The popular Oregon Brewers Festival celebrates 22 years of craft beers

PORTLAND, Ore. - It's the event that brings together 80 craft breweries and 70,000 beer lovers for a celebration of beer. The 22nd annual Oregon Brewers Festival, one of the nation's longest-running and best-loved craft beer festivals, will take place July 23 through July 26 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. Hours are Noon to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Eighty craft breweries from 14 different states will each send one product to serve at the event; an 81st beer, Collaborator, is a joint project between members of the Oregon Brew Crew homebrewing club and Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. More than 70,000 beer connoisseurs annually travel from around the world to sample more than two dozen beer styles, ranging from alt to wit.

Joining the breweries are industry exhibits by hop growers, homebrewers, breweriana collectors, and national beer writers and publishers. Four days of live music showcases the best high-energy talent the Northwest has to offer. Food booths sell meals and alternative beverages, while the Crater Lake Soda Garden provides handcrafted sodas free of charge to minors and designated drivers. Minors are allowed into the event when accompanied by a parent.

Admission into the festival grounds is free. In order to sample beer, a taster package is required. Taster packages are available in $10, $20 and $50 increments. All packages include a 2009 souvenir mug, which is required for consuming beer (mugs from previous years will not be filled); a souvenir program that includes a map of where the beers are located onsite; and various quantities of tokens, which are used to purchase beer. Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at $1 apiece. Sales of taster packages and tokens cease one half-hour prior to the close of the event each evening.

Alternative modes of transportation are encouraged, with free bicycle parking available each day. The main entrance is at SW Oak Street and Naito Parkway, one block from the MAX Light Rail line.

The Oregon Brewers Festival takes place during Oregon Craft Beer Month, a celebration of craft beer by Oregon's specialty breweries. A variety of special events will take place at craft breweries throughout the state, culminating with the Oregon Brewers Festival. The festival also hosts two ticketed auxiliary events: the Oregon Brewers Dinner, held on the eve of the festival opening, and the Oregon Brewers Brunch and Parade, a kick off to the festivities held the morning of July 23.

The Oregon Brewers Festival was founded in 1988 as an opportunity to expose the public to microbrews at a time when the craft brewing industry was just getting off the ground. Today, that industry has succeeded, especially in Oregon, and particularly in the city of Portland. There are currently 89 craft brewing facilities in Oregon, and 32 breweries operating within the Portland city limits - more than any other city in the world. The Portland metropolitan area boasts 40 breweries, making it the largest craft brewing market in the United States.

For more information about the Oregon Brewers Festival, visit www.oregonbrewfest.com or call the event hotline at 503-778-5917.

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The city of 4,400 is transformed for one week in July into the Family Fun Capital of the United States! What would a Baby Food Festival be without those baby-oriented activities? Family fun is the key component in the National Baby Food Festival. Fremont, the Baby Food Capital of the World, is the home of Gerber Products Company, making this a one-of-a-kind festival.   Main Stage Entertainment at the Veterans Memorial Park Amphitheater. To get tickets to either night call 1.800.592.2229. Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 of day of show Friday, July 24th Opening Act - 7:00pm - 8:30pm KISS'D: A Tribute to KISS www.myspace.com/kissdmichigan Headliners - 9:00pm - 10:30pm Firehouse www.firehousemusic.com www.myspace.com/officialfirehouse Saturday, July 25th Opening Act - 8:00pm Backwoods Thunder www.backwoodsthunder.com Headliner - 9:00pm Randy Houser www.randyhouser.com www.myspace.com/randyhouser

Contact Info

Email:
Website:	http://www.babyfoodfest.com
Office:	Fremont Chamber of Commerce
Location:	7 E. Main St. Fremont, MI

CALLING ALL FOOD & WINE LOVERS
SCORES OF GREAT REASONS TO COME TO KEY LARGO!

Come on down and enjoy all of all the tasty temptations, and some of your favorite wines, as Key Largo’s culinary experts step up to the plate to show you what Key Largo has to offer multiple wine tasting events in 9 days: cooking demonstrations, wine dinners, progressive wine dinners, food and wine pairing classes, cook book signings, free pour wine tastings, art and wine “shows,” cigars and wine, and of course Key Largo’s famous sunsets, SCUBA diving, tourist attractions, shopping, and a great time.

For more information, contact Sue Finney at (305) 394-3736
Email: foodandwine@fkrm.com
On the Web: www.KeyLargoFoodandWineFestival.com

The inaugural Rock 'n' Roll BBQ Throwdown will go down from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, in a tent in the Beachland Ballroom parking lot (15711 Waterloo Rd.).

