Somerville Fermentation Festival

The Somerville Fermentation Festival brings together a community of fermented food &amp; beverage vendors, enthusiasts, and the curious public in a one-day celebration of the world of fermentation. This free event aims to enrich attendees’ understanding of the microbial world, connect regional fermenters, and inspire participation in this ancient, accessible culinary craft. Main Programming: Exhibitors: Over 20 professional fermenters will offer samples and sales of locally-made fermented foods from across New England, including kombucha, pickles, cheese, miso, soy sauce, and more. Speaker Series: Ticketed lectures and discussions on fermentation led by local experts. Kraut Mob: Free, guided sauerkraut-making demonstration where participants create and take home their own fermenting cabbage. Fermentation Help Desk: Expert-staffed station for questions about fermentation techniques and troubleshooting. Culture Sharing Table: Hands-on exploration of fermentation cultures and starter sharing. Ready-to-Eat Food: Local restaurants and bakeries will serve food showcasing fermentation flavors. Returning for its second year, this event preserves and celebrates the culturally rich practice of fermentation through demonstration, education, and community connection. Connect with culture and community at the Somerville Fermentation Festival! For the complete schedule and full vendor lineup, visit<a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/"> https://www.somervillefermfest.com</a>

Arts at the Armory

Fermented Foods & Nutrition (Speaker) — Somerville Fermentation Festival

Fermented Foods and Their Role in Our Nutrition Fermented foods have been a cornerstone of human diets for thousands of years, but modern science is only beginning to uncover just how powerful they are for our health. In this talk, Maureen will explore how the ancient practice of fermentation transforms ordinary ingredients into nutritional powerhouses — and what that means for your gut, your immune system, and your overall wellbeing. Whether you're a fermentation enthusiast, a curious foodie, or someone looking to take charge of your digestive health, this talk will give you practical, evidence-based insights to help you make the most of fermented foods in your everyday diet. Location: Armory Cafe About the Speaker Maureen Hodgdon, RD, LDN, is a GI Registered Dietitian with a private practice based in Medway, MA, specializing in gut health and GI disorders. Beyond the clinic at <a href="https://alignednutritioncounseling.com/">Aligned Nutrition Counseling</a>, she channels her passion for nourishment into her work as a private chef, curating wholesome, intentional menus for events and wellness retreats — because she believes the most powerful medicine is a well-prepared plate. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/alignednutritioncounseling/">alignednutritioncounseling</a> Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

Pickling in Practice (Speaker) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Pickling in Practice Curious about how to make pickles through fermentation? Join Rebecca Echevarria for a discussion on how to make fermented pickles using a wet brine, dry brine, and pickling "bed" (an immersion of vegetables in different mediums). We will also touch on the histories associated with these techniques as well as diverse pickling recipes from around the world. Participants will be able to explore a range of curated texts, browse a small fermentation library, take home a bespoke recipe card, and watch a pickling demonstration.. Location: Armory Cafe About the Speaker <a href="https://www.instagram.com/of_the_air_/">Rebecca Echevarria</a> is an artist and public scholar based in the Hudson Valley who is interested in the creative possibilities of food preservation, particularly fermentation. Her practice is rooted in place and sociality. She researches local and global food histories, explores the communal nature of food preservation, and integrates her own experiences and familial pasts into her projects. Currently, she teaches in public libraries, screenprints t-shirts with designs inspired by her cookbook collection, curates pop-ups, co-organizes fermentation gatherings, and hosts <a href="https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/ggzrfd">Meant to Ferment</a>, one of the only fermentation-focused public radio programs in the country. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/of_the_air_/">of_the_air_</a> Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

Don't Pour That Out! (Tasting) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Don't Pour That Out! Fermented brine often gets discarded. But what would it look like to take it seriously as an ingredient? This guided, non-alcoholic tasting introduces a shift in perspective: brine not as a byproduct, but as a serious ingredient with a second life behind the bar. For fermenters and mixologists alike, we'll follow a single brine on a journey showcasing the range of what it can become. Location: Parma Chai Gallery (B6) About the Speaker Hunter Elson runs the bar program at <a href="https://market.hexsuperette.com/">HEX Superette</a> in Baltimore. He has led bar programs in the city for the past four years. At Foraged, curating a hyperseasonal, ever-shifting cocktail menu first drew him to combine live ferments with mixed drinks. At HEX, that interest focused in on brine's overlooked potential behind the bar. He approaches mixed drinks with equal parts science and creativity: alchemy. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hexsuperette">hexsuperette</a> Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

