Chicken Sh*t Bingo is exactly what it sounds like, a bingo game played with chicken poop, and for the third year in a row, it’s at the center of a fundraising event for Bushwick City Farm.
Held Saturday from 3-8 p.m., the Chicken Sh*t Bingo fundraiser for the Brooklyn-based urban farm will not only feature a life-size game with live chickens, but also prizes, family-friendly events like cargo bike hayrides and face-painting, music, drinks and food such as pulled pork and vegetarian fare.
“We decided not to have chicken at this event,” Jason Reis, one of Bushwick City Farm’s head volunteers, told Metro.
METRO: How many chickens will take part in bingo?
JASON REIS: Looks like we’re going to have four rounds, and between four and eight chickens will participate, depending on the speed of the defecation.
How many chickens does the farm have, and do you know them all by name?
About 35. No, they’re not all named, but I recognize all of them.
What is this pre-bingo “sumptuous meal” they’ll be giving to ensure someone can yell “bingo”?
The chickens eat a lot of greens that we reclaim from the compost bins at a local supermarket called Mr. Kiwi’s. We also feed them organic egg-layer pellets, which is a pellet chicken food.
What will proceeds go toward this year?
If we raise enough funds, one thing we really need to work on is winterizing our aquaponic system. We’re growing tilapia right now, and it requires a temperature in the 50s or warmer, so we have to find a method to keep the water warm enough and also keep the plants growing in the system. We’re also looking into different types of solar hot-water heaters to use passive solar energy to keep the water warm.
How did you get into farming?
I was working in D.C. back in 2009, and the company that I worked for started getting contracts that I didn’t really want to work on. I decided to quit my job and move down to Mexico to volunteer on organic farms down there, and I worked my way through Mexico and Central America working on several different organic farms.
When I left Central America, I moved to New York and went to a fundraiser party at a local gym, and that’s where I met Masha [Radzinsky] and [Vincent Olsen], the folks who started Bushwick City Farm, and they invited me to come by when we had the lot on Broadway, and I’ve been involved since that weekend.
What, to you, is the best thing about working at Bushwick City Farm?
It’s really about the people and the interaction of the people in the space and creating this kind of urban oasis in the middle of Brooklyn, where you wouldn’t see chickens, other types of fowl or organic gardens. And it provides a space for the young people to learn about growing food and working with other members of the community and animal husbandry. All the kids are eager to give a tour of the chicken area when a new visitor comes by the farm, so that’s really neat.
For more info on Chicken Sh*t Bingo, which costs $5 for two squares, and the farm, visit bushwickcityfarm.wordpress.com.
