Last weekend, I attended the 2nd Annual Urban Agricultural Fair in Harvard Square. Harvard Square is one of my favorite parts of Cambridge and it was a great opportunity to learn about and meet other urban gardeners in the city so I was pretty excited. Fittingly, we started the morning with breakfast at Henrietta’s Table, which prides itself on using fresh, local ingredients. I had an omelet, overstuffed with delicious veggies and we ordered a fresh fruit plate for the table that was sweet, juicy and a perfect start to a gorgeous end of summer day. Breakfast was delicious and ended just in time for us to take a walk around the square, check out the Harvard Square Farmer’s Market and make it to the festival.
We started at the end of the street and worked our way down, chatting with the vendors as we went. Some of the tables represented some of the more established community gardens in the city and other represented eco-friendly companies looking for new costumers, including a company called RelayRides which is a new spin on car sharing programs for us city dwellers who rarely need access to a vehicle. One table was flaunting “grow and go” baskets that allow you to carry your garden with you on your bike. A little hippie for my taste, but we were in Harvard Square after all and I like the creativity behind the idea. We also learned about the Boston Local Food Festival on October 2 on the Boston Waterfront. We talked to some of the organizers of the event and definitely plant to attend. I really enjoyed looking at some of the creative container ideas – old wine crates being my favorite – and talking to other urban gardeners in my city.
Cambridge is such a great, unique city. Yes, it is sometimes a little too liberal for even my taste (and has a reputation for being a little…..”left” of the norm), but it is filled with passionate people coming from different backgrounds who blend together to create a vibrant, interesting and “pretentiously unpretentious” city. There is something here for everyone, the food scene is arguably better than across the river in Boston and there is always something going on.
After walking through the vendor tables, Ryan and I of course gravitated towards the beer tent which was serving my absolute favorite fall brew – The Great Pumpkin Ale from Cambridge Brewing Company. Surrounded by 
interesting people, tents full of urban gardens and fresh, local food, we enjoyed a few pints on the haystacks in the middle of Harvard Square. All in all, I would call it a success and I will definitely attend next year.
