.

One of the unique features of Feast of Fields is that the food is created to be eaten by hand, which eliminates unnecessary paper plates and other disposable items. Chefs have ingeniously served their fare wrapped in crêpes and lettuce leaves, nestled in vegetable cups and tomatoes, layered on top of croquettes and cornbread and even offered on cedar planks and pieces of slate.

Each year Feast of Fields is held at a different scenic landscape, ranging from organic farms and lush vineyards to wooded conservation areas and heritage sites.

This marriage of food and nature is not just a Southern Ontario event — Feast of Fields has been spreading across Canada. FarmFolk/CityFolk has hosted its own Feast of Fields in Vancouver for the past several years. In the Ottawa area, a group of chefs and farmers has organized one Feast of Fields to date, while Earth to Table in Calgary has taken the concept and turned it into a dinner. Groups in Halifax, Montreal and Winnipeg have expressed interest in hosting the event as well.

Funds raised through Organic Advocates' Feast of Fields help support organic agriculture and the promotion and understanding of growing, cooking and eating organics. This includes developing projects such as our own cookbook celebrating Feast of Fields and organic agriculture, The Organic Gourmet, two editions of the Consumer's Guide to Eating Organics, among other things.