San Benito County food and wine producers will have a chance to promote locally-grown or produced items at the first San Benito Olive Festival, slated for Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Paicines Ranch. The one-day festival admission is $20, with a website to be set up soon that will offer discounted admission for $18.
The idea for a food festival came about last July, when the tourism committee of the San Benito Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau started talking about ways to draw in more tourists. Out of that grew a nonprofit organization that will oversee planning for the festival each year, with plans to donate any proceeds back to the community. The model is largely based on the Garlic Festival Association and the group has consulted with the executive director as well as past presidents.
“We do consult with Brian Bowe, the executive director,” said Kathina Szeto, the owner of San Benito Bene and one of the organizers of the upcoming event. “He has been extremely helpful and very generous.”
Bowe has shared insight into how to get the festival started, including a suggestion that they opt for a location that could accommodate more people than the place they first considered.
“At first we really wanted a venue that is part of San Benito County, with scenic mountains and growing agricultural,” Szeto said. “But once we talked to the Garlic Festival (planners,) we realized the amount of people that could possibly come we needed it to be a large venue.”
They had been considering San Juan Oaks Golf Course and Country Club, but quickly began investigating other sites that might be able to accommodate more people. They ended up selecting Paicines Ranch.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “It’s a wonderful conversation piece. It will have historical exhibits and talk about sustainability.”
She said Paicines Ranch will be a good location for the event because the owners run a grass-fed beef operation that lends itself to sharing information about sustainable agriculture.
The first year’s olive festival will feature cooking demonstrations using local products by five celebrity chefs. Some of the demonstrators lined up include Dorothy McNett as well as Saka Bozzo, a duo that features Gene Sakahara and Sam Bozzo, two well-known Gourmet Alley chefs from the Garlic Festival. Szeto said they are finalizing plans with some other chefs.
The event will feature food booths from a variety of local growers who will have products for sale. Szeto said it would be up to individual vendors if they provide free samples. Some of the vendors who have signed on include Marich Confetionery, B&R Farms and Paicines Ranch.
A variety of olive growers and olive oil makers will also be showcasing their wares in the festival named in their honor. Some of the growers include Brigantino, Guerra, Oils of Paicines, Pietra Santa and Sons of Sicily. Several local wineries will also be offering wine tastings for a fee separate from admission.
There will be musical entertainment, arts and crafts, and the YMCA will highlight eight super foods that are grown in San Benito County.
“We will have the live cooking demonstrations and hopefully artisan stories as well,” she said. “People will be able to interact with our growers and creators to learn about the process and integrity of the product.”
In the last three months before the event launches, committee members are focused on doing outreach to inform potential visitors of the event.
“We’ve been outreaching to mostly foodies and as far-reaching as a two-hour drive radius,” Szeto said.
She said volunteers and board members have been putting many hours into building the vision of the event.
“Thanks to the community for embracing the birth of it,” she said.
