A new initiative coming to the Okanagan is hoping to get people buzzing about the topic of food and where it comes from.
FarmFolk CityFolk has partnered with Slow Food Thompson and the Okanagan College culinary arts program to start up a bi-annual program called FoodFlicks.
FoodFlicks will build an evening around a documentary about a certain part of the food industry and food and drink from that industry.
The first event will take place June 10 at the Okanagan College theatre and will feature the documentary Queen of the Sun: What are Bees Telling Us?
Jennifer Vincent, Okanagan events manager for FarmFolk CityFolk, explained the film is about bees, pollination and the bee colony situation around the world.
Vincent believe it’s a great topic for the first FoodFlicks evening as there are a lot of beekeepers in the Okanagan and such a large portion of the food industry involves bees.
“I think on the one hand it’s a very enjoyable evening out with an educational outcome,” Vincent said.
“On the other side, it’s really bringing some insight into the greater issues that are impacting our food system—bringing it to a very relatable, very comfortable environment.
“It’s not sensationalist and it’s not over-whelming.
“We look at the situation and see what we can do locally to help, how we can be engaged, how can we support our local food growers and local food service providers and how can we feel better about our impact in the world.”
Starting with the topic of honey production has given the program quite a large array of food and drink to choose from, and Vincent described how that will be handled.
“We have honey-themed food being provided by the culinary arts students, who will be working with local produce and local honey to create these hors d’oeuvres that people will be enjoying.
“We have Meadow Vista honey wines, we will be tasting and sampling their wines.
“So really, when people enter the event they are going to be able to try food, have a little bit of wine, and then we’ll move into the theatre where we will watch the film and a few other short films made by local organizations.
“Then at the end of the film we’re going to take the topics that were raised and take them to a local context.”
Vincent would love to see 100 really engaged people participate in the June 10th events.
Tickets to this evening are $20 and can be bought online at www.picatic.com/foodflicks.
For more information email jennifervincent@farmfolkcityfolk.ca.
