By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
Photo provided by Leverett Village Co-op
(Leverett, MA) An anonymous pledge of $7,500 to the Leverett Village Co-op gave way to a live streamed telethon and festival hybrid now known as the Rattlesnake Gutter Festival.
“When we got an anonymous challenge pledge of $7,500, a live streamed event seemed like the perfect cross between a festival and a telethon. And voila, the Rattlesnake Gutter Festival was born,” said organizer and board member Karen Traub.
The event will be live streamed on September 25 from the co-op and will feature a silent auction, entertainment, virtual tours, and a membership drive.
“Our consolidated industrialized food system has revealed the terrible vulnerabilities of ‘efficiencies’ during the pandemic,” said Steve Alves, a local documentary filmmaker. “Farmers have been forced to destroy livestock and produce because they are unable to get it to market,” Alves continued.
A silent auction will begin on September 21 at 8:00am followed by a live auction during the telethon between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. A complete list of items to be bid on can be found at https://leverettcoop.com. All proceeds will go to the co-op’s revitalizations.