2010 Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee at the Mokichi Okada Association's Oasis Garden

Saturday June 19, 2010 5:00pm to 8:30PM

5790 North Indianola Avenue, Clovis, CA

 Have some fun and make Slow Food Madera's STONE FRUIT JUBILEE a successful event! Volunteer to help, before, during and after. Please contact Barbara Sexton at
831-595-7774 or barbarabigsur@gmail.com for details!

Mao Farms - Hmong Food Egg Rolls Cucumber Salad Spring Rolls Egg Roll Wrap La Boulangerie Turkey or Vegetarian Baguette Sandwiches Whole Foods Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Grilled Organic Stone Fruit Squaw Valley Herb Gardens Artisan Drinks Mint Hibiscus Tea Natural Spice Chai Lemongrass Lemonade

 

Featuring Temra Costa, acclaimed author of Farmer Jane! Temra Costa is a nationally recognized sustainable food and farming advocate. Her recent book, Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat is the culmination of the past seven years she has spent working to promote a more vibrant local food economy in California and beyond. In addition to the book, she has written for numerous publications on hot-button issues such as Farm to School, eating locally, food safety, and how to create regional food systems. Her previous role as statewide director of California’s Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign, and other positions held with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), worked to engage stakeholders in our food system, from farm to fridge.   Temra’s first book Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat, features over 30 women and how they are changing our food system for the better as farmers, educators, mothers, chefs, businesswomen, and policy wonks. The book also explains how businesses and all of us eaters can get involved in changing how our country eats and farms.  Temra works, cooks, gardens and writes in the East Bay of California. She's a radio show co-host on Green 960 (www.thegreenmorning.com), works as a food and communications consultant for various businesses, and speaks at events throughout the year.

Featuring Deborah Koons Garcia, acclaimed filmmaker of The Future of Food The 3rd Annual Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee event in Clovis, on June 19, 2010 will feature organic, locally grown stone fruits, local artisan food vendors and many surprises, including a presentation by Deborah Koons Garcia, whose 2004 critically acclaimed documentary Future of Food, offers a comprehensive look into the history and evolution of the production of our food. Deborah Koons Garcia ,whose production company Lily Films is based in Mill Valley, California, has an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and has been making films for over 30 years. Her film The Future of Food (2004) premiered at Film Forum in New York City and has screened at theaters, film, food and farming festivals and community gatherings all over the world. She is now working on the multi- film Symphony of the Soil Project, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. A special work-in-progress screening of a piece of the Symphony of the Soil Project was screened as the Hans Jenny Memorial Lecture at UC Berkeley in May this year. Dowload Press Release

 

Will you come to the event?

 

Friday January 29, 2010 @5:30PM

Free screening of the movie Fresh by Ana Sofia Joanes (2009) at CSUF, McLane 121 followed by a a panel discussion. Slow Food Madera is donating the copy of the movie to the CSUF student library (movie review).

Click here to let us know you are coming to the show

January 17, 2010
This year, we're going to
"Pig Out! Suey, Sauerkraut & Suds!"
Annual Slow Food Madera General Meeting

UPDATE Response to the General Meeting announcement has been tremendous and we are enhancing the event with a Dessert Potluck. Please bring something sweet - What's a feast without dessert?

Sunday January 17, 2010 at the Vineyard Restaurant

 

 

Mao Farms Dinner

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Slow Food Madera presents:

Meals in the Field: Eating at the Source
Mao Family Farm

Saturday September 19, 2009 • 4:00 PM
3607 West Central Ave., Easton, Calif.
Adults: $35 · Ages 12-16: $15 · Ages 5-11: $5
Come Dressed For The Harvest

August 15, 2009 – (Fresno, Calif.) In its efforts to highlight the Central Valley farming community’s rich ethnic diversity, Slow Food Madera presents Meals in the Field: Eating at the Source. The first of these unique series of dinners will take place Saturday September 19 at 4PM on Mao’s Family Farm in Easton, California and will celebrate Hmong food, dance and culture. Tickets for adults attending the dinner cost $35, ages 12-16 is $15, ages 5-11 is $5 and will be available through www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006. Children age 5 and under are free. Water will be provided with your meal. You are welcome to bring any other beverages your family requires.

