Primo Maggio
11 May 2009
As frequent visitors to this blog are well-aware, Primo Maggio (May Day) is a hotly anticipated event here at Spannocchia. The farm welcomes a group of wandering minstrals, as it were, who spend the day traveling from farm to farm bringing music and dance to those waiting. Dressed in straw hats, red bandanas and floral skirts, the musicians graced the community and friends with traditional Tuscan songs and lead everyone in a vigorous folk dance. In return, Spannocchia laid out a tasty buffet of salumi, crostini, dolci and wines from the property to be enjoyed by one and all before heading on to the next stop.
While the farm was sad to say goodbye to the musicians, the sprit of May Day remained and Spannocchia was a flutter with activity throughout the weekend. American tradition followed close on the heels of that of Tuscany in the form of ‘Derby Day’, a tribute to the Kentucky Derby complete with more straw hats, lawn games, burgu, cornbread and, of course, proscuitto from the farm’s Cinta Senese!
A presto!
What better place to spend a weekend immersed in fish culture than the Ligurian coast? This April, interns and volunteers had the opportunity to attend the 2009 edition of Slow Fish, an event dedicated to the study and consideration of the world of fishing. Slow Fish is put on every other year by Slow Food International, an Italy-based not for profit whose goal is to make our food good, clean and fair, and brings together a diverse group of people involved in the fishing sector. This ranges from professors and fisherman to students and consumers interested in sustainability issues surrounding fishing. With fish populations diminishing at alarming rates, the need to change the way we consume is pressing. Slow Fish hopes not only to open consumers’ eyes to other ways of eating seafood (more small fry!) but also to inspire serious dialog about what sorts of practices we can no longer sustain or accept and how to find out more about what one buys. Over the course of four days, visitors to Slow Fish are able to attend talks and discussion groups focusing on a range of topics such as Common Fishery Policy, Good Practices in Artisanal Fishing and Fish and Large Scale Retail. 
In addition to providing space for conferences and lectures, the magnificent Fiera de Genova is filled with booths whose aim is to educate and feed visitors. Producers from Italy and beyond come to sell tiny Venetian clams with linguine, fried sardines, smoked trout and Tuscan bottarga on crostini, to name only a few of the many fish-based foods found at the exhibition. Over the course of a solid 12 hours, Spannocchia folk sampled these delicious treats with a little more thought than they would have a week earlier and rounded out the day with visits to the two enotecas at the fair, where a dizzying array of wines were awaiting. The incredibly cozy ride home along the Ligurian coast and through Cinque Terre provided time for everyone to reflect on what they learned and how much more work we must do to preserve our waters and aquatic life. Success.