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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

On the Green Side of Hip-Hop

Posted in Programs and Events on July 12 2012, by Matt Newman

Not what you’d expect to find growing in the Bronx, is it?

If your love for New York’s hip-hop history runs smack into a penchant for urban gardening, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Literally. I mean, how often do you get to blend the defining musical stylings of the Bronx with the green thumb’s art?

It’s called the Bronx Urban Farm Tour, and this year’s trip leads you through some of our borough’s finest working farms, as guided by a pioneer of the hip-hop movement which started here in the 1970s. It’s an enlightening way to see and experience the food, music, and culture of the Boogie Down through the eyes of one of its most esteemed supporters–this year’s tour narrator will be none other than the prolific Grandmaster Melle Mel! For the uninitiated, that’s Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Or maybe The Sugarhill Gang rings a bell.

Whether you’re a suburban gardener on a city daytrip or a hopeful grower jumping into the urban farming movement, you’re sure to go home with something new to think about. You’ll visit hard-working community farmers, along with micro-entrepreneurs tending to their beehives. Between hip-hop poetry slams and music jams, you’ll join in for hands-on gardening workshops, later taking part in a short session on the art of raising chickens in an urban setting (it’s more doable than it sounds, and you can cross fresh eggs off your shopping list for the foreseeable future).

Fresh-laid eggs from Adi Talwar’s 2011 visit to the Garden of Happiness.

The expedition meets at the New York Visitors and Convention Bureau in Manhattan on Saturday, July 21. Attendees should expect to arrive at 9:30 a.m., set out at 10 a.m., and return at 3 p.m. But even if you can’t commit an entire day to exploring the greener side of the Bronx, you’re welcome to join the group at the Garden of Happiness for lunch and workshops–try to be there by 11 a.m. And make sure you RSVP! Tickets are only $20, meaning seats are sure to sell out quickly.

For more information or to reserve your spot, call 718-817-8026 or contact bronxfoodsummit@gmail.com.

Harvest photo courtesy of Malcolm Pinckney and NYCGovParks.org.
Egg photo courtesy of Adi Talwar and the Bronx News Network.