Mao Farms, owned and operated by Mao and Cheng Thao, will feature a celebration of traditional Hmong produce, cooking and culture. Mao will prepare traditional Hmong dishes with ingredients from the Mao Farm, as the featured centerpiece of the evening. Attendees will also be able to pick fresh vegetables that will be available for sale later at an onsite farm stand, so please dress farm friendly. Hmong cultural traditions will be celebrated with costumed dancing by Hmong students. The evening will be rounded out with the captivating story of the Thao Family’s hazardous journey, following the Viet Nam War, from Laos to Thailand to a safe, fresh and productive life in Easton.

The Mao Farm combines the spirit of Central Valley agriculture with the traditions of farming in Southeast Asia. Cheng and Mao grew up in the same Laotian village. They married, had six children all of whom worked on their family’s farm. In the dark days after the Viet Nam war, they escaped to Thailand and, ultimately, migrated to the United States where they had four more children. In 1996, they established the 10 acre Mao Farm in Easton where they are fourth generation farmers teaching the fifth generation the joys and hardships of working the land.

The Meals in the Field series offers an opportunity not just to observe but also to experience another of the Central Valley’s rich cultures through its food at the source. For more information please visit www.slowfoodmadera.org.

Open to the Public

Event Coordinators - Patricia Hopelain and Sharon Alexander.

A traditional Hmong dinner will be held at the Mao Family farm & garden. Mrs. Mao will conduct four cooking demonstrations of traditional Hmong foods. A sit-down meal will follow the cooking demonstrations. There will be traditional Hong dance presentation during the event. There will be a vegetable stand on premises for attendees to purchase the veggies they’ve eaten.

Water will be provided, but beer or wine are strictly BYO.

Tickets $15 to 35 per person - BUY TICKETS

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Additional Hmong Cultural Event Sponsored by the Alliance Française of Fresno

Lecture: Dr Kao-Ly Yang, Hmong Journey to French Shores,
September 23, 2009 at CSUF, Smittcamp House, 7:00 PM

Fig Fest

FIG FEST 2009 – CELEBRATING A VALLEY TREASURE

Fig Festival Showcases
Edible Extravaganzas, Gourmet Chefs, Live Music and More

FRESNO, CA (June 29, 2009) -- California Figs take center stage at Fig Fest 2009, the culinary extravaganza presented annually to pay homage to this great “Valley Treasure.” Scheduled for Saturday, August 8, 2009, from 9:00 AM until Noon on the picturesque lawns of Fresno State University, the 6th Annual Fig Fest features fig-inspired dishes created by some of the area’s premier chefs and artisan food companies, live music, kid’s-oriented educational activities and much more.

Baked, roasted, marinated, stuffed, dipped, and wrapped – these are just some of the fig tastes consumers expect to sample at the 6th Annual Fig Fest. A souvenir colored Recipe Booklet filled with many sweet and savory fig recipes continues the enjoyment of these sun-drenched treasures throughout the year for all the guests.

The 2008 event drew nearly 1,000 guests from all across the country who noshed on culinary creations from such popular eateries as Bistro Rustico, Campagnia, Cracked Pepper Bistro, Doug Out Cookies, GiGi’s , Love & Garlic, Max’s Bistro & Bar, Palomino’s, Slates, The Chef’s Table, The Vineyard Restaurant, The Vintage Press, and Trelio Restaurant among others. Last year’s guests voted The Girl and The Fig’s “Warm Fig and Walnut Crisp” Best of Show. Other top vote getters in the annual Favorite Recipe Contest included Trelio’s “Grilled Tiger Fig with Smoked Duck” by Chef Mike Shackelford and “Fig Fingers” by Chef Malachi Harland from The Chef’s Table.

