Buellton Brew Fest

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

For the last decade, the Buellton Brew Fest has been bringing local craft breweries, wineries and distilleries together for delicious tastings and fun in the Santa Barbara County wine country.

This year’s event is happening from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 6 at River View Park, 151 Sycamore Drive in Buellton.

There, visitors will find more than 50 vendors serving beer, wine, spirits, seltzer, kombucha and cider, alongside live entertainment, food trucks and lawn games.

Local breweries and wineries in attendance include Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Firestone Walker Brewing Co. with its famous 805 beer, Solvang Brewing Co., Brick Barn Wine Estate, Santa Barbara Winery, Lafond Winery and Vineyards and more.

Live entertainment will be performed by Santa Ynez Valley’s local disc jockey, DJ Peetey; a Santa Barbara’s funk band, The New Vibe; and an alternative rock tribute band, The Last Decade. Tickets for general admission are $55 and include tastings from any of the 50-plus breweries,

Annual beer festival is on tap for May 6 at River View Park

wineries, spirits and ciders on site. VIP tickets are $65 and give guests access to the festival an hour early for tastings from specialized beers that will not be available during the general admission session. A portion of all proceeds will go towards college scholarships for local graduating high school seniors.

Buellton Brew Fest encourages guests to drink responsibly and has the Brew Bus available as designated driver. Visitors and residents staying in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Maria and Lompoc can be picked up at designated locations, which can be found online.

Tickets, which must be prepurchased, are available at eventsbyenfuego.ticketsauce. com/e/buellton-brew-fest-2023.

Buellton is part of the craft beer movement with two awardwinning breweries getting their start in the community: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. Dorwood Distillery (also known as Brothers Spirits) offers yet another tasty option.

The town of 5,000 has more to offer than annual events like the Brew Fest, Buellton Wine and Chili Festival, and fall and winter festivals.

It is also home to the

Mendenhall Museum, a personal collection of unique gas station/ automobile memorabilia and other antiques. The museum has one of the largest petroliana collections on the West Coast, including gasoline pumps, globes and porcelain gas, oil and road signs.

There are also race cars, racing memorabilia, license plates, gas and oil items and other miscellaneous antiques. This collection was started more than 50 years ago by the late Jack Mendenhall and is carried on today by his son and daughter-in-

Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free. Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www. sbhistorical.org.

APRIL 28

The Santa Barbara Fair and Expo will take place through April 30 at Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. For more information, go to earlwarren. com/fair-and-expo.

APRIL 29

The Santa Barbara Fair and Expo will take place through April 30 at Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. For more information, go to earlwarren. com/fair-and-expo.

8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Carpinteria Valley Historical Society and History Museum will host its outdoor fundraiser called “The Marketplace” from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the museum grounds, 956 Maple Ave., downtown Carpinteria.

APRIL 30

The Santa Barbara Fair and Expo will take place through April 30 at Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. For more information, go to earlwarren. com/fair-and-expo.

3:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Museum of Art presents a unique conversation between renowned poet and art critic John Yau and artist Joan Tanner.

The event will take place at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara. Tickets are free for SBMA members and students and cost $5, otherwise. They are available at tickets.sbma.net.

MAY 3

7:30 p.m. Movie stars Laura Dern and Diane Ladd will be speaking May 3 during a UCSB Arts and Lectures program to discuss their new book “Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life and Love.” The event will take place at UCSB Campbell Hall, where the actresses will talk with KLITE’s Catherine Remak. For more information, go to artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

Beer Fest

Continued from Page B1 law, Mark and Vickie Mendenhall. Tours are available.

Buellton’s Santa Ynez

Horseback Rides is the newest attraction that takes riders through quiet, unspoiled and rustic areas. Riders depart from stables along the Santa Rita Hills canyon, cross the river, then head toward a bustling beaver dam while enjoying wildlife flourishing in its natural surroundings. Rides are available to book online. Coming soon to Buellton is Highland Adventures. Visitors can get a bird’s eye view of Santa Ynez Valley, soaring through the skies on nearly a mile of cables. This three-hipline course crosses beautiful hillsides and along vast ridge lines, providing breathtaking views of the area. email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

Fyi

Buellton Brew Fest is happening from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 6 at River View Park, 151 Sycamore Drive in Buellton. For more information, visit www.buelltonbrewfest.com.

features

Mara Des Bois strawberries

This special variety of strawberry emerges in late April each year and is available into the summer months.

Grown organically by Harry’s Berries of Oxnard, Mara Des Bois strawberries are most closely tied to wild strawberries with regards to texture and flavor. Dynamically sweet and incredibly aromatic, they offer a truly unique culinary experience. These berries were developed through a French breeding program. I find they are best when enjoyed as they come, straight out of the basket, used to top vanilla ice cream, or in a mixed green salad. This year I prepared a Mara Des Bois Spring Mix Salad as the Fix of the Week, below.

