May 7th, 2010
Freestone Fermentation Festival offers family activities, music, and fermentation demonstrations
Post by Holly White-Wolfe, Writer for the Sonoma County Parenting section of the San Francisco Examiner
May 6th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FREESTONE FERMENTION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS- VISIONARY WINEMAKER, PAUL DOLAN AND PERMACULTURE GURU, TRATHEN HECKMAN
Summary: Second Annual fund-raising event expands with more children's activities and entertainment, a thrilling line-up of musical acts, three expert speakers and a full roster of “how to” fermentation demonstrations.
FREESTONE, CA, May 6th, 2010 – Things are bubbling-up in Freestone, where Osmosis Day Spa, Wild Flour Bread and Freestone Vineyards are about to host the effervescent family friendly Freestone Fermentation Festival to be held on Saturday, May 15 from noon-5pm at Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center. Fermentation is the common element that links them, leavens their famous bread, heats the cedar enzyme baths and creates the wine.
Nationally known physician and chef, Dr. John La Puma, a pioneer in the growing “food-as-medicine” movement, heads up a solid triumvirate of fermentation fanatics. Paul Dolan, fourth generation North Bay winemaker, will share his epiphany that moved him to convert all of his vineyards to be certified organic, creating a superior product while sparing the soil and air.
Trathan Heckman, Executive Director of DailyActs.org and GreenSangha.org is a passionate home gardener and food preserver who will bring his insight into the importance of creating healthy relationships in our communities by keeping it local, sustainable and socially responsible.
The festival presents the perfect situation to mingle with Master Fermenters of every kind gathered to share their wares and wisdom. Festival goers can graze on a wide variety of fermented foods to their hearts content, including breads, cheeses, miso, pickles, sauerkraut, natto and kombucha. Scores of hands-on demonstrations and educational presentations for children and adults promise to make this a unique spring community festival.
An expanded line-up of children’s entertainment and activities includes Face Painters,
Native American Story Telling, hula hooping, ventriloquist, and much more.
Top local talent will provide a steadily flow of outstanding music from Noon to 5pm including The Mighty Chiplings, The Dream Farmers and The Hubbub Club to mention a few. This unique celebration allows the quirky and expressive spirit of Freestone to shine, with a grin factor that is off the charts.
All proceeds benefit West County Health Centers, supplying health services to those in need, and Ceres Community Project that provides healthy meals to families dealing with life threatening illness.
Advance ticket price to the festival is $15 for adults, $5 for anyone 14 and under, below 3 is free. Convenient online purchase offered at www.freestonefermentationfestival.com or locally available at COPPERFIELD’S in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, OSMOSIS in Freestone and HAND GOODS in Occidental.
Day of event gate prices are: $20 adults, $7 children if there are any left!
For more information;
Contact: Michael Stusser
mstusser@osmosis.com
www.freestonefermentationfestival.com
-END-
May 3rd, 2010
Bite Club Eats publishes excellent article on Fermented Foods
May 1, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS FLASH: CURRENT ISSUE OF SUNSET MAGAZINE RECOMMENDS FREESTONE FERMENTATION FESTIVAL
February 15, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Food-as-Medicine” Pioneer, Dr. La Puma, Keynotes Freestone FermentationFestival
movement, heads up a roster of renown speakers at the second-annual Freestone Fermentation
Festival to be held on Saturday, May 15 from noon-5pm at the Salmon Creek Falls
Environmental Center. La Puma, an internist, chef, and expert in medical ethics, nutrition and
weight management, will speak on “Healthy Foods, Healthy You” and the benefits of fermented
food.
The 2009 festival drew nearly 1000 attendees and this year’s family-friendly event features an
even wider sampling of fermented foods, inspired live music, workshops and lectures. Dozens of
exhibitors, chefs, brewers, and other experts on “all things fermented” – including breads,
cheeses, sauerkrauts, kombuchas, and enzyme footbaths – will offer free samples of their
products and recipes.
Festival goers can graze on fermented foods to their hearts content. Scores of hands-on
demonstrations and educational presentations for children and adults promise to make this a
unique spring community festival.
Profits from the event will be benefit West County Health Centers and the Ceres Community
Project. Operating since 1974 as a non-profit federally qualified health center, West County
Health Centers has sites in Occidental, Sebastopol, Guerneville and Forestville. The organization
provides accessible health care for the uninsured and envisions a community where residents are
empowered to build healthy lives and communities.
The Ceres Community Project, founded in 2007, brings teens into the kitchen to gain hands-on
experience in the how’s and why’s of healthy eating. The teens act as the program’s chefs,
preparing 25,000 free meals each year for families dealing with cancer and other life-threatening
illnesses. The group’s educational programs and Nourishing Connections cookbook help spread
their “food-as-medicine” message that whole foods are the foundation of health.
