Hi, this is the fundraising page for the 2024 Pittsburgh County Fair.

It feels weird to make this because generally speaking the events we’ve made have never asked for money. They barely even charge a vendor fee, and don’t charge for much of anything as the event itself. That’s because despite what I told my dad a few weeks ago, these events are always money loss events, or maybe breakeven at best. That’s at best. And that’s on purpose. Consider if a politician you got no money, no kickbacks, no perks. Why do it then? The people who do it would really have to believe in it right? There’s no other reason. And that’s a simple way to explain the logic here. The events Ferment Pittsburgh does aren’t money grabs, no pack-in-the-vendor spectacles, no get attention and credit for anything- they are an effort to dig deeper beneath the surface of status-quo routine to create subtle waves of connected meaningfulness in a world that really pushes back against those kind of things. It’s a belief in living for the reason of creating something good that has an echo after your own time is up.

It’s hard, for instance, to sell something you love because it’s a matter of time before that love dissolves into a money figure. Tomatoes and cucumbers turn into dollars that are anxiously gathered to balance “expenses” and soforth. It’s a necessary and unfortunate way we have to live. Planning for the get-go to financially shoot ourselves in the foot here leaves that door open our heart to spill out, unabashed. And like Grandma confirmed on her deathbed- “money doesn’t matter.”

All of that just to say, we’re doing a fundraiser. This is because Ferment Pittsburgh events have always been made by a couple people scraping dough out from their own pockets, and the beauty of those limitations shows in the more intimate and handmade affairs that result. Howver, the more couple of bucks we have the more we can do. But we’re not looking for a hell of a lot of money.

Basically we’re looking for sponsorships for our activities so we can afford to do more of them, in order to share more great experiences. These include: Sauerkraut-making, grape stomping, oil pressing, indigo dyeing, etc. For anyone who isn’t familiar, we put together little hands-on stations and lead folks through making neat things themselves that they can take home and be inspired to either try one day or at least understand how that thing is made.

The activities range from between $50-$200 each. And it’s amazing how such little money goes on to interact with so many people.

If you want to sponsor an activity you can reach out and we can talk about which activity you’d like to contribute to. Know that there’s no glamour here. We thank you from the deepest crevasses of our hearts, and you will be making it possible to share something worthwhile with a lot of people. We’ll mention your name at the stand but it’s nothing that’s “great for the brand”. Remember, no reward is where your heart gets full.

Reach out to whatsthatsmells@fermentpittsburgh.com and mention your thoughts on Sponsorship.

Thanks for reading!