Fig Fest 2009 takes place on Fresno State’s Ag East Lawn between the Ag Science Building and Satellite Student Union, near the corner of Barstow and Maple Avenues. Tickets are available by contacting the California Fig Advisory Board office at 559-243-8600. They are $10.00 in advance or $12.00 at the gate. Children under the age of 12 are free. Parking is also free. Event proceeds will benefit Fresno State Ag One Foundation, Slow Food Madera, and the Bulldog Pantry, a non-profit food bank serving the community since 2007.

The Annual Fig Feast Dinner on Saturday evening features a four course fig extravaganza and wine pairing created by celebrated Chef Vatche Moukhtarian from the Cracked Pepper Bistro. Figs, one of the area’s finest delicacies, are in peak season in early August. Succulent and sweet, fresh California figs are plentiful until mid-December and dried figs enjoy year round availability. Brown Turkey and Black Mission Figs, with their robust sweet flavor, are first to market and are available until late fall. Amber-colored, delicately sweet Kadota figs are abundant through October, while fresh Calimyrnas, known for their pale yellow skin and nutty, sweet flavor, are available from July through September. Dried figs are available year round.

A recognized powerhouse of nutrition, figs have provided sustenance for as long as there has been dietary history. As early as 2900 BC, in early Sumerian times, the medicinal use of figs was stressed. Today, best known for their fiber content, figs also contain more calcium, more potassium, and more iron than other common fruits. Fresh figs also contain important antioxidants.

For an edible extravaganza, don’t miss Fig Fest and Fig Feast 2009. Visit www.californiafigs.com for more information.

 

August 8, 2009 Fig Feast Dinner

Join the California Fig Advisory Board and Slow Food Madera for a four course fig extravaganza and wine pairing created by celebrated Chef Vatche Moukhtarian of the Cracked Pepper Bistro. Marinated, stuffed, roasted, and wrapped are just some of the fig tastes consumers will be tempted with. Each Fig highlighted course will be accompanied by a perfectly selected wine to enhance the masterful flavors.

Date August 08, 2009 6:00 - 9:00 PM

Location Cracked Pepper Bistro
389 E. Shaw Ave., Suite 102
Fresno, CA 93710 map it!

Price $120.00

- Photo Gallery -

Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee - June 21st from 5-9 PM -  5790 N. Indianola, Clovis, CA

Event: Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee
Date: SaturdayJune 21, 2008
Time: 5pm - 9pm
Location: Mokichi Okada Association's ‘Oasis Garden’ at 5790 N. Indianola, Clovis, CA 93619 (near Wild Water Adventure)
Cost: Adults - $5. Children to 12 – Free
Description: Summer Solstice Dessert, Music, Workshops and Children’s Activities
Contact Info: Bruno Luconi 559-324-0465 - Tom Willey 559-706-9552
Event Information: www.gofresnocounty.com
Slow Food Movement information: www.slowfoodmadera.org
Mokichi Okada Association information: www.moa-fresno.org

One of the best kept secrets of our nationally esteemed “Golden Triangle” fruit district in Southeast Fresno County is its dozen or so organic pioneers.  Some of these farmers have been perfecting biologically intensive methods of stone fruit production for as long as two decades, others are more recent converts.  All are receiving accolades and premium prices for their tree ripe fruit in North America’s major metropolitan markets but are virtually unknown and un-tasted in our local community.

Slow Food Madera’s June 21st Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee is delectably designed to erase that deficit.  Eleven outstanding organic orchardists will offer generous tastings of dozens of varieties of peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, and apricots at this peak-of-season evening event.  Farmers offering delicious fruit will be ensconced in the beautifully landscaped orchard of the Mokichi Okada Association’s “Oasis Garden”, east of Clovis.  The 5-9PM event will feature talented local musicians, artisan fruit pastries and handmade fresh fruit ice cream.  Several grocers who maintain and seek to further relationships with local organic farms will offer fruit for purchase. 