The Freestone Fermentation Festival, held Saturday May 15, noon to 5pm, will be hosted at the
Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center, nestled in one of the most scenic coastal valleys in
Northern California. The new Sonoma County center has been awarded a LEED Platinum
certification, the first in Sonoma County and only public K-12 school building of its kind in
California.
Admission to the festival is $15 for adults, $5 for anyone14 and under, and children under 3 are
free. This event is expected to sell out and few if any tickets will be sold at the door. Ttickets can be
purchased in advance and online at www.freestonefermentationfestival.com
For more information visit www.freestonefermentationfestival.com or contact:
Michael Stusser, mstusser@osmosis.com 707-874-1963
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 8, 2009
“Fermentation Can Save the Nation” Says Post Carbon Institute, Announcing Its Partnership with Freestone Fermentation Festival
Freestone, CA (April 8) The Post Carbon Institute announced today its full endorsement of and partnership with Freestone’s first fermentation festival to be held on May 16. “Fermentation can save the nation,” declared Richard Heinberg, senior fellow at the renowned Sebastopol think tank focused on grassroots strategies for the global economic and energy crises fostered by fossil fuel dependence.
The first annual Freestone Fermentation Festival (FFF), held at the Salmon Creek School, will feature dozens of local exhibitions, chefs, brewers, and experts on “all things fermented” including breads, cheeses, sauerkrauts, kombuchas, tempehs, and healing enzyme baths. The community-oriented fete will include tastings, hands-on demonstrations, music, and educational presentations for adults and children of all ages. All profits from the event will be donated to the local West County Heath Centers.
“In a pre-fossil fuel world, local festivals were opportunities for celebrating, sharing information, and coordinating efforts,” said Heinberg ,an Ecologist columnist, international expert on peak oil, and the award-winning author of 8 books including his recent “The Party’s Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies.”
“As we move away from fossil fuels and toward a more localized economy, festivals (like the Freestone Fermentation Festival) will help us realize the value of what we are regaining – a sense of community, intergenerational solidarity, autonomy, and sufficiency,”
Heinberg’s keynote address ““Social Fermentation: Can Economic Breakdown Lead to New Beginnings?” kicks off the festival at 12:30, Saturday, May 16, in the new Salmon Creek School, first public K-8 school building striving for LEED certification in the Sate of California.
Other FFF program participants include: Jessica Prentice, LOCAVORE; Lou Preston, Preston of Dry Creek; Malcom Morrison of Sonoma Biologics; and Mary Shelia Gonella, Occidental Nutrition. Exhibitors and sponsors include: Lynmar Estate, Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, Redwood Hill Farm and Creamery and Wild Flour Bakery. Music by the Freestone Samba Band.
The festival is open to the public from noon-7pm Saturday May 16. Admission is: $5. $5 for parking. And children under 5 are free. Hybrid automobiles and two-wheeled vehicles park free.
For more information visit www.freestonefermentationfestival.com or contact Suzanne Alexandre (707) 789-9884.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 11, 2009
A secret is bubbling up in Sonoma County.
Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary and its historic, hometown hamlet of Freestone, California will be celebrating its best kept secret on May 16, 2009 – fermentation. The magical phenomenon of fermentation fuels an entire world of life’s little all-natural luxuries, including sun-drenched biodynamic wines, savory goat cheese, wood-fired brick-oven baked bread, and the only cedar enzyme bath spa treatment in North America.
The public is invited to join this tight-knit, Northern California farming community devoted to all things fermented for a rare, behind-the-scenes, sneak peek at the exciting, transformative processes involved in gourmet wine- and bread-making. Guests will rediscover first-hand the simple, low-tech tools embraced by our ancestors to coax unique creations from nature, influenced by the ever-changing environment, seasons, temperature, and humidity.
The process of fermenting foods is as old as humanity. From the Tropics – where cassava is thrown into a hole to soften and sweeten – to the Amazon where, over 2,000 years ago locals harvested ripe cacao seedpods and allowed them to ferment spontaneously, enriching the color, flavor, and aroma that we now know as “the food of the gods,” fermented foods are valued for their health benefits and complex tastes. From the first successful batch of fresh baked bread to that sublime taste of carefully cultivated wine, the practice of fermentation is one of connection with and reverence for microscopic life.
In the spirit of reconnecting to real food and to the mysterious process of life itself, the Freestone Fermentation Festival will be a village-wide gathering hosted at Salmon Creek School. The public is invited to participate in hands-on, educational presentations by the award-winning Wild Flour Bakery, Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, and other Master Fermenters, and enjoy festive entertainment by the Freestone Samba performers and more.
Tours of the school’s new LEED-certified building and nearby redwood trails will be offered.
A Fundraising Event For
Sponsors
Culture Makers
Fermenters
Starters
Freestone Vineyard & Guest Center
Wild Flour Bread
Guayaki
Enduring Comforts
Media Sponsors
In-Kind Sponsors
