YOLO TO SHOW ITS BOUNTY
Yolo County is a place of rich agricultural diversity — wine grapes, tomatoes, fruit and nut trees, rice, sunflower seed and olives planted over more than 300,000 acres.
This year, visitors can sample much of it in one place at the first Taste of Yolo festival from 3 to 8 p.m. June 10 in downtown Davis.
The event, which follows the farmers’ market in Central Park, includes tastings, chef demonstrations and more than 90 exhibitors from Woodland, Winters, Clarksburg, Capay Valley and West Sacramento. Sample food from local restaurants, freshly harvested honey, seasonal produce, artisanal beer and wine from the region’s top producers.
Tonya Holland, author and nationally known chef-owner of Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen, will be the star attraction on the culinary stage. Patrick Mulvaney, chef of Mulvaney’s B&L in Sacramento, and Fred Reyes of Buckhorn Steakhouse in Winters will also appear.
Alan Humason, executive director of Visit Yolo, which is organizing the event, hopes to bring attention to local producers and products and promote the region as a culinary and agritourism destination. He’s also sending out a friendly reminder to a neighboring county.
“Sacramento has been laying claim to the title of farm-to-fork capital. We like to think of Yolo as being the farm to Sacramento’s fork,” he says. “A lot of restaurants source meat and produce from Yolo County farms. We wanted to create a showcase event for all the producers we have here.”
Advance tickets, available until April 30, cost $10; $25 including beer and wine tastings. After that, prices are $20 and $35, respectively. Tickets are available at www.tasteofyolo.com. For festival updates, go to the website or call (530) 297-1900.