This past Saturday marked the second episode of the Playing for the Plants garden music series. This installment was very special to Youth Farm’s North Minneapolis team because it was hosted in the Nellie Stone Johnson Community School garden. This garden is the largest garden managed by Youth Farm in North Minneapolis and it was built many years ago with the help of one of our current Farm Stewards, Sergio Arredondo.

Local artist Traiveon takes the stage.

The afternoon was filled with plenty of food and live entertainment enjoyed surrounded by the crops that local youth have worked hard to maintain. In addition, we were so grateful to our sponsor Timberland for offering a pair of their classic boots to give away to one of our guests!

Community members gather in the garden for lunch while listening to local artists.

This episode featured local artists DJ SciPreme, Traiveon, and Grey Matter. Their talents were perfectly complimented by the culinary talents of one of the neighborhood residents who also happens to be Farm Steward Sergio’s mom. She whipped up a beautiful spread of Mexican beef tacos, rice, and beans. Our youth also prepared and served a full salad bar for guests.

Music in the garden was complimented by a colorful lunch which was free for guests.

Youth Farm’s North Minneapolis Program Director, Marcus Kar and the entire Northside team have worked hard to organize the Playing for the Plants series in the hopes of activating public spaces and allowing youth, community, and artists to take ownership of their neighborhoods. The music is recorded live to support the guest musicians and invite the masses to help support the series. By opening our arms and allowing people to experience urban gardens, our youth are able to garner more momentum behind a youth-led food movement in the Twin Cities. These youth leaders are creating social change through food and music and we couldn’t be happier to support them in this role.

For more information about the Playing for the Plants garden music series please visit http://www.facebook.com/playingfortheplants/