Today (Sunday), King County officials, Artist Home and a myriad of Washington’s finest are coming together to bring the nearby community a brand new event focused on local food, art and sustainable living.

The all-ages festival, dubbed CHOMP!, is slated for Sunday, September 13 from 10am – 6pm at King County’s Marymoor Park new Redmond. On hand will be cooking demonstrations from guest celebrity chefs, workshops aimed to make folks better backyard farmers, kids activities, live music, bike expos and much more.

“We wanted to celebrate the local food economy,” said King County’s Lee Anne Hughes, “we have such a robust farming and agriculture community here. A year and a half ago Executive [Dow] Constantine launched a local food initiative to address issues around food access and to celebrate and bring attention to our local food economy. That’s what kicked off and inspired CHOMP!”

Hughes said she is personally looking forward to the educational side of the event. “Seeing our residents come together and learn more about local food and about what King County has to offer,” she explained. “Whether it’s walking in the farmers markets, talking to local farmers and seeing where their food comes from, or all the cultural, musical and ethnic diversity.”

Singer/songwriter, Julia Massey, of Julia Massey and the Five Finger Discount, who will be playing at 3:05pm on the NW Indie Stage, sees the event as a great way to engage folks of all ages when it comes to being more environmentally savvy.

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“The event is a perfect fit for us because our music tends to lead towards the kid-friendly,” she said, “and is all about the planet getting on the healing track. I feel really excited to play a festival that’s talking about sustainable living and organic farms – especially one that’s free!”

Kevin Sur, one of the principle organizers at Artist Home, a local production company responsible for Timber! Summer Music Festival, which has a partnership with King County Parks, said he is happy his company can help the county achieve their goal of putting on a brand new, exciting cultural festival based around agriculture and sustainability.

“King County had a goal,” he said, “to create an event in their parks that celebrated these things and that everyone in the county could go to. For us, it was a matter of taking that mission and programing something that accomplishes it that’s fun for everyone.”

Other performers slated for the event include Naomi Wachira and The Banner Days, as well as Indian, Brazilian and Balkan performers on the Northwest Folklife-partnered Ethnic Folk Stage. Food partners include Patty Pan Cooperative, Plum Bistro and Snoqualmie Ice Cream.

For more information on CHOMP!, sponsored by PCC Natural Markets, visit www.chomplocal.org.