Boise at its Best
This weekend, Boise came back to life. The 9th annual Treefort Music Festival revived this town in a way we haven’t seen since before the pandemic. I was lucky enough to work on the all-star Foodfort team all week, and today I’m going to take some time to reflect on Boise at its best.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a bit, you know that I’m a food-focused person. I care about where food comes from in so many ways, but for me, I care most about the people behind our food. Who grows our food, who prepares our meals and who consumes these experiences drives what I do. This weekend was a celebration of those people in all aspects of Boise’s culture.
On Wednesday night, Foodfort hosted Street Eats, a street-food-style event that featured six diverse chefs. From my favorite Thai restaurant (Mai Thai) and seasonal-focused baker (Figgy Bakes) to chefs with Cuban (Adelfa’s) and Afghani (Sunshine Spice) backgrounds, Boise showed that it can absolutely be a place with multi-cultural offerings. This event even sparked a discussion among my fellow volunteers on our favorite ethnic restaurants around town.
During Street Eats, I finally got to meet Mayor Lauren McLean, which I have to say was a highlight of the weekend. She’s taken the heat during the pandemic trying to keep our city safe, and I am proud of all the work she’s doing to move us toward sustainability.
On Thursday night, the Foodfort crew hosted folks for a wine-paired dinner on Basque Block. Chef John Cuevas from Madre Taqueria, Chef Hugh Acheson from Atlanta, Ga. and Chef Ed Higgins from The Lively pulled out all the stops for our Farm to Fest event. The weather was gorgeous, the food was decadent and it was so much fun watching folks meet new friends and lose track of time while connecting at their tables.
On Friday and Saturday, we hosted some educational panels at JUMP. We learned how to fillet a whole fish from Marcus at Reel Foods Seafood Market, and how to live off the land from local urban foragers. Sustainability was at the forefront of these talks, as well, from Idaho Fish and Game reps to those involved in the local brewery scene.
The amount of collective food knowledge in this town touches so many areas of our lives here. Treefort is a party, that’s for sure, but I love it for it’s ability to showcase the best of this city. From the tech scene behind hackfort (a fort that remains a mystery to me) to those involved in creating the epic artwork at the Main Stage (you know I lost my mind for the pink praying mantis), we live in a city that reveres creative culture in all its forms.
If you’re not a Treefort goer, make a plan to attend this spring, even if its just to the free events ( festival tickets go on sale Friday). It’s true when they say, “Treefort is for everyone,” and it brings out the best in Boise. Now, time for the annual post-Treefort nap-fort, recover-fort or hangover-fort.