Rancho Gordo’s Steve Sando has a new bean portrait by Jason Mercier
Pop trash artist Jason Mercier fascinates me with his meticulous mosaic portraits. He’s outdone himself with his new portrait of Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo beans—he’s captured Steve’s essence in heirloom beans. As materials go, the humble heirloom bean is just about perfect, varying in color, size, and texture and it has great karma.
A pic of the artwork arrived in my email this morning in Steve’s e-letter celebrating his 20th anniversary selling beans. As Steve points out, glamorous celebs of a certain era used to appear in print, draped in Blackgama furs as part of Blackgama’s “What becomes a legend most?” ad campaign (1968-94). Today’s legends are captured in Jason Mercier’s mosaics—Snoop Dogg sculpted out of weed, Steve Jobs’ 2006 portrait revisioned from 20 pounds of e-waste, Amy Sedaris out of her own trash, Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus out of candy. Amazing how blobs of material in deeply saturated colors, arranged just so, can cohere into vivid likenesses.
Steve Sando is an artist in his own right: his heirloom beans look like gems, taste fabulous and have the most interesting names—Cicerchia, Vaquero, Alubia blanca, Mayocoba, Yellow Eye. It’s hard to buy just one bag when confronted with these enticing beauties. Sando has traveled the world in search of rare and delicious artisan beans, written passionately about his finds, respectfully crediting the farmers he collaborates with and created a gourmet brand that has become a staple in the culinary world. He started selling at the farmers’ market in Yountville two decades ago and built Rancho Gordo slowly. He now sells direct to consumers all over the US, Canada, to restaurants and retail stores. He grows in California, all along the West Coast, Mexico, Italy and Poland. He’s planning a 20th anniversary celebration at the his storefront in Napa, after Covid. If you’d like to know more, he’s been profiled wonderfully in the New Yorker by Burkhard Bilger (The Hunt for Mexico’s Heirloom Beans). Even better: subscribe to his newsletter and check out them beans for yourself: https://www.ranchogordo.com.
“Parfum de Blanche,” ARThound’s new Lavender Rose from the Celebration of Old Roses
Parfum de Blanche, a spectacular lavender Hybrid Tea bred by Ted Liggett. Photo: Geneva Anderson
I am drawn to lavender roses and always searching for “the one.” The right lavender can be calming, healing, inspiring. Prior to today, the closest I’d come was “Blue Girl”, a classic hybrid tea of confusing parentage that produces lavender-blue, longish buds that develop into upright, large, full, deliciously fragrant booms. I live in zone 9b and, once established, “Blue Girl” produces continually. The problem: it lacks pizazz.
At today’s Celebration of Old Roses, sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group Bay Area (HRGBA), I met rosarian Tom Liggett and fell hook, line and sinker for his “Parfum de Blanche,” a silvery lavender rose with a wonderful form and heady fruity fragrance. I came home with a gallon size plant that has about a half dozen roses in various stages of bloom. I’ve posted some pics. It has some road wear from being hauled all over the Bay Area and being in a small pot. I can’t wait to nurture this baby to full health and see how those glorious blooms hold up in the vase. What I love about Blanche is its ruffled petals and silvery hues which range from a rosy mauve lavender in bud to a silvery gray with slight pinkish hues at the center when in full bloom. Blanche is a substantial rose, a star, that begs you to cup it in your hands and inhale. And when you do, a world opens up, an old, romantic world.
“Parfum de Blanche,” bred by Ted Liggett.
Liggett, the founder of the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, describes his passion as “non-stop plant research.” He brought several flats of his roses in bands and gallon pots to sell today and was moving them quickly to rose addicts like me who will always find room for another rose. Liggett is especially proud of “Parfum de Blanche.” Over the years, he worked with some 3,000 variants of the famous lavender rose “Lagerfeld” (grandiflora, Jack Christensen, 1986) and boiled them down to three superstars, one of which is “Parfum de Blanche.” His gorgeous roses went unnamed for 15 years until he met and married Blanche, the only woman worthy of naming his roses after. Blanche was at his side today helping usher her namesakes on to their forever homes.