Fungi Futures: Mushrooms in Flavor, Fermentation & Forests (Speaker) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Fungi Futures: The Transformative Role of Mushrooms in Flavor, Fermentation, and Forests While enjoying tasty mushroom treats, we will collaboratively learn how mushrooms are transforming nutrition and environmental technology. We will demystify how mycelium, our planet’s neural network that fruits mushrooms, created life on our planet and sustains us even today. We will explore how cultures around the world are embracing mushrooms and fermentation to live long, healthful lives. With hands-on activities, we will learn how mushroom technologies like mycocrete are creating a habitable future for us all. Perfect for beginners and advanced learners alike, this talk will make complex principles accessible. Location: Armory Cafe About the Speaker <a href="https://jamespauldavis.com/">James Davis</a> is a muralist, musician, and mushroom foraging instructor, organizing community campaigns to bring people together in nature. As the founder of <a href="https://baystaters.org/">Bay Staters for Creative Well-Being</a>, he has shepherded the passage of over 30 laws restoring community access to medicines like psilocybin mushrooms, improving the sustainability of city food purchases, expanding labor rights, and protecting animals. His background is bridging ecology and public policy, having worked as a legislative specialist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Berkeley (CA), and Taizhong Taiwan. For fun, he loves board games, movies, languages, and petting other people's dogs. He's originally from Kansas, and he lives part-time in Chile to avoid New England winters. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/baystaters">baystaters</a> @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/notorious.jpd">notorious.jpd</a> Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

Keeping Fermentation Alive: Principles from Kitchen to Scale (Speaker) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Keeping Fermentation Alive: Principles from Kitchen to Scale What happens when traditional fermentation meets a modern food system built for consistency, speed, and shelf stability? Join the founders of HEX Ferments for a live kraut-making demonstration and an exploration of what it takes to produce truly living fermented foods at scale while staying rooted in traditional methods. Through stories from production, practical insights for home fermenters, and a guided tasting, this session examines the principles that matter most in fermentation—from ingredient quality and microbial ecosystems to patience, variability, and trust in the process. Location: Armory Cafe About the Speaker Meaghan and Shane Carpenter are the co-founders of <a href="https://www.hexferments.com/">HEX Ferments</a>, a Baltimore-based fermentation company producing raw sauerkrauts, kimchis, pickles, and kombucha using locally sourced ingredients. What began as home fermentation projects, food preservation classes, and a shared interest in art, agriculture, and traditional foodways grew into Baltimore's first licensed producer of traditionally fermented foods. Since 2013, HEX Ferments has earned multiple Good Food Awards and recognition from Slow Food International for preserving authentic fermentation practices. Today, through HEX Ferments, HEX Superette, educational workshops, and partnerships with regional farms, they are dedicated to keeping living food traditions alive and accessible to more people. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/hexferments/">hexferments</a> Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

New England Winemaking (Tasting) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

New England Winemaking: From Vineyard to Glass Join Eliot to learn about the unique growing conditions, grapes, and approaches to fermentation and cellaring that make New England an exciting, emerging wine region, as we taste several Marzae wines. (21+) Location: Parma Chai Gallery (B6) About the Speaker Eliot Martin &amp; Katie Luczai founded <a href="https://www.marzaewine.com/">Marzae Wines</a> to build community around quality, sustainable, local wine production in Massachusetts, building on the natural wine movement igniting new interest in underappreciated wine regions. Eliot brings together the best grapes (and other fruit/botanicals) from across the Northeast to craft unique minimum-intervention wines, ciders, co-ferments, and aperitifs that reflect our local terroir. In its third year, Marzae has taken over management of an abandoned vineyard, planted the state's first regeneratively farmed vineyard, and opened a tasting room/restaurant/retail concept at Boston Public Market over the past few months. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/marzaewine/">Marzaewines</a> Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

