GREENFIELD — A hootenanny, described as an informal, lively get-together often accompanied by music, is returning to Just Roots community farm for the second consecutive year, providing an evening of dancing while also raising money to further the organization’s goal of providing fresh, local food to all those who need it.
The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 7 to 10 p.m. inside Just Roots’ barn at 28 Glenbrook Drive. Tickets cost $40 in advance or $50 at the door.
“We had such a successful event last year. We had roughly 200 attendees,” recounted Emily Chiara, communications and operations manager for Just Roots. “[People] can come out to our farm and enjoy a similar style event with live music, local pizza … local libations and a silent auction as well.”
Local beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages will be offered by Incandescent Brewing of Bernardston, while pizza will be available from Shutesbury’s Hearthstone Artisan Bakery. There will also be light snacks from Green Fields Market and Stone Soup Cafe.
With their ticket, attendees get pizza and snacks, while the libations from Incandescent Brewing are available for purchase. Just Roots Co-Executive Director Meryl LaTronica said there’s a special hootenanny cocktail, made with local cider and “not so local bourbon.”
“[It’s] fresh pizza all night, literally made right in front of you,” LaTronica said. “People are [also] helping us stock this snack table.”
Music for the second annual Hootenanny comes courtesy of the Celebration Brass Band of Vermont, which Chiara describes as a “big, lively New Orleans-style brass band.” In addition, a silent auction will take place throughout the evening.
“[There’s] roughly two dozen or more items donated from local businesses,” Chiara said. “Various gifts and services, gift cards to stores in downtown Greenfield or tickets to shows, pieces of art from local artists. It’s a nice variety of items to bid on.”
This year, Just Roots expanded its community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, selling 500 farm shares instead of 400. In addition, the organization began offering free delivery to anyone in Franklin County. Just Roots offers a sliding-scale CSA, meaning patrons pay what they are able. Those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits can use those to help pay for their farm share.
“From year-to-year, anywhere from about a quarter to a third of our CSA members use their SNAP benefits to pay for a CSA share,” Chiara said. “In the past year, we’ve seen a large portion of those members coming to us saying that either their benefits have been drastically reduced or cut entirely, and so we’ve had to do additional fundraising than we normally do in any given year just to support the community members that we are dedicated to feeding.”
While this event has the primary goal of raising money to support Just Roots, Chiara said it’s also an opportunity to bring the community together and celebrate the mission of providing fresh food to all those who need it. Just Roots raised $11,600 from the 2025 Hootenanny.
“[Last year] was such a successful event, both in that it raised a lot of money for us, but it also just brought a whole bunch of our community together,” Chiara said of the inaugural Hootenanny. “Folks who have been involved with Just Roots, either as a CSA member or a volunteer or past staff members … but it also brought in new community members who are not as familiar with us.”
With around 200 attendees last year, the organization is sticking with what worked in the past. While not much has changed, Just Roots is hoping for even more attendees at this year’s Hootenanny.
“We’re really trying to home in on the success of last year and try to replicate that success,” Chiara said. “That said, we are trying to bring in a larger crowd than last year and encourage even more folks to donate in addition to what they’re paying for their tickets.”
For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit justroots.org/event/hootenanny.
“You can expect lots of fun stuff,” LaTronica said, “and ultimately, a very fun community party.”