Chefs from 25 of the area's most popular restaurants will be serving up tasty vittles with a barbecue theme. "Everybody's doing their own spin on barbecue," explains Schimoler. So rather than 10 gallons of pulled pork, attendees can nibble their way through Korean ribs, lamb sliders, clam bakes and plenty of gourmet potato salad, slaw and pickles. In addition to serving up food, many chefs will be dishing up hot licks on the stage; a number of restaurants have assembled house bands and will be performing sets.

Adult beverages will be sold inside the Beachland. "You know, we chefs do every fundraiser under the sun for good causes," says Schimoler. "This is the first one that is really designed to just help promote the restaurants." Tickets are available for $25 online (clevelandfoodrocks.com), at many participating restaurants, and the day of at the door ($30, cash or check).

Worcester Restaurant Week To Be Held August 3-14, 2009

Yet another restaurant week is coming to New England, with this one being held in Worcester in early-mid August. Worcester Restaurant Week will take place from Monday, August 3 to Friday, August 14, with nearly 50 restaurants across the city as well as in nearby communities participating. The price of a three-course meal at participating restaurants will be $20.09.

Some of the restaurants participating in Worcester Restaurant Week include Amici, Brew City, Coral Seafood, El Basha, Haiku, Mezcal, O'Connors, 111 Chophouse, Peppercorns, Roma, and Sole Proprietor.

Find out more information on Worcester Restaurant Week

An all-star lineup of chefs and their mentors will hit East Fourth Street on Sunday, Aug. 2. That's when Michael Symon's flagship restaurant, Lola, hosts the 2009 Share Our Strength benefit, "A Tasteful Affair" to fight childhood hunger.

Bobby Flay, Food Network personality and chef-owner of restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Paradise Island, Bahamas, provides celebrity firepower to the culinary lineup -- but he'll be working alongside the man he calls "my No. 1 mentor," chef Jonathan Waxman. Waxman, who earned his credentials at La Varenne cooking school before stints at the California bastions Chez Panisse and Michael's, runs Barbuto in New York City and West County Grill in Sebastopol, Calif.

Greenville, Ohio, native Nate Appleman earned acclaim when he opened A16 in San Francisco's Marina neighborhood, and later SPQR in the city's Fillmore district -- recognition that has been capped this year with a James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef award and a Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef nod. He'll work with his colleague, chef Chris Behr of SPQR.

Chicago diners recognize that Paul Kahan (Blackbird, The Publican, Avec) is one of that city's premier chef-restaurateurs. Koren Grieveson, who earned her own high regard as Kahan's chef du cuisine at Avec, will join her mentor at the benefit.

More than half of the 108 tickets for the event have already been sold. Symon will be assisted by his own crew -- Matthew Harlan of Bar Symon, Derek Clayton of Lola and executive pastry chef Cory Barrett. Luis Amado from the Culinary Institute of Michigan will join in.

The mentor theme has dual meaning for Symon, who credits Cleveland area chefs -- among them, Carl Quagliata, Gary Lucarelli and Paul Minnillo -- for his own entree into the culinary profession.

"Chefs are nurturers by nature," Symon said in a release announcing the event. "It is important for us to realize that there are over 12 million children in our country alone that have a hard time getting a single nourishing meal each day. We can use our skills and be part of the solution to providing children and their families with the nutritious foods they need to lead healthy lives."

Lola Bistro is at 2058 East Fourth St., Cleveland. Tickets for the exclusive dinner are $300. Reservations can be made at http://join.strength.org/atp_cleveland, or by calling Andrea Agalloco at 1-888-273-6141.

Hit the road to Nashville, Tennessee this summer and see your favorite Food Network stars at the Food Network Southern Food & Wine Festival at Gaylord Opryland. This premiere event will be held at the popular hotel from July 31-August 2, 2009, and will include a variety of exhibitors, food and wine samplings, food competitions, plus live cooking seminars and exclusive opportunities to meet Food Network celebrity chefs including Alton Brown, Bobby & Jamie Deen and The Neelys.

A portion of the proceeds from the Wine Tastings will go to Women Rock For The Cure, a non-profit organization committed to fighting breast cancer by utilizing the passion, creativity and strength of the entertainment industry to find inspiring ways to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Greater Nashville, as well as creating awareness programs for men and women of all ages. www.womenrockforthecure.org

Dates: July 31 – August 2, 2009

Duration: 1, 2 or 3 nights

To Book: For package reservations, call 1-866-972-6779 or book online now.

