Wow! That was amazing – what a great day we had in Glasgow! Well I might be a bit biased but it was a lot of fun (and hardwork) and well, well worth it!! Read on to find out all about what we got up to in Glasgow to celebrate Blasda…

Glasgow Blasda took place at the The Briggait – Glasgow’s iconic former fish market which is now an amazing arts and cultural venue – and which was also open as part of Doors Open Day.

The event kicked off with the opening of two photography exhibitions on Thursday evening – Handmade by Clementine Sandison, which is a body of work created during the Hidden Garden’s Culture Kitchen relay, an epic road trip around Scotland celebrating local food and regional recipes, and Sown by Daniele Sambo, which is a series of temporary light installations in urban void/empty areas which are re-occupied by people, often to grow food.

 The venue looked absolutely amazing due to the hardwork of some very creative people with lots of colour and home made bunting creating the perfect backdrop for a great day to celebrate local food and local communities.

The afternoon kicked off with an avenue of stalls and stands with visitors harvesting a bounty of information and inspiration as well as sowing seeds of great ideas still to grow!!! This was complimented by a series of workshops to allow people to dig a little deeper into some of the issues including demystifying composting, envisioning self-reliance, using wild herbs as food and medicine and the challenge of getting local farm produce into Glasgow.

And for those people who were just popping in to see what was happening they could get stuck in to some creative reuse, learning how to transform everyday unloved household objects into useful and celebratory items.

Or they could ‘map their plot’ as part of the Glasgow Local Food Network online map, which was created to make it easier for people to find out who is growing food locally and where!

And of course if that just seemed like too much effort then people could just chill out and relax in this great venue whilst supping on some delicious coffees and teas and scrumptious cakes (from Tapa Bakehouse)

And then, after lots of talking and listening and sharing and learning and reading and thinking, it was time to get ready for an evening of eating and drinking and laughing and dancing!!

A team of dedicated volunteers went to work preparing for the local food feast and setting up for the ceilidh.

The feast was created using lots of local produce from community gardens and allotments across the city and featured vegan vegetable broth, vegetable quiche, sausages and mash and a pearl barley mushroom and vegetable risotto. This was followed by fruit compote and all washed down by local Kelburn Brewery beers and Cairn O’Mhor fruit wines. The bar was provided by Ethical Events, with support from the Co-operative Membership.

Even an unexpected visit by the local fire brigade (all due to a few steaming potatoes!!) couldn’t dampen the spirits!

The music was provided by the wonderful John Carmichael’s Ceilidh Band who called the dances with an enthusiasm that got everyone Dashing their White Sergants, Waltzing their St Bernard’s and Stripping their Willows with a gusto that The Briggait had surely never seen before!

However all good things must come to an end and soon people were scurrying and lifting and cleaning and stacking as the space was once again returned to a blank canvas, ready for a new day, to tell a new story.

The event would never have happened without the commitment and dedication of a lot of people and organisations, especially the volunteers who made things happen on the day – too many to mention – but your support and efforts are greatly appreciated.

And what next you ask? Well thoughts have already turned to next year and how we can grow from this year. A date is in the diary for a de-brief / initial planning meeting so if you would like to be involved then please get in touch…you can contact the Glasgow Local Food Network on glasgowlocalfood2012@gmail.com and you can also join the Glasgow Local Food Network Facebook group too or check out the Glasgow Local Food Network online map!

Glasgow Blasda was locally produced by the Glasgow Local Food Network including Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust, Ethical Events Scotland, Glasgow Locavore, Greencity Wholefoods, The Hidden Gardens, Oxfam Scotland, SAGE (Sow and Grow Everywhere), Towards Transition Glasgow, Urban Roots, Wasps Studios, Collective Architecture and The Fife Diet