The annual “Celebration of Old Roses” is Sunday, May 20 and has moved to Albany
Monsieur Tillier, a tea rose that repeats several times and has a remarkable color—salmon and peachy shades of pink blended with deeper pinks that change over the course of its bloom. The result is an ever-changing spectrum of lush color. Dozens of heritage roses will be on display at the annual “Celebration of Old Roses” in Albany, on Sunday, May 20. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Whether they climb a fence, or explode on their own with gorgeous sprays of colorful and fragrant blooms, old roses are a source of pure delight. And in April and May, they are in all their glory. With names that run the gamut from “Baron Girod d l’Ain,” to “Ispahan” to “Tuscany,” heritage roses evoke history and poetry. Rose lovers will get their fix this Sunday at the annual Celebration of Old Roses, sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group Bay Area (HRGBA). This annual spring event is one of the few remaining places where we can see, smell, talk, and purchase old roses. It takes place this Sunday at the Albany Veteran’s Memorial Building from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Officially, old roses, or antique roses, are varieties that date from 1860 or earlier. Devotees praise their colors, their rich and varied fragrances and their graceful growth habits which make them ideal for the garden. Once established, many are drought tolerant too, so in these times when many are culling plants to save water, an old rose can make sense. For those unable to have a rose garden at this time, the Albany event is a chance to see dozens of roses without the responsibility of ownership. Much like a delightful old-fashioned country fair, people gather round to ohh and ahh its focal point—a 100-foot plus display of freshly picked old roses in old-fashioned mason jars, all in glorious states of bloom. The roses are organized by class—gallicas, centifolias, damasks, mosses, hybrid Chinas, bourbons, Portlands, teas, eglantines, floribundas and others. There is ample opportunity to explore the nuances of each variety—fragrance, color, size, petal count, foliage and growth habit.
Bright crimson pinstripes and slashes that age to purple velvet on a blush to creme ground make the annual bloom of the hybrid bourbon, Variagata di Bologna (1909), worth the wait. Photo: Geneva Anderson
In addition to the display and sale of old roses, rose experts who have made it their mission to save and perpetuate this diverse group of plants will be on hand to answer questions.
Have a rose that you can’t identify? Just put a complete cutting (full bloom, bud and some foliage) in a jar and bring it to the event and the experts will try to identify your rose.
Vendors will also be selling rare perennials, rose books, rose greeting cards, and other items inspired by roses. This year, all children attending the event will receive a free rose plant, courtesy of Tom Liggett and HRGBA.
Blooming just once a year in a profusion of fragrant dark wine-purple cups that are white within, Cardinal de Richelieu is one of the most arresting old roses. While this dark beauty from 1840 exhibits most of the growth habits of a Gallica rose, it is actually a Hybrid China
An eglantine rose of simple elegance whose leaves are heavily scented with the fragrance of apple. Eglantines, hybrids of Rosa eglanteria, the old Sweet Briar of Shakespeare, grow vigorously into a wild arching and interlacing sprawl and meld wonderfully into any Mediterranean landscaping plan. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Details: The Celebration of Old Roses, Sunday May 20, 2018, Veteran’s Memorial Building, Albany, 1325 Portland at Carmel, Albany, CA 94706. 11 am to 3:30 p.m. Free. If you plan to buy roses or plants, bring cash. For more information, call Kristina Osborn at The Heritage Rose Group Bay Area (510) 527-3815 or visit http://www.celebrationofoldroses.org
El Cerrito’s annual “Celebration of Old Roses” is Sunday, May 17
Blooming just once a year in a profusion of fragrant dark wine-purple cups that are white within, Cardinal de Richelieu is one of the most arresting old roses. While this dark beauty from 1840 exhibits most of the growth habits of a Gallica rose, it is actually a Hybrid China. El Cerrito’s annual “Celebration of Old Roses” on Sunday, May 17, will have dozens of heritage roses on display. Photo: Geneva Anderson
April and May belong to old roses. Whether they climb a fence, or explode on their own with gorgeous sprays of colorful and fragrant blooms, they are a source of pure delight. With names that run the gamut from “Tuscany” to “Ispahan” to “Baron Girod d l’Ain,” heritage roses evoke history and poetry. Rose lovers will get their fix this Sunday at El Cerrito’s annual Celebration of Old Roses, one of the few remaining places where we can see, smell, talk and purchase old roses. The annual spring event is sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group (HRGBA) and takes place this Sunday at the El Cerrito Community Center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Officially, old roses, or antique roses, are varieties that date from 1860 or earlier. Their attractiveness grows from their wonderful rich and varied fragrances and graceful growth habits which make them ideal for the garden and disease resistance. Once established, many are drought tolerant too, so in these times when many are culling plants to save water, an old rose can make sense. For those feeling too guilty to think of planting in these times, the celebration in El Cerrito is a chance to see it all without the responsibility of ownership. Much like a delightful old-fashioned country fair, people gather round to ohh and ahh its focal point—a 100-foot plus display of freshly picked old roses in old-fashioned mason jars, all in glorious states of bloom. The roses are organized by class—gallicas, centifolias, damasks, mosses, hybrid chinas, bourbons, portlands, chinas, teas, eglantines, floribundas and others. There is ample opportunity to explore the nuances of each variety—fragrance, color, size, petal count, foliage and growth habit.
