March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 40 F

sweet life festival sold out–but here’s the food

sweetlife 2014 poster FINALsweetgreen, the much-loved, organic farm-to-table salad shop with 22 locations on the East Coast, is excited to announce the food lineup for sweetlife 2014: a music + food festival . The fifth annual event will be held at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, on Saturday, May 10th. Created in 2010 by sweetgreen co-founders Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Ru, the sweetlife Music + Food Festival is now in its fifth year and attracts a curated selection of cutting edge artists and nearly 20,000 attendees – not to mention outstanding food from top chefs, food trucks, local purveyors and farmers. An annual celebration of flavorful music and delicious and wholesome food, the event embraces good living, along with health and well-being, community and sustainability, and leaves a gentle footprint as a carbon-neutral event.

Since the sweetlife music lineup was announced in mid-February, the festival has sold out – but good news for food and music fans – tickets will be offered through giveaways via sweetgreen’s Instagram account (@sweetgreen). From March 10th to March 15th, guests are invited to snap a photo of their meal at any sweetgreen location, and upload it to Instagram with hashtag #tickettosweetlife and thehashtag of their location, for a chance to win two General Admission lawn tickets. Winning photos will receive a comment on March 16th with details on how to claim tickets.

Proceeds from sweetlife support “sweetgreen in schools,” an educational program created by sweetgreen to introduce kids to the benefits of healthy eating and nutrition, and to teach them the larger impact of the food choices they make through fun, hand-on activities. Ticket purchasers will have the option to donate additional funds to sweetgreen in schools through a donation button onwww.ticketfly.com.

The 2014 food line-up features:

  • sweetgreen
  • Chef Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground and the highly anticipated Maketto
  • Chef Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen, Parts & Labor and Shoo-Fly Diner
  • Food trucks including Pepe by Jose Andrés, TaKorean, The Big Cheese, The Randy Radish, DC Empanadas and PhoWheels
  • Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack
  • DGS Delicatessen
  • Roofer’s Union
  • 13th Street Meats
  • Chaia Tacos
  • Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken
  • Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza
  • The best of the Chesapeake Bay including Luke’s Lobster and Rappahannock Oysters
  • Artisanal purveyors including Dolcezza Gelato, Gordy’s Pickle Jar, Sir Kensington’s Ketchup, Righteous Cheese, TaDah! Foods, and Bakery de France
  • Farmer area including FRESHFARM Markets, Keany Produce, and Love Dove Farms
  • Beverages including Stumptown Coffee, Vigilante Coffee Company, Honest Tea, and Tito’s Vodka
  • Beer and wine including a custom collaboration with Flying Dog Brewery, DC Brau, Mountain State Brewing Co., Peak Organic Brewery, Chocolate City Brewery, and Stillwater Artisanal Ales

Some new food collaborations this year include:

  • Special-edition “sweetlife Pale Wheat” made in collaboration with Flying Dog Brewery, available only at the festival and brewed with locally sourced wheat and hand-selected hops.
  • “Local Farmers Focus Group” from Keany Produce, showcasing local farmers featured at sweetgreen. See below for more detailed listings.

sweetlifeWith music at the heart of sweetlife, this year’s festival features an outstanding collection of artists, including: Lana Del Ray, Foster the People, Fitz and the Tantrums, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bastille, Chromeo, 2 Chainz, Capital Cities, St. Lucia, Hozier, Gems, Spirit Animal, ASTR, Nicky Blitz, That Work and more.

