Food & Drink: Region’s bounty feeds inaugural Cascadia Food Festival
Marketplace, tour, talks and luau will offer taste of slow food revolution
By Rachel Pinsky
Published: September 27, 2019, 6:00am
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Cascadia Food Festival includes the Food and Cider Festival in Old Apple Tree Park. (Contributed by Rachel Pinsky)
The first Cascadia Food Festival on Oct. 5 will celebrate sustainably grown local produce and food traditions of the region that stretches from Southern Alaska to Northern California.
This event has three parts: a Food and Cider Festival at Old Apple Tree Park, as well as a Food Summit and a Cascadian Luau at Pearson Air Museum’s historic hangar.
The day begins with the free Food and Cider Festival at Old Apple Tree Park. The festival features a Taste Marketplace with 20 regional vendors. Here, you can find one-of-a-kind goodies such as locally grown tea from North Fork 53 in Nehalem, Ore., vinegar-based health tonic from Mind Yo Manna Fire Brew, geoduck from Taylor Shellfish and high-quality, sustainably grown flours from Shepherd’s Grain. A Hard Cider Garden (admission is $15) will offer 15 ciders. You can also bring apples to a fresh cider pressing and buy apple pies.
At 10 a.m., a tour of the Port of Vancouver’s Terminal 1 will leave from Old Apple Tree Park. The tour will include discussions of plans for this site, where an AC by Marriott has already broken ground. Next to the hotel is the future spot for a public marketplace that will feature local growers and artisans.
Julie Rawls, Port of Vancouver community relations manager, has developed strong ties with Slow Food Cascadia.
“I’m intrigued by their mission because it fits well with our plan to build a public market,” she said.
The Food Summit, where admission is $65, offers a chance to network with regional food experts, activists, producers, chefs and community leaders. The first session, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., features leaders in sustainable fishing. The second session, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., highlights the slow food revolution.
After an exchange of ideas and information at the summit, it’s party time at the Cascadian Luau. Warren Neth, director of Slow Food Cascadia, chose a luau to honor the long history and important contributions of native Hawaiians in this region.
Keynote speaker Kaloku Holt, executive director of the Ke Kukui Foundation, will talk about Hawaiian food and culture in Vancouver. The speech will be followed by Hawaiian music and dancing, plus traditional, neo-traditional and Pacific Northwest-influenced Hawaiian food, including lomilomi (dried raw salmon and sweet onion) and kalbi beef tacos with Nehalem River Ranch brisket prepared by Tommy O’s.
VETS_CAFE, an ecological farming program sponsored by the Veterans Ecological Trades Collective in Rochester, will be roasting whole pigs to round out the feast.
Sara Newton, beverage director at Amaro’s Table, crafted a special menu of tiki drinks and non-alcoholic options.
If You Go
What: Food and Cider Festival.
Where: Old Apple Tree Park, 112 S.E. Columbia Way.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 5.
Admission: Free; $15 for the hard-cider garden.
• • •
What: Slow Food Summit.
Where: Historic Hangar at Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth St., Vancouver.
Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 5.
Admission: $65.
• • •
What: Cascadian Luau.
Where: Historic Hangar at Pearson Air Museum, 1115 E. Fifth St., Vancouver.
Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 5.
Admission: $35, includes commemorative glass and entertainment; small plates $7 each.