Sourdough Baking Summit: Panel Discussion — Somerville Fermentation Festival

Sourdough Baking Summit A panel discussion and Q&amp;A featuring some of the Boston area's best sourdough bakers, chatting about the work they do, their approaches to sourdough fermentation, and bread baking. Come learn the secrets to successful sourdough — at home or in a professional setting — and have all of your burning sourdough questions answered by the experts. Location: Armory Cafe About the Panelists <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jwadebond">Jason Bond</a> grew up in Wyoming and Kansas and was raised around farming and preserving the harvest. This "root cellar" style has shaped the food he prepares today. Bond moved to the East Coast to pursue a culinary career and has worked with and learned from many passionate and idealistic chefs over the past 20 years in environments ranging from slow-smoked BBQ to Michelin and Relais &amp; Châteaux properties. Today he focuses on developing a network of food purveyors whose goals are to steward the environment and produce the best quality vegetables, fish, and meat in the world. Jason works directly with producers to find interesting grains, vegetables, and rare breeds of livestock and strives to combine traditional and modern techniques to prepare honest and flavorful food. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/jwadebond">jwadebond</a> Daisy Chow is the owner and head baker at <a href="http://breadandstuff.com/">Breadboard Bakery </a>in Arlington, MA, which opened in late November 2019 with a focus on breads and pastries made with locally grown and milled grains. Breadboard is a 2x winner of Le Grand Prix Elmendorf du Pain, East Cambridge's Parisian-style bread competition. A fixture of the Boston baking community for two decades, Daisy traded an engineering career for the kitchens of Maison Robert, Via Matta, Ames Street Deli, and Formaggio Kitchen, then spent 15 years as senior baker at Brookline's Clear Flour Bread while building a devoted following through her Breadboard pop-up at Cutty's. Her sourdough, seeded sourdough, Danish rye, and Texas-style kolaches have made Breadboard an East Arlington institution. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/breadboard_bakery/">breadboard_bakery</a> Ayham Haddad is the founder and head baker of <a href="https://www.mahalabbakery.com/">Mahalab Bakery</a> in Cambridge, where Levantine tradition meets naturally fermented dough. Originally from Irbid, Jordan, Ayham began baking at age 14, and launched Mahalab in January 2020 as a farmers market stand — starting at the Cambridge Winter Farmers Market before expanding across Central Square, Davis Square, Copley Square, and beyond — then opened a brick-and-mortar shop near Porter Square in spring 2024. His fatayer, sfiha, pita, and signature focaccia are all built on a sourdough base using naturally fermented local grains, earning praise from the Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, and Edible Boston. He brings a fermentation-first perspective on what sourdough can be beyond the classic loaf. Follow @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/mahalabbakery">mahalabbakery</a> Dana Gilmore is a lifelong baker and sourdough fan. She cultivated her first sourdough starter in 2018 after moving to Boston following completion of a PhD in immunology. After years of baking at home, she decided to trade in the lab coat for a chef coat and expand her baking knowledge. Dana completed the pasty certificate program at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in May 2025. Dana is now the production lead at the <a href="https://cambridgeculinary.com/">Cambridge School of Culinary Arts</a>, crafting pasties, and desserts. In her spare time, she combines her pasty degree with her passion for sourdough baking breads, cookies, muffins and more all with her same sourdough starter from 2018. About the Moderator <a href="https://www.wordloaf.org/">Andrew Janjigian</a> is the head baker at the IACP-nominated Wordloaf newsletter, the author of *The Bread Baker’s Pocket Companion* (self-published) and *Breaducation* (November 2026, Ten Speed Press), and the inventor of the sourdough starter whisk. He was a test cook, editor, and resident breadhead at America’s Test Kitchen for more than ten years, and has since written recipes and essays on bread baking for Serious Eats, King Arthur Baking Company, Epicurious, The Perfect Loaf, ChefSteps, Edible Boston, and more. Find him at @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/wordloaf/">wordloaf</a> at all the usual places, or at <a href="https://newsletter.wordloaf.org/">newsletter.wordloaf.org</a>. Part of the Somerville Fermentation Festival 2026 This session is part of the second annual <a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com/">Somerville Fermentation Festival</a> — a bubbling celebration of fermented foods and the people (and microbes!) who make them. The festival is <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-fermentation-festival-2026-tickets-1991202135188">free</a> and open to the public, featuring 20+ local fermenters and growers, a free Kraut Mob demo, a Fermentation Help Desk, culture-sharing, live music, and ready-to-eat food. Ticketed programming runs in two rooms all day. Your ticket to this session reserves your seat for this event only. Browse all ticketed sessions and the full festival schedule at <a href="https://somervillefermfest.com">somervillefermfest.com</a>.

This free event celebrates the world of fermented foods and the people and microbes who make them. The SFF aims to enrich attendees' understanding of the microbial world, connect regional fermenters, and inspire participation in this ancient, accessible culinary craft. Main Programming:<ul><li>Speaker Series: Lectures and discussions on fermentation led by local experts, including cheese-making and tasting sessions, a panel discussion on umami-packed sauces and pastes moderated by cofounder of Koji-Con Rich Shih, and a general introduction to fermentation by local author Alex Lewin.</li><li>Exhibitors: Over 15 professional fermenters will offer samples and sales of locally-made fermented foods from across New England, including chocolate, fresh bread, kombucha, pickles, miso, and soy sauce.</li><li>Kraut Mob: Free, guided sauerkraut-making demonstration where participants create and take home their own fermenting cabbage.</li><li>Fermentation Help Desk: Expert-staffed station for questions about fermentation techniques and troubleshooting.</li><li>Culture Sharing Table: Hands-on exploration of fermentation cultures and starter sharing.</li><li>Ready-to-Eat Food: Local restaurants La Saison and Pagu will serve food showcasing fermentation flavors.</li></ul>Free and open to the public, this inaugural event preserves and celebrates the culturally rich practice of fermentation through demonstration, education, and community connection. Connect with culture and community at the Somerville Fermentation Festival! For the complete schedule and full vendor lineup, visit<a href="https://www.somervillefermfest.com"> https://www.somervillefermfest.com</a>

The Center for the Arts at the Armory

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Where

somfermfest

Experiences

Somerville Fermentation Festival

Fermented Foods & Nutrition (Speaker) — Somerville Fermentation Festival

Pickling in Practice (Speaker) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Don't Pour That Out! (Tasting) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Fungi Futures: Mushrooms in Flavor, Fermentation & Forests (Speaker) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Keeping Fermentation Alive: Principles from Kitchen to Scale (Speaker) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

New England Winemaking (Tasting) - Somerville Fermentation Festival

Sourdough Baking Summit: Panel Discussion — Somerville Fermentation Festival

Somerville Fermentation Festival