New ‘DigIn’ Decorah Green Initiative Event August 21-23, 2009

August 21-23, 2009 – Decorah, IA

The Winneshiek County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau is kicking off a fun and educational new festival called “Dig IN: the Decorah Iowa Green INitiative” this August 21-23. The WCCVB and partners established this first annual event to celebrate the Decorah area as leaders in “green” initiatives. Dig IN is a weekend-long festival set in idyllic Northeast Iowa featuring off the grid homes and sustainable farm tours, along with live music at both a street dance and garden party, an expert-filled green expo, seminars and forums, and local foods all weekend.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live without power lines stretching across the land, into your house, your outlet, and your coffee pot or lamp, ready to make light at your fingertips or your morning java? Do you imagine a dark life with few luxuries or fun? For off the grid families these days, this life is neither dark nor dreary – it’s merely an adaptation of where to get energy and how.

Now let’s take it another step: what do you think of when you hear the word “sustainable,” “green,” “organic,” or even “local”? How about when you add the word farming? In the Midwest, farming is a way of life. We’ve gotten used to fields lining our roads and animals in our pastures, and now we’re starting to get used to these “new” words – important to the quality and health of both our food and our land – that actually bring farming back to its roots of centuries ago. Dig IN will answer these questions and more.

On August 22, traverse the region’s rolling hills and picturesque bluffs to get a peek into off the grid homes and sustainable farms as the owners open their doors for tours. Learn about solar, wind, and geothermal energy, composting toilets and ultra efficient appliances. Get up-close looks at small wind turbines and visit farms that produce food for our tables responsibly – without chemicals and with the environment and land in mind – and profitably – making a sustainable life for their families and tackling the local and regional marketing level.

Luther College will also welcome visitors to its campus to check out the electric vehicle fleet and learn more about its climate commitment. Based on this commitment Luther has set a goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% in the next four years and is working on a plan to become a carbon neutral campus. The college is a local leader in bio diesel and hybrids, and has recently completed a LEED certified science laboratory and research center. (www.luther.edu)

And if you’d like to learn more on a one-and-one basis, visit KDEC Radio’s Green Expo on Sunday, August 23. Regional experts will set up booths and be available to discuss efficient options for your home, garden, cars and more. Seminars and forums will be running all day and there will be local food available. (www.kdecradio.com)
Local food will also be on hand throughout the entire weekend at participating Dig IN restaurants, each highlighting the region’s wares through special local menus. Also stop by Decorah’s Oneota Community Food Co-op to see one way farmers get their produce to the public or visit the great local farmers’ market Saturday morning. (www.oneotacoop.com)
Amidst all this learning and eating, don’t forget the dancing! Friday night, August 21, the area’s famed Foot-Notes will play a rousing street dance complete with waltzes, schottisches, polkas, and more in their traditional Scandinavian style. This concert – completely FREE (!) – will run from 8-11 pm and is open to the whole family. (www.footnotesdance.com)

Saturday night features a garden party at local gardener and photographer David Cavagnaro’s home with “Maritza“. Cavagnaro, whose photographs have graced the pages of national magazines such as “Mother Jones,” “Martha Stewart,” and “National Geographic,” is the founder of a new gardening program called the Pepperfield Project. (www.pepperfieldproject.org)

The project is dedicated to helping individuals of all backgrounds improve their quality of life through classes that will teach how to develop and enhance their relationship with food, cooking, and gardening. Visit Cavagnaro’s extensive vegetable and flower gardens in rural Decorah and enjoy the Balkan sounds of local band, Maritza.
Of course, Decorah always has great shops, hotels, canoeing, camping, hiking, biking and more. (www.decoraharea.com) So make plans now to participate in this great new summer festival.

Register online at www.digindecorah.com to get full access to a program guide, a map for home and farm tours, plus a chance to a prize package. Registration is $10 for adults and kids 18 and under are free.

For the latest news, event listings, and information, visit www.digindecorah.com.