In addition to the display, rose experts who have made it their mission to save and perpetuate this diverse group of plants will be on hand to answer questions.
Have a rose that you can’t identify? Just put a complete cutting (full bloom, bud and some foliage) in a jar and bring it to the event and the experts will try to identify your rose.
Vendors will also be selling rare perennials, and crafts, china, books, greeting cards, calendars, honey, jam, jewelry, and clothing, all inspired by roses. Tool sharpening will also be available on site, so bring your clippers and loppers. This year, all children attending the event will receive a free rose plant, courtesy of Tom Liggett and HRGBA.
Roses are notoriously difficult to photograph…after minutes of trying in natural light, I snapped this freshly picked bouquet while it was sitting on my car floor floorboard. The black mats forced the camera to meter differently. Left, in remarkably rich pink and salmon and various stages of bloom is the 1891 tea rose, Monsieur Tillier. Right is the 1865 moss rose, James Veitch, which has a multitude of layered crimson outer petals and that gradually fold in at the center in shades of pink and amaranth. Photo: Geneva Anderson
E. Veryat Hermanos (climbing tea, Bernaix, 1895) is intensely fragrant, extremely vigorous, repeats and bears up to 4 inch blooms that transform through various shades of buff, yellow, and pinks as the rose opens and lingers on the vine. Photo: Geneva Anderson
noon talk “Where have all the Roses Gone,” Gregg Lowery, Sonoma County Rosarian — With the general downsizing of nurseries, the 2014 closure of Sebastopol’s globally acclaimed Vintage Gardens, which sold hundreds of rare heritage roses, we’re all wondering where have all the roses gone? Lowery will talk about what’s happened, what the prospects are for buying and preserving heritage roses in the future and the importance of roses to human history and culture.
Details: El Cerrito’s Celebration of Old Roses, Sunday May 17, 2015, El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. 11 am to 3:30 p.m. Free. If you plan to buy roses or plants, bring cash. For more information, call Kristina Osborn at The Heritage Roses Group (510) 527-3815 or visit http://www.celebrationofoldroses.org
Love great conversation, food, farming, family and film? Another screening of the sold-out “Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm” has been added to CAAMFest for Saturday, March 21 in Oakland—SO worth the drive
CAAMFest, the Center for Asian American Media’s annual film festival, has added another screening of Jim Choi’s documentary Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm, which has its (sold-out) world premiere on Friday, March 20, 7 PM, at the OMCA (Oakland Museum of California). The OMCA event, which features a pre-film get together, the film screening and the entire Masumoto family on stage in story-telling and conversation is at “Rush.” This means it is sold out BUT there may be a few tickets released at the last moment. The new added screening is Saturday, March 21, at Oakland’s New Parkway Theatre at 7PM and there are ample tickets now but this screening too will most likely sell out. Mas, Nikiko and Marcy will also be in attendance and a lively Q&A will follow the screening.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Nikiko and David “Mas” Masumoto on Monday evening at UC Berkeley (we’re all alums) and this dynamic father daughter duo touched my heart with their loving connection, positive energy and years of farming wisdom. I brought along my dear friend, long-time SRJC librarian Karen Petersen, who first introduced me to Mas via Epitaph for Peach, his 1995 lament over the loss of heirlooms. The public response to Mas’ writing was so encouraging that it essentially led him to re-evaluate the decision to bulldoze his precious heirloom trees. Our meeting couldn’t have come at a better moment because I’d spent the day, and the previous week, out in the garden paving the way for the plantings to come. If you’re the type of person who believes as I do that your garden or orchard is a reflection of who you are, then this is a film and a family that you won’t want to miss. These famous fourth generation Japanese American farmers are best known for their highly-prized heirloom Sun Crest peaches as well as their tenacious adherence to sustainable practices. Over years, they’ve reaped a harvest of not only delicious fruits but also dreams, reflections and abiding kinship. We discussed what it was like to be filmed and the new directions their lives are taking now that Nikiko has returned to home to step into her father’s work boots on their certified organic 80 acre farm in Del Ray (south of Fresno). That’s 80 acres of organic peaches, nectarines, grapes and a fig tree that all need nurturing, often in grueling heat which it turns out is also the perfect incubator for storytelling. They’re all highly creative but Mas’ writing on farming and food includes numerous best-selling books which have been lovingly treasured and dog-eared by foodies, farmers and imagined gardeners.