You can find these delicious strawberries at the weekly

Saturday Santa Barbara, Tuesday Santa Barbara, and Friday Montecito farmers’ markets. Price averages $9 per basket.

Shallots

Sam Edelman

Spring mix

This is one of my favorite weekly farmers market pickups from Shepherd Farms. This bagged lettuce contains the perfect mixture of baby lettuces, baby spinach and arugula for a wonderful combination of textures and flavors.

I particularly enjoy the peppery notes delivered from the arugula mixed throughout. Add spring mix to a sandwich or wrap, as the base of a salad, over a hamburger or really for any of your general lettuce needs.

The Shepherd Farms spring mix can be found at all weekly Santa Barbara Certified farmers’ markets when available. Price averages $3.50 per bag.

I have been picking up shallots — which are related to onions, garlic and leeks — on a regular basis to infuse flavor into my salad dressings, salads and roasted meats. Shallots deliver a mild onion flavor with notes or garlic throughout. I like to toss them in a little balsamic vinegar before adding to a salad to mellow out the flavor.

They are also excellent when peeled, tossed in olive oil, and roasted whole, as well as grilled. Add to the pan with a whole roasted chicken along with carrots and potatoes, or sauté and use to top a burger.

You can currently find shallots at most weekly Santa Barbara certified farmers’ markets from several local growers.

Sam Edelman is general manager of the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association and host of “Farm to Table,” which airs live 9 a.m. Thursdays on KZSB AM 1290. Sam Edelman photos

Italk quite a bit about the sheer diversity of products available at the farmers markets.

I’m not just talking vaguely about apples, tomatoes, tangerines and potatoes, but the vast selection of offerings within each of these categories.

During their seasons, it is quite common to encounter dozens of different varieties of apples, tomatoes, tangerines and potatoes. The same goes for lettuces, beans, radishes, and pluots, as well as a long list of other crops. The overall assortment of items one will find at the farmers’ markets throughout the year allows for a much more extensive culinary experience than what one finds at the standard grocery store. A true opportunity to experience the season’s very best offerings. This diversity of products also holds true with regards to strawberries, with dozens of varieties emerging at the farmers markets. They vary in size, shape, texture and flavor, and the spring season is the true season for this delicious fruit. One unique variety, grown by Harries Berries of Oxnard, is called Mara des Bois strawberries. They’re organically grown, and

Harry’s Berries is the only farm that I am aware of that harvests this specific fruit annually, available from late April through summer months.

Mara des Bois strawberries are much more delicate than other varieties you will encounter. Relatively small, with a rounded physique, what sets Mara des Bois apart is the overall flavor and aroma. Developed by a French breeding program, these berries are most reminiscent of that of a wild strawberry with an intensely sweet compact flavor and a melting quality.

Even though they are picked the day of the market, Mara Des Bois strawberries tend to have a much shorter shelf life than almost any other variety you will encounter, so they should be consumed as close to purchase as possible.

Mara Des Bois strawberries are so flavorful that they can be incorporated in an array of dishes. From sweet to savory, they pair very well in desert preparations, most notably when the strawberries are enjoyed in the uncooked state, as well as in an array of salads. This week I prepared a Mara Des Bois spring mix salad, topped with crumbled feta cheese, red onion and Persian cucumbers. The strawberries make for a nice tomato alternative in this salad, adding a unique flavor profile.

MARA DES BOIS SPRING MIX SALAD

1 basket Mara Des Bois strawberries. 8 ounces spring salad mix (or any mixed lettuces you prefer). ½ shallot, sliced very thin and tossed in a little balsamic vinegar. ½ cup crumbled feta cheese. 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced thin. Vinaigrette. Remove the stems of the strawberries, and slice in half, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add spring mix, red onion, feta cheese and cucumbers. Toss with your favorite vinaigrette and plate into separate bowls. Then top with Mara Des Bois strawberries.

Yield: Serves 2 large salads.

Baseball historian to discuss book at Chaucer’s

defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series. But Mr. Valenzuela’s story goes beyond baseball.

After the Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in the late 1950s, relations were strained between the organization and the Latin world. MexicanAmericans had been evicted from their homes in Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles — some forcibly — for well below market value so the city of Los Angeles could sell the land to team owner Walter O’Malley for a new stadium. For a generation of working-class Mexican Americans, the Dodgers became a source of great anguish over the next two decades. However, that bitterness toward the Dodgers vanished during the 1981 season when Mr. Valenzuela

COURTESY PHOTOS attracted the fan base the Dodgers had tried in vain to reach for years. According to Mr. Sherman, Mr. Valenzuela did more to change that tense political environment than anyone in the history of baseball.

— Dave Mason

Sudoku

Thought for Today

“We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.” — Virginia Satir