Renowned stone fruit breeder, Ed Laivo will conduct a workshop on orcharding history, highlighting surprising stories behind the evening’s featured varieties.  This festive event is family focused, including children’s gardening activities, physicians discussing the food and health connection and performances of a traditional Japanese “Tea Ceremony”. Slow Food Madera and the many community sponsors of the “Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee” hope your family will join us in celebrating the accomplishments of under recognized progressive artisan orchardists practicing in our community.  We hope to knit these exceptional growers with an appreciative local public and receptive specialty retailers who will, acting in community, create an authentic local food culture.  For more information see www.slowfoodmadera.org or call 559-324-0465

Event information - www.gofresnocounty.com
Slow Food Movement - www.slowfoodmadera.org
Mokichi Okada Association – www.moa-fresno.org

Home on the Range - April 12, 2008 9:00am-2:00pm

SLOW FOOD MADERA is proud to again sponsor “HOME ON THE RANGE”

Saturday, April 12, 2008 8:30 am to about 2:00 pm

Be at the Vineyard Restaurant, Madera (hwy 99 & Hwy 145) by 8:30 am.
Have a cup of coffee and a breakfast pastry. Bus leaves 9:00 am SHARP! Enjoy a Madera Foothill bus tour and then a Grass Fed Beef meal at the Vineyard $55 per person. Buy tickets on-line at www.BrownPaperTickets.com

The Madera Convivium endeavors to give guests information about the local foods our farmers and ranchers grow in an entertaining way. This year you’ll learn about our local Madera County foothill grazing business, the history of the families entrusted with the land and the formation of the soils.

Whether on our air conditioned 47 passenger coach (with bathroom!) or off it, you’ll hear from well known local historian Bill Coate, who’ll give history lessons along our route. University of California Range Specialist Neil McDougald will tell you about the crops of grass our cow men and women cultivate and harvest using their cattle. Fresno City College soil scientist Roger Lukenbach will help us visualize how time, wind, rain and ice created the land we’ll traverse. Convivium board member Jim Merrill, a ranch real estate broker and consultant, will share his perspective on preservation of Madera County’s “Cattle Country”.

We’ll visit historical sites, large “spreads” and “transition” land on our 60 mile tour including the areas near Hensley Lake, Raymond and “Daulton”.

Convivium board members Chris Mariscotti (Vineyard Restaurant owner) Tom Willey (T&D Willey Farms organic vegetables) and Mike Blaylock (Quady wine maker) will share their culinary knowledge at the Vineyard for a grass-fed steak lunch with fresh seasonal vegetables and a new wine just out of the barrel.

Help us plan a great event. Get your doggies movin’ and ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY to avoid being “left off the bus”, literally!

 

Tomatoes' Night Out
Saturday September 29, 2007 at 5:00 PM

7th Annual “Tomatoes’ Night at Lone Willow Ranch
11356 Road 5 ½
Firebaugh, CA 93622

We had a great time at the lovely Lone Willow Ranch, a wonderful evening filled with good friends, good music and good food as we celebrated the fruitful harvest from our local area.

5 pm – Tomato Tasting
6 pm – 1st course of many

Catering by Naked Catering Brenda Ostrom & Jen Meno, with help from Sharon Alexander. A feast that highlights heirloom tomatoes grown by farmer John M. Teixeira of Lone Willow Ranch. An interactive agricultural and culinary dining experience featuring mindfully prepared local and organic foods from the heart of Madera County

Event Flier Dinner Menu

Slow Food Madera Members
John M. Teixeira 559-694-0017 or farmerjohn@organicheirlooms.com
Shelby Mayfield 559-352-1486 or shelby@organicheirlooms.com
Tickets $75.00 per person

— Fig Fest 2007- August 11, 2007

Saturday August 11, 2007 at 6:30pm: Fig Fest. A Celebration of a  Valley Treasure- As in the past the Fig Fest took place at The Vineyard  Farmer's Market from 9 to 12. That evening Slow Food Madera and The  California Fig Advisory Board hosted another fantastic Fig Feast. 
This year's feast occured at The Chef's Table in Fig Garden Village.  Chef Malachi Harland prepared a wonderful meal with  the outstanding presentations of figs, local ingredients and local  wines. This year we enjoyed special Slow Food guests at the  dinner. Slow Food leaders from all of California, Slow Food staff  from New York and Alice Waters also came for the Fig  Fest and Fig Feast.

