Join us for the 2017 Blue Ribbon Brunch at the California State Fair Kaiser Permanente Farm on Sunday, September 10, 2017 from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
The Blue Ribbon Brunch is a three course farm-to-fork feast with the best fresh, local ingredients, plus award-winning wines, beers and desserts from the California State Fair competitions.
The Second Annual Blue Ribbon Brunch features farm-to-fork inspired meals by the official chef of the California State Fair, Keith Breedlove and guest chef Jill Campbell.
Guests can stroll through the farm enjoying freshly picked vegetables and fruits while they sip award winning wines and beers.
Tickets are $100.00 and are tax deductible. The Friends of the California State Fair hosts this major fundraiser for the Kaiser Permanente Farm. The proceeds from the Brunch help to add new fruit trees, cover expenses for planting new California-grown crops, farm equipment, supplies, tools and programming materials that are needed for the Fall and Spring Farm Tours from year-to-year.
For more information, call (916) 263-3276 or email blueribbonevents@calexpo.com.
The California State Fair Kaiser Permanente Farm offers K-6 grade students a unique, hands-on experience that shows them first-hand where their food comes during Spring and Fall Farm Tours at Cal Expo. Over 2500 students this year have experienced what it takes to plant, maintain and manage a farm from the 2017 CA State Fair Spring Farm Tours.
The California State Fair Kaiser Permanente Farm Tours are offered for six weeks in the spring and fall. The 2017 Fall Farm Tours begin September 12 and run through October 19. They are available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. School sign-ups are going on now at http://www.castatefair.org/ farmtours/ . There is a nominal fee of $5 per student for the tour.
“… the first challenge we have as teachers is to get students to buy in. Once they step foot on The Farm, they’re sold”, said Josie Peavy, 2nd grade teacher American Lake Elementary School.
The CA State Fair Farm grows over 90 varieties of fruits and vegetables all year long from kiwi, squash, eggplant, chili peppers, corn and melons to pumpkins and even cotton. The tours give students insight on what it takes to grow and produce healthy food. Students will see actual crops including a functioning greenhouse. They will participate in five learning stations: Grow it- they will explore seeds; See it: they will see what the seeds turn into; Save it: the newest methods for growing plants; Plant it: they can plant seeds; and Taste it: they will be able to taste the foods grown on The Farm.
The Farm’s fresh produce also goes a long way to providing healthy food to those in need all year long. We donate the majority of the fruits and vegetables to the Sacramento Food Bank. In 2016, Cal Expo donated 12,788 pounds of produce. Through June of this year, we have already donated 7,082 pounds. The Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services provides free emergency goods and services to 135,000 men, women and children each month. A fraction of the produce is used as for students to taste on the school tours and in cooking demonstrations at the California Kitchen during the CA State Fair.
The Farm does more than grow food; it grows knowledge and enriches the lives of area youth and even peaks the students’ interest to pursue careers in California’s number one industry: Agriculture.
“My students still talk about The Farm. We actually extended our farm unit by planting wild flowers to try and attract the bees, because they found out that the bee population was disseminating so they wanted to help out. And that was something they thought of on their own”, said Peavy.
Please consider supporting events like the Blue Ribbon Brunch to make California State Fair Kaiser Permanente Farm School Farm Tours available to all students.
ABOUT CAL EXPO
Cal Expo is home to the California State Fair and plays host to hundreds of other signature events each year including The Blue Ribbon Brunch and Global Winter Wonderland coming in November 2017. Featuring 400 acres of open space along the American River Parkway and 350 beautifully landscaped acres, Cal Expo facilities were dedicated as a place to celebrate California’s achievements, preserve a slice of Americana, and provide a window into the future.
Originally established in 1854, the California State Fair is dedicated as a place to celebrate California’s achievements, industries, agriculture, diversity of its people, traditions and trends that shape the Golden State’s future. We invite you to join us for the 165th California State Fair July 13 – 29, 2018.
