Festival Feast For Your Eyes and Mouth: The Other Side of Newport Folk
Rightfully so, the music takes center stage at Newport. But a festival is more than just the bands you see. It is the audience around you, the food you gobble down between sets, and the souvenirs you take home. With that spirit in mind, I have a list of my non-music highlights for 2016’s Newport Folk Festival.
First up: Food!
All Wrapped Up. The fine folks at Pick Pockets craft the wrap that I look forward to all year: falafel and hummus wrap with extra hot sauce. For around $9, this behemouth is big enough to fuel a day’s worth of dancing. The falafel are always fresh from the fryer. The veggies are crisp. The hummus is smooth. And the hot sauce gives a balanced kick. And if that’s not enough, the crew behind the counter is never short on charm.
Hey There Hot Stuff. If falafel isn’t your thing, but you still love your food wrapped, why not head over to Tallulah’s Tacos? Lines can get long at this “Farm to Taco” stand, but I assure you, it is worth the wait. Double wrapped corn tortilla stuffed with your choice of meat or beans and topped with cilantro, onion, and a lime wedge. Sit by the water, eat your taco, and be transported to Mexico… or not, because Newport is so much better.
Go Nuts! Every time you walk from the Harbor stage to the big Fort stage, you will pass a kind gentleman (or gentlewoman) handing you free morsels of delicious candy-coated warm and crunchy amazingness. Don’t just take your free sample and walk away. The Nutty Bavarian offers cones of glazed nuts that are out of this world and make amazing mid-set snacks (my vote is for the jumbo cashews). Buy 2 and share them with your friends!
Sweet Treats. One of the tastiest morsels I have yet to encounter at Newport came on a whim. I was craving something sweet and had already exceeded my self-imposed daily limit of Del’s Lemonade when I stumbled upon the Humble Pie Company tent. I order a peach, forked over $6, and took a bite. Flaky, buttery crust met sweet, gooey fruit filling and I was in love. Find their tent, buy a pie, and thank me later.
Say Cheez! I would be remiss not to mention Brian’s favorite food item of the festival. Every year, he disappears at least once and returns with a satisfied look on his face and a grease smear on his chin. Where has he been? Fancheezical. Gooey cheese encased between two slices of thick cut bread, expertly buttered and browned. Just look for the orange truck.
Once you’ve stuffed yourself on delicious food, burn off some of those calories by taking a walk around the Craft tents.
Shara Porter makes beautiful handbags and wallets. She has a minimal design with fun splashes of color and quirky prints. I love the simplicity of her designs and, as an animal lover, appreciate that she offers synthetic options.
Ron Stattner and his whimsical wire sculptures always tickle me pink. I love dropping by his tent and seeing what new figures he has come up with. He creates a number of musically themed pieces for the festival like cool, sunglass donned upright bass player pictured.
Avalove is a woman-owned, indie clothing company from Brooklyn, New York. Every year they put up a beautiful booth full of muted tones and natural designs that catches my eye. All the items are hand-printed and you can tell that a lot of care goes into their craft.
Greg Stones is my kind of artist, one who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Known for his Zombies Hate Stuff and Penguins Hate Stuff books, he makes awesome images of funny things. Enough said. Stop by his booth this weekend and you will see what I mean.
And last, but certainly not least, let me suggest a visit to the Travis Family Farm booth. They are a family run farm selling goat milk soaps, creams, and other goodies made from all natural ingredients. Goat’s milk is known to be one of the best skin softeners around and Travis’ Farm doesn’t only do your skin good, but their products smell divine. Their products are beautifully wrapped and make excellent gifts so keep family and friends in mind.