2007 Fig Fest Brochure 2007 Fig Fest Dinner Menu 2007 Fig Fest Dinner Tickets 2006 Fig Fest Photo Gallery

— Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 6:30pm - At the Vineyard Restaurant in Madera, CA:Join us for a release party for the new Quady Sherry. This sherry is the result of a 5 year collaboration between winemaker Mike Blaylock and farmer Gena Noninni's. It is made with her biodynamically grown grapes. For the event we will taste the new Sherry, Quady's Visio, a red table wine, and a Spanish Alberino (white) wine. You will also be sampling a selection of Spanish-style Tapas to compliment these wines. Mike will discuss the challenges of making Sherry and Gena will talk about biodynamic farming. Seats are limited. We are telling you, Slow Food members, first to give you the first opportunity to reserve a seat. The event will be at The Vineyard Restaurant on May 3, 2007 at 6:30. You may reserve your seat buy calling 674-0923. Tickets costs $40 a person. This is a benefit for Slow Food Madera.

The Vineyard Restaurant 605 South I St in Madera.  It is on Highway 99 at the Highway 145 junction.

—Tomatoes Night Out - September 23, 2006 at the Lone Willow Ranch in Firebaugh
—Fig Fest 2006 - Celebrating a Valley Treasure - August 12, 2006 9:00AM to Noon at the Vineyard Farmers Market in Fresno, CA (Northwest corner or Blackstone & Shaw).
—Fig Fest Dinner 2006, Saturday August 12, 2006 at 7:00PM (Dinner Menu)(Review)

Recently unearthed in the Jordan Valley, from an early Neolithic village home, a handful of figs appear to be the oldest evidence of human agricultural activity on the planet dating from 11,300 years ago. The well-preserved fruit contain no seeds, nearly confirming they would have required human cultivation. Parthenocarpism, like our Thompson seedless grape, is a chance genetic mutation that allows a fruit to form without producing seeds.

Lacking seed, such a plant has no chance of reproducing another generation without a benefactor’s intervention. Researchers from Harvard and Israel’s Bar-Ilan University conclude early Neolithic hunter-gathers made cuttings from such a fig and planted them; an agricultural act.

The iconic fig played a starring role in Act I of the short history of our region’s farm culture as well. Late 19th century Fresno pioneers, George Roeding and J. C. Forkner promoted the fruit. Roeding imported an ingenious method of pollination from the Fertile Crescent securing success for the now prominent Calimyrna variety. Forkner developed Fig Garden, an early agricultural colony based on the production of said cultivar. As our fig orchards have been supplanted by homes over the last generation the fruit has become less appreciated and little celebrated.

Slow Food Madera and the Fig Advisory Board created Fig Fest in 2004 to return the ancient fruit to its honored place on our tables and in our hearts. Join us for the third edition of “all things fig” Saturday, August 12 at Fresno’s Vineyard Farmers Market on Blackstone and Shaw. For a populist price of $5.00 enjoy the gastronomic fig-art presented by fifteen chefs of the region’s finest restaurants. You may wish to purchase a tree and start your own fig farm.

Indulge yourself with a five course “Study in Figs”, by James Overbaugh of Erna’s Elderberry House al fresco, under the market arbor Saturday evening for $110.00 per person, including wines. Celebrate with us the noble Fig’s storied place in both local and all of human history. - Tom Willey

For dinner tickets: 1-800-838-3006
“Study in Figs” Menu

Photo Galleries

• Fig Fest 2006 (photo gallery coming soon)
• Tomatoes Night Out 2005
• Fig Fest 2006
• Fig Fest 2005
• Fig Fest 2004
• Roots in the Cellar 2002

Past Publications

Our first newsletter

San Francisco Slow Food Convivium's newsletter

Event Posters: