The eighth annual Heirloom Expo kicks off at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Sept. 11 and runs through Sept. 13. The event, which bills itself as the “World’s Fair of Pure Food” will feature exhibits, speakers, vendors and more over it’s three-day run.
In the Hall of Flowers exhibit hall will be the centerpiece World’s Largest Squash Tower, historically 20 to 25 feet tall. The tower will share the exhibit space with the giant pumpkin contest and thousands of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squashes, garlic, tree fruits and more — all identified and labeled.
“I love the exhibitor hall,” said Lisa Cornett, one of the expo coordinators. “I love to go and see what all the new things are. This year we are having a seed carver, Sergey Jivetin. If you bring in a seed, he’ll put it in a machine and carve something on the seed for you. You can see it happening on a big screen TV. Its really cool, I really enjoy that.”
Other exhibitors will include backyard gardeners, seasoned organic commercial growers, as well as craftsmen, nonprofit organizations and leaders in the green tech industry. In addition, there will also be 4,000 native oak tree saplings to be given away to children for fire restoration in the kids’ area, courtesy of Jonsteen and One Tree Planted.
Other exhibits will include Navajo women creating clothing and accessories as they demonstrate age-old techniques of spinning and weaving and Jon Parr demonstrating a hands-on approach to practical application of sustainable permaculture and aquaponic food production.
There will also be a dahlia show.
It won’t just be plants on display, as the poultry show will bring out unusual and heritage breeds of birds. Other past animal exhibits have included Navajo-Churro sheep and English Shepherds.
Children have been the focus of the expo since its inception, in part through its connection with the School Garden Network (SGN) and this year is no different. Under-17 admission is always free and the expo and SGN always coordinate with local school districts to provide transportation funds if needed.
This year over 30 local school gardens will showcase their hard work and for the first time ever will be offering products for sale through the SGN Marketplace, some grown and some donated. All proceeds purchases will go to SGN. In addition, there will be child-centric games, educational activities and contests.
“We’ve had a really good response from the schools this year,” Cornett said. “We think we’ll have more kids than ever before.”
Speakers are also an integral part of the expo — this year Cornett is especially excited about John Jeavons, who will give a talk titled “Food for the Future: NOW” and William Woys Weaver, a food historian, who’ll be discussing the future of American cuisine. “(Jeavons) doesn’t speak often, anymore, but he always tries to come out to the expo,” Cornett said. “And Woys Weaver has authored over 17 books and is just super interesting to listen to.”
There will also be over 350 vendors with products ranging from heirloom seed varieties to produce, live plants to organic garden products to clothing, household products, craft items and a host of prepared foods.
“There should be something interesting for everybody — farmers, gardeners, people who grow anything, even a little thing on their porch,” Cornett said. “It’ll be a good time for everybody, and we would like to see everybody come out.”
Tickets for the Heirloom Expo are available at the gate on Sept. 11, 12 and 13. Gates are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. One-day tickets are $15 or you can purchase a three day pass for $30. Children under 17 are free. For more information go to https://www.theheirloomexpo.com/.
This article was originally published on August 31.
