Our festivals are a fun, interactive way for people to learn about food and to get involved in supporting local farms. We rely on strong community partners and dozens of volunteers to help us coordinate and implement these festivals that get bigger and better every year, with even more pertinent educational aspects to the events as ‘growing local’ takes on more importance in our food system.
Please check out our events calendar section on the home page for current events and dates. See below the listing of our reoccurring annual events and some new ones we have slated for 2010.
March 7th -- Venza Taste of the Market -- 3,500 people came to experience great tastings from 12 noteworthy Austin chefs and join in the festive and buzzing market that celebrated all the produce that the almost dozen farmers have to offer weekly in the Saturday Austin Farmers' Market.
April 3rd -- GREEN Easter Egg Hunt at Saturday Market, hunt including cascarones and coupons redeemable for fun kids’ produce. Starts promptly at 10 am with little kids in first group.
April 17 – Earth Day "EAT = EARTH" Celebration presented by SFC's Austin Farmers' Market in collaboration with Earth Day organizers of Austin Green Art - A cooking demo from April’s spring crops and live music in the market
- Green Art Kids- craft-making from recycled materials, story telling, yoga, face painting, puppet show
- Earth Day events of expo of several dozen environmental friendly companies and groups
- Composting workshops and a passport for getting to know the "Drop Spot" recycle/compost/landfill kiosks
- Eclectic mix of solar-powered music all day
- From the farmers: root crops, young squash, greens, strawberries, eggs
April 21st – Earth Day "EAT = EARTH" Celebration with a movie in the park after the Wednesday night market. - A cooking demo from April’s spring crops and live music in the market
- Green Art Kids- craft-making from recycled materials, story telling, yoga, face painting, puppet show
- Earth Day events of expo of dozens of environmental friendly companies and groups
- Composting workshops and a passport for getting to know the "Drop Spot" recycle/compost/landfill kiosks
- Movie in the Park after the market
- From the farmers: root crops, young squash, greens, strawberries, eggs
May 2nd – Market to Menu Summer Kick-off supported by Texas Dept. of Agriculture - A cooking demo by a TDA Restaurant Member
- Special recipes
May 6 – Farm to Plate, the third-annual fund raiser for Sustainable Food Center presented by Wheatsville Co-op and Barr Mansion. Off site at Barr Mansion with 25 local chefs and 100% locally sourced farmer ingredients. - Silent Auction for celebrity plates and fabulous dinner packages and other great items
Summer Fruit and Veggie Fest!!
June 5th – Customer Appreciation Day
On this day, we’ll have vendors offer discounts and goods packaged in such a way that they can be immediately be taken on a picnic in Republic Square Park right next to the market. Lots of samples to taste set up by chef/volunteers. We’ll have low-key games like a cake walk for prizes. Door prizes.
June 12th – Taste of Summer Day
- Chef’s demos all day of farm products
- Door prizes
June 19th – Tomato Me Crazy
- Tomato gardener contest – Judged at market – Winner gets to be Top Tomato for the year
- Tomato “Taste the Place” tasting booth of the farmers’ tomatoes/associated back to their farm
- Tomato Me Crazy events – tomato spoon race, tomato splat
- Info from TDA and Cooperative Extension
- Chef Cooking demo
- Door prizes
June 26th – Watermelon Festival
- Watermelon eating contest, seed spitting contest, and watermelon slices for sale
- Water melon jiggle contest
- Chef’s demo and live music
- Door prizes
- Info from TDA and Cooperative Extension
- From the Farmers – tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon, and peaches
(last week of Fruit and Veggie Fest)
July 3rd - Green July 4th Citizen-raising environmental presentationsFarmer OlympicsChef's demoTasting tent
October 23 – Doggone It to Summer! Festival
- Dog best dressed costume competition
- Dog Parade through market
- Live music
- From the Farmers – tomatoes, pumpkins, winter squash, greens and much more!
December 4 – 11 Eat Local week – Edible Austin
See http://www.edibleaustin.com for details
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