The Food Experience was designed to further enhance the venue’s beautiful forest setting, with three separate entrance points to give festivalgoers the sensation of walking through the woods and discovering different food villages. All of the sweetlife food purveyors share sweetgreen’s commitment to local farmers, the community, use of high-quality ingredients and sustainability. Each vendor will provide compostable utensils, cups and napkins. Here’s a more specific layout and rundown of what guests can expect on the food-front:

sweetgreen

A pop-up restaurant and sweetgreen grab-and-go stands will be found throughout the event, serving a selection of its hugely popular salads, wraps, grain bowls, yogurt and house-made lemonade to festivalgoers. Fuel up for a day of fun with something healthy and delicious.

the Roadies

Rev on up to food truck row and park yourself next to some of D.C.’s favorite food trucks, featuring Pepe by Jose Andrés, TaKorean, The Big Cheese, The Randy Radish, DC Empanadas and PhoWheels.

the Locals

In this neck of the woods, everyone’s a local. Get a taste of some of D.C.’s best restaurants and meet the farmers who provide sweetgreen with the freshest offerings around. Partners include DGS Delicatessen, Roofers Union, Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack, Chaia Tacos, Dolcezza Gelato, Luke’s Lobster, Rappahannock Oysters, TaDah! Foods, Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza, Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, and more.

An exciting new addition to the Locals this year, Erik Bruner-Yang and Spike Gjerde have curated asweetlife Night Market, featuring Vigilante Coffee, 13th Street Meats, Toki Underground, Maketto, Parts & Labor, Shoo-Fly Diner and Woodberry Kitchen. Guests can expect steamed buns, roasted pig, Drunken Noodle, Pho Dogs, pour-over coffee, and more.

the Farm

In collaboration with FRESHFARM Markets, the largest network of farmers’ markets in the Chesapeake region, the Farm will highlight some of the area’s favorite local farmers (including Love Dove Farms and more). Learn about the D.C. agricultural community through fun, educational (and delicious!) games and activations (food trivia, photo booth, and more).

the Tavern

Cool off with a cold one. Featuring local favorites such as Flying Dog (don’t miss the “sweetlife Pale Wheat!”), DC Brau, Mountain State Brewing Co., Peak Organic Brewery, Chocolate City Brewery, Stillwater Artisanal Ales, and more.

SWEETLIFE COLLABORATIONS: 

Mark Bittman + sweetgreen: VB6 Quinoa Salad

For the past few years, cookbook author and New York Times columnist Mark Bittman has been vocal about his support of a healthy and plant-based diet, and has developed a recipe for sweetgreen from his upcoming book, The VB6™ Cookbook (on sale May 6). “The VB6 sweetgreen Quinoa Salad” will be available at sweetlife festival and in April at all 22 sweetgreen locations as the monthly seasonal salad.

sweetgreen + Flying Dog: sweetlife Pale Wheat

sweetgreen has teamed up with Flying Dog Brewery, one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the mid-Atlantic, to create a handcrafted, special edition beer: “sweetlife Pale Wheat.” Brewed with wheat and honey from nearby farms, the proprietary beer is perfectly aligned with sweetgreen’s local food philosophy. sweetlife Pale Wheat strikes the perfect balance between a light and refreshing wheat beer and the citrus-forward hop elements synonymous with American Pale Ales. Brewed with hand-selected hops from the Pacific Northwest, the beer is unfiltered, just as nature intended.

Keany Produce

Keany Produce will be hosting a “Local Farmers Focus Group” in sweetlife’s Food Forest, giving festivalgoers a unique opportunity to mix and mingle with local farmers, learn more about their farming practices, and the ingredients served in sweetgreen salads. Keany Produce is a local, family-owned and operated wholesale produce distributor that has built strong relationships with numerous local growers, including various suppliers of sweetgreen throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

sweetlife’s Beginnings

Since the very first sweetgreen opened in Georgetown in 2007, music has always been a part of their culture. Not only are the stores an oasis of delicious and healthy food, but also places where guests can hear the latest and greatest tracks. The idea for sweetlife was born as a small, local event.  In 2010, with the opening of their second location, the three Georgetown University grads invited some of their favorite bands to perform in a parking lot behind sweetgreen’s Dupont store. What began as a 500-person gathering has blossomed into one of the region’s largest and most anticipated music festivals, a two-stage event with 20,000 attendees in one of the most famous amphitheaters in the country.

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