This beautifully shot film, which was funded by CAAM, chronicles the transitions undergone by Mas and his daughter as they lovingly enact the rituals of passing the reins from one generation to the next and reflect back on the family’s WWII internment in a camp near their farm. Stay tuned to ARThound for the interview. For more information on CAAMFest 2015, click here.
CAAMFest—Asian American film, food, music and comradery kicks off Thursday, March 12, and runs for 11 days in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland
Nikiko, Korio, Marci and David “Mas” Masumoto have an 80 acre farm in Del Ray, south of Fresno, where they grow several varieties of prized heirloom peaches and nectarines. They are the subject of the CAAM-produced documentary “Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm,” which lyrically recounts the daughter Nikiko’s decision to take over the reins of the family’s peach business from her father, Mas, the celebrated peach farmer and author. In their lifelong search for the perfect peach, the Masumotos till much more than the soil; they embrace the soul of farming which is an intimate act of bravely nurturing what life throws at you. The Masumotos are being honored at CAAMFest 2015 with a CAAMFeast Award and a special evening at the Oakland Museum of California where the film will have its world premiere. Image: CAAMFest
The Center for Asian American Media’s CAAMfest turns 33 this year and continues its morph from a pure film festival into a series of festive happenings that fuse cutting edge independent film with music and food—all with an Asian American twist. CAAMFest takes place over the next 11 days in venues all around the Bay Area including the Asian Art Museum and the Oakland Museum of California, which add their enticing exhibits to the mix. Formerly the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), CAAMFest 2015 offers more than 100 movies and videos focused on the discovery of new talents, voices and visions. It’s by far the largest festival of Asian American movies in North America. Under the leadership of Masashi Niwano, now in his fifth year as festival & exhibitions director, the event has become one of the country’s major platforms for conveying the richness and diversity of the Asian American multicultural experience. ARThound loves this festival because it’s so excellently curated, delivering rich and unusual stories from around the globe that stay with you for years.
This year, you’ll see Asian American broadly defined too. Iranian director Rakshan Banietemad’s new film, Tales, which picked up the award for Best Screenplay at Venice, caught the CAAMFest programmers’ eyes, not just because it’s a great film but because the director, working under dior conditions in Iran, creatively stitched together a series of shorts, stories from her previous films, to create a full length film. In so doing, she managed to navigate the bureaucracy of the Iranian cultural ministry which requires a license for a feature but not for shorts. Bravo! There are also stories involving the Asian diaspora. Juan Martín Hsu’s La Salada is set in Argentina’s bustling discount market, La Salada, just outside of Buenos Aires, and involves an ensemble cast of Korean, Taiwanese, and Bolivian immigrants whose experiences all converge at the market. It’s thus no surprise that “travel” is this year’s theme. Opportunities for armchair travel abound and over 200 guests will be flying in CAAMFest.
BIG NIGHTS:
Opening Night: The festival kicks off at the historic Castro Theatre on Thursday evening (March 12), with Benson Lee’s Seoul Searching (2015), his new feature film which garnered quite a buzz when it premiered at Sundance in January. A tribute to the 1980’s teen movies of John Hughes, but infused with a Korean sensibility and Lee’s own experiences, this dramedy is set in a state run summer camp in Korea that brings together Korean teens from all over the globe for the purpose of teaching them about their culture. Lee uses the teen’s stories, and their unexpected twists, to explore the Korean diaspora. Lee’s Planet B-Boy, about break-dancers in an international competition, won best documentary and the audience award at CAAMfest in 2008. Lee and several cast members will attend.
Opening Gala: After the screening, there’s an opening night gala at the Asian Art Museum, with a 1980’s dance party with cocktails and fine food amidst the Seduction exhibit of Edo-period Japan. The exhibition has over 60 works of art and features Japanese artist Hishikawa Moronobu’s (1618-1694) spectacular 58 foot long painted silk handscroll, A Visit to the Yoshiwara, which is shown completely unfurled for the first time. The masterpiece, on loan from the John C. Weber, depicts daily life in the entertainment district in the 17th century.
