Jen checks in from The Big Apple

Some of us from the office are just getting back from NYC after our big announcement on Monday. We spent Monday night scanning the local tv news and checking the Google News hits on the announcement. We did pretty darn good in the biggest media market of the world! We even stood for a while watching one of the giant video screens in Times Square, watching for Farm Aid on the big screen (We’ll post that photo as soon as we have it!) Tuesday morning, we had coffee while comparing the stories in the local and national papers. The NY Sun got a great shot of Willie, John, and NYC Mayor Bloomberg sampling some snap peas at a stand in the Union Square farmers market.

After the announcement, Willie and John stuck around for interviews and to sign autographs for people at the Union Square farmers market. Willie, champion of our heroes – family farmers – (and a hero in his own right!) spent some time with some NYC heroes from the Fire Department, taking pictures and signing their hats.

With the announcement done, the nitty-gritty planning begins! After the announcement, we went to the concert venue to talk about how we’ll set up the site. This year’s show will be different from those past, with more room for experimentation. Randall’s Island is a park on an island in the East River. It’s a big open park, but already with 35,000 concertgoers and interactive exhibits and activities planned, the space is filling up fast! We can’t wait and hope you can’t either! If you’re a member of the Farm Yard, you’ll have a chance to get the best seats in the house through our pre-sale tomorrow morning.

See you in the Big GREEN Apple! And if you’re reading this from NYC, make sure you get to your local farmers market soon to pick up the sweetest local strawberries ever! I ate nearly an entire quart of them at the Union Square farmers market on Monday!