Download Schedule of Events here.

Friday, July 31

• 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.: Exhibit hall is open; click here for a detailed schedule. Click here if you are interested in an exhibitor application.
• Starting at 10:00 a.m.: Slow Cooker Competition sponsored by Hamilton Beach. Click here for information on how to participate!
• Starting at 11:00 a.m. and every hour on the hour through 7:00 p.m.: Food demonstrations by award-winning Gaylord Opryland chefs and other popular chefs featuring their signature recipes
• 6:30-8:00 p.m.: Celebrity Chef Cooking Seminar hosted by Bobby & Jamie Deen.
• 7:30 p.m.: An Evening with Alton Brown - an exclusive private dinner tasting of "Tennessee's Tomatoes and Corn in All Their Glory." SOLD OUT
  
• 7:30 p.m. Gaylord Opryland Chefs Present "A Tennessee Augustation" dinner at the Cascades Seafood Restaurant. A carefully selected five course dining experience featuring preparations of sustainable seafood, heritage meats and locally sourced seasonal ingredients paired with Tennessee libations. Prompt start time. Limited to only 40 people. Separate reservations required by calling 615-231-9101. $125 per person plus tax and gratuity.
• 8:30 p.m.: Meet and greet reception with Bobby & Jamie Deen featuring recipes from their collection.

 

Saturday, August 1

• 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.: Exhibit hall is open; click here for a detailed schedule.
• Starting at 10:00 a.m.: Slow Cooker Competition sponsored by Hamilton Beach. Click here for information on how to participate!
• Starting at 11:00 a.m. and every hour on the hour through 7:00 p.m.: Food demonstrations by award-winning Gaylord Opryland chefs and other popular chefs featuring their signature recipes.
• 1:00 p.m.: "Craft Beers and Craft Food" afternoon sampling of five craft beers with local and national producers and five pub-inspired courses. Prompt start time. Limited to only 40 people. Separate reservations required by calling 615-231-9101. $65 per person plus tax and gratuity.
• 1:30-3:00 p.m.: Celebrity Chef Cooking Seminar hosted by Alton Brown,
  host of Food Network's Good Eats.
• 3:30 p.m.: Meet and greet reception with Alton Brown featuring recipes from his collection.
• 6:30-8:00 p.m.: Celebrity Chef Cooking Seminar hosted by The Neelys, hosts of Food Network's Down Home with The Neelys.
• 7:30 p.m. "An Evening with Lucianno Castellio" from Banfi Winery as he tours us through Italy showcasing his wines and the cuisine of Ristorante Volare Executive Chef Jason Kroll. Prompt start time. Separate reservations required by calling 615-231-9101. $125 per person plus tax and gratuity.
• 8:30 p.m.: Meet and greet reception with The Neelys featuring recipes from their collection.

 

Sunday, August 2

• 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.: Exhibit hall is open; click here for a detailed schedule.
• Starting at 11:00 a.m. and every hour on the hour through 5:00 p.m.: Food demonstrations by award-winning Gaylord Opryland chefs and other popular chefs featuring their signature recipes.

 

Date: Mon, July 27th 2009 - Sun, August 9th 2009
External Link: Event Website
Location: Central Atlanta Progress

This event showcases Downtown Atlanta restaurants with special dining promotions of three-course dinners for $25.00 per person, plus tip, plus tax*.

Many of Downtown Atlanta's finest dining establishments were selected to take part in this fabulous food event. There are no passes to buy, coupons to carry or cards to punch. You simply attend the restaurant of your choice during Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week and select from a special three-course dinner menu, for $25.00 per person, plus tip, plus tax*.

Reservations are accepted and encouraged.
Reservations are made by calling the individual restaurants or booking online. Due to the overwhelming number of reservations during this week, please promptly notify the restaurant if you are unable to keep your reservation. Please do not make duplicate reservations at multiple restaurants. This doesn’t allow restaurants to accurately plan for staffing or food usage.

We are confident that you will find Downtown Atlanta Restaurant Week a splendid opportunity to experience your favorite chef and restaurant or try a new one.

Now in its 28th year, Jazz & Rib Fest brings together some of today's most popular and innovative jazz artists with mouth watering ribs from across the country. Don't miss this Columbus summertime tradition.

Jazz & Rib Fest is produced by Music in the Air and the Office of Special Events, programs of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.

July 24-26, 2009.  http://www.hotribscooljazz.org/