Kalki Koechlin plays Laila in Shonali Bose’s second feature film, “Margarita with a Straw” (2014), CAAMFest’s Centerpiece film, the first Indian film that introduces a character with cerebral palsy. Image: CAAMFest
CAAMfest’s Centerpiece movie: Shonali Bose’s Margarita with a Straw (2014) screens at Castro on Sunday, March 15th and represents the powerful storytelling and moments of palpable intimacy that CAAMFest is famous for. Kalki Koechlin plays Laila, a young woman from Delhi who is determined not to let her cerebral palsy interfere with her life —she writes lyrics for a rock band, flirts wildly with her classmates and dreams of going to New York to participate in NYU’s prestigious creative writing program to which she’s been admitted. Set in Delhi and New York, the film is a brave and glorious homage to that old adage—“follow your heart.”
Closing Night: The festival’s closes with Bruce Seidel’s Lucky Chow, a six-part PBS series which will be showcased over the course of two days—Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22—at Oakland’s New Parkway Theater. The series features Danielle Chang (LUCKYRICE culinary festival founder) as she travel across America, taking in the Asian food landscape. Accompanying the film will be an Asian-inspired curated menu from the New Parkway kitchen. Other food-related films are Grace Lee’s Off the Menu: Asian America and Edmond Wong’s Supper Club exploring Bay Area restaurants.
As part of a Spotlight on San Francisco documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong, CAAMFest presents the world premiere of his documentary “The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor” chronicling the period of the Khmer Rouge’s tyrannical stronghold over Cambodia. The story is told through the eyes of the late Dr. Haing S. Ngor, arguably the most recognizable survivor of the Cambodian genocide. Ngor fled to the U.S. and became a worldwide ambassador for justice, recreating his experience in the film “The Killing Fields” (1984), for which he won an Academy Award in 1984, only to be murdered in a Los Angeles Chinatown alley in 1996. Using animation and rare archival material, anchored by Ngor’s richly layered autobiography, this remarkable story brings you face to face with a man who embodied the harsh duality of danger and opportunity. Image: CAAMFest
Honoring the 40th anniversary of Cambodia’s fall to the Khmer Rouge: Lest we not forget the tragic moments that also define cultures, CAAMfest is presenting a collection of powerful stories of survival and resiliency from Cambodia’s tragic Khmer Rouge period. As part of the Spotlight feature on acclaimed filmmaker Arthur Dong, his new documentary, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, chronicles the years encapsulating the Khmer Rouge’s tyranny through the eyes of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, who escaped to America and recreated his experience in the film The Killing Fields, for which he won an Academy Award in 1984. Dong will be in conversation with film critic and author B. Ruby Rich on Friday, March 20 at New People Cinema.
Perfectly Peachy: The festival is also honoring the Masumoto Family, fourth generation peach California peach farmers, with a CAAMFeast Award and a special evening of storytelling at the OMCA (Oakland Museum of California) on Friday, March 20, where the CAAM-produced documentary, Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm, will have its world premiere. The entire family— Mas, Marcy, Nikiko and Korio Masumoto—will be in attendance. The Masumotos, who have an 80 acre farm south of Fresno, are famous for their highly-prized heirloom Sun Crest peaches and tenacious adherence to sustainable practices as well as their lyrical writing on farming and food. When was the last time you visited the Oakland Museum? CAAMFest provides a perfect opportunity to combine film with art. Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California (ends April 12) is an exciting collaboration between SFMOMA and OMCA that explores California artists, many of them Bay Area artists. Marion Gray: Within the Light (ends June 21) is a riveting exploration of San Francisco-based photographer Marion Gray’s work over the past 40 years documenting Bay Area artists and art happenings. Bees: Tiny Insects, Big Impact (ends September 20) will educate and entertain the entire family.
In Albert Shin’s second feature “In Her Place,” (2014), Yoon Da-Kyung stars as a wealthy Seoul woman who is desperate to have a child. She arrives at an isolated farm where a struggling widow (Hae-yeon Kil) is hoping to capitalize on her teen daughter’s pregnancy. The woman moves in with the family to wait for the birth, telling her friends at home that she’s decided to have her baby in the U.S. Ahn Ji Hye’s raw performance as the conflicted teen anchors this heart wrenching drama of secret pregnancy. Toronto based director stumbled upon the story while eavesdropping in a café in South Korea. In Korea, adopted children are still stigmatized and the act of adoption is a shameful one. Screens twice at CAAMFest 2015. Image: CAAMFest
Music: In addition to the movies, Korean musicians have a strong presence at CAAMFest with performances from Awkwafina (Chinese Korean American rapper Nora Lum from Queens) and Suboi, the Vietnamese “Queen of Hip Hop” and a host of other party rockers who will keep things lively before and after the movies.
