Oct. 10, 2015
All-Local Celebration at Fourth Redland GrowFest! Oct. 17-18
Coral Gables, FL–Learn to milk a goat, make kombucha, cook with Asian vegetables and make worm compost. Watch top South Florida chefs open a mystery box of local produce and turn it into something delicious before your eyes. Taste jackfruit curry, tropical fruit ice cream and healthy farm-to-table fast food. Buy seeds and seedlings for your own backyard garden.
It's all in store at the 4th annual Redland GrowFest! October 17 and 18, 2015, at Fruit & Spice Park, a weekend of family- (and pet-) friendly fun all in a subtropical setting.
New this year: the Locally Grown Chef Cookoff Challenge on Sunday, featuring chefs Sean Brasel, Michael Reidt, Samantha Narvaez, Pablo Zitzmann and Simon Stojanovik. Their challenge: Make dishes from a mystery box of locally grown ingredients. The judges are food blogger Galena Mosovich, writer and Saffron Supper Club co-founder Sara Liss and blogger and Wokstar teacher Eleanor Hoh.
Despite the Oriental fruit fly quarantine in an 85-square-mile area of South Miami-Dade, including Fruit and Spice Park, GrowFest! is going on as planned, says farmer Margie Pikarsky of Bee Heaven Farm. “I do not want to contemplate a life with OFF permanently in residence,” she says. “We have tools available, even for organic growers, to allow us to bring our products to market. FDACS, USDA and Miami-Dade county folks are really working hard to help us.” The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry will be on hand at the festival with information about the quarantine.
Edible South Florida will also launch its new fall issue. The cover story, Finding the Flavors of India, focuses on Indian produce grown in South Florida, markets, restaurants and recipes from award-winning author Madhur Jaffrey, who will be at the Miami Book Fair in Nov. Also in this issue: MiMO, Road Trip to Gainesville, artisan Nisha's Flavors of India, Robert Is Here, A Very Vegan Holiday and local seafood recipes.
This year's GrowFest! beneficiary is the Redland Farm Life School project. The South Florida Pioneer Museum is spearheading this proposal to turn the historic school, celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2016, into a culinary center and agricultural learning center.
GrowFest! at a glance
When: Oct. 17-18, 9:30am-4pm
Where: Fruit and Spice Park, SW 248 St. and 187 Ave., Homestead 33031
Price: $8 online (before Oct 15), $10 at the gate. Free admission for children under 12. Military families can obtain free tickets online at VetTix.org
What: Fourth annual Redland GrowFest!
• Locally Grown Chef Cookoff with Sean Brasel (Meat Market), Michael Reidt (Pilgrim), Samantha Narvaez (PG Bakery), Pablo Zitzmann (Trust and Company), Simon Stojanovik (Swank Farm/Swank Table)
• Workshops on rain barrels, composting, worm composting, pruning, fermenting, goat milking, kombucha, plant clinic, Asian vegetable growing and cooking, food forests and permaculture
• Prepared foods from local artisans: Ice cream from Lulu's Nitrogen Ice Cream, jackfruit curry and falafel from Hani's Organics, guava treats from PG Bakery, healthy farm-to-table fare from Verde Cafe, Native Conch
• Artisan products: Local honey from Miguel Bode Honey, Sweet Treats pastry, Pinders Picks beef jerky and Redland Raised pickles, jams and jellies from Nic & Luc Fine Food Purveyors
• Local farms with seedlings, greens and produce: Paradise Farms Organic, Bee Heaven Farm, Urban Oasis Project and Verde Community Farm and Market, Going Bananas, Casey's Corner Nursery, Margarita's Fruit Trees, Veber's Jungle Garden, Moringa!
• Launch of new fall edible South Florida – http://ediblesouthflorida.com
• Slow Food Miami raffle booth
• Dade County Farm Bureau kids' activities, Florida Ag in the Classroom program
• Local art and historical exhibits
• South Florida Pioneer Museum – Redland area historical photograph exhibit
• Live music by the Redland Pickers Bluegrass Group and singer/songwriter Grant Livingston
• Activities for kids
• Daily prize drawings each day at 12:45 and 4pm
For online tickets, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2273471
Edible South Florida
Now in its sixth year, edible South Florida is a free quarterly magazine available at Whole Foods Markets and select retail locations, markets and events in Miami-Dade, Broward and the Florida Keys. Contact: Gretchen Schmidt.
Redland GrowFest!, Bee Heaven Farm, Redland Organics
Margie Pikarsky runs Bee Heaven Farm, a five-acre diversified family farm that includes a 300-member Community-Supported Agriculture membership program.
Contact
Gretchen Schmidt