Stay tuned to ARThound for an interview with the Masumotos about all things peachy.
CAAMFEST Details:
When/Where: CAAMfest 2015 runs March 12-22, 2014 at 8 screening venues in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland and as well as select museums, bars and music halls.
Tickets: This popular festival sells outs, so advance ticket purchase is highly recommended for most films and events. Regular screenings are $14 with $1 to $2 discounts for students, seniors, disabled and current CAAM members. Special screenings, programs and social events are more. Festival 6-pack passes are also available for $75 (6 screenings for price of 5). All access passes are $450 for CAAM members and $500 for general. Click here for ticket purchases online. Tickets may also be purchased in person and various venue box offices open one hour before the first festival screening of the day. Rush Tickets: If a screening or event has sold all of its available tickets, there is still a chance to get in by waiting in the Rush line. The Rush line will form outside of the venue around 45 minutes before the screening is set to begin. Cash only and one rush ticket per person and there are no guarantees.
Unpacking the festival: Click here to see full schedule in day by day calendar format with hyperlinks for film and event descriptions and for ticket purchase. The official website— CAAMFest 2015
Tomato time…Kendall Jackson’s 18th Heirloom Tomato Festival is Saturday, September 27, 2014
Japanese Black Trifele (truffle) is a 3 to 4″ inch long pear-shaped, deep purple-black Russian heirloom tomato with gorgeous green shoulders with a rich deep smoky, chocolaty flavor. More than 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes will be available for tasting, along with tomato-inspired dishes from nearly 50 prominent wine country and Bay Area restaurants, chefs, and food purveyors at the 18th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival Saturday, September 27, 2014. Photo: Geneva Anderson
One of the greatest pleasures of Indian summer is the special nudge its gives heirloom tomatoes to sun-ripened perfection. As we pursue the great tomato hunt, there’s one event that tops them all—the annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival, which returns on Saturday, September 27, 2014, for a one-of-a-kind celebration of Sonoma County’s seasonal bounty. Now in its 18th year, the popular festival has a cult like following, attracting tomato lovers from all over the West Coast. Highlights include—the popular heirloom tomato tasting station offering some 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes (grown by Kendall-Jackson); an Heirloom Tomato Grower’s Competition (judging is Thursday, September 25, 2014 with winners on display on Saturday); the popular Chef Challenge featuring Bravo’s Top Chef® contenders; and tomato-inspired gourmet delights from nearly 50 prominent wine country and Bay Area restaurants, chefs, and food purveyors. Guests will also enjoy wine tasting, live music by the Carlos Herrera Band and educational wine and garden seminars.
The event, which utilizes nearly 10,000 pounds of heirloom tomatoes, benefits the Ceres Community Project, which involves community-building through providing nourishing free meals to those struggling with serious illnesses.
ARThound’s favorite part of the day is engaging complete strangers in tomato talk —what’s the best tasting heirloom tomato? What’s the best way to grow them? Of course, it’s foolhardy to even attempt to answer these questions but it’s the kind of talk that happily engages any tomato fanatic—for hours.
Tucker Taylor, Kendall-Jackson’s culinary gardener, is an expert on heirloom tomatoes and will be leading garden tours at the 18th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival Saturday, September 27, 2014. More than 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes will be available for tasting, along with tomato-inspired dishes from nearly 50 prominent wine country and Bay Area restaurants, chefs, and food purveyors. Photo: Jackson Family Wines
Tour KJ’s expanded gardens: In addition to wine and food, guests at the 2014 Tomato Festival can discover the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate’s recently expanded culinary and sensory gardens. Culinary gardener Tucker Taylor will lead tours throughout the day to reveal the captivating garden transformation, including an exploration of the garden’s wide variety of organic specialty produce and beautiful design enhancements. Tucker says:
—Technically a tomato is a fruit, but it is legally classified as a vegetable
—Over 90% of gardeners in America grow tomatoes
—We eat close to 25 pounds of tomatoes per year
—The botanical name is Lycopersicon lycopersicum which means “wolf peach”
—Tomatoes originate in South America
—China is the largest producer of tomatoes followed by the US
—California produces over 95% of the tomatoes processed in the US
—Florida is the largest producer of fresh market tomatoes
—The largest tomato on record was grown in 1986 in Oklahoma and weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz.
—The largest tomato plant on record was grown in a greenhouse in Florida and produced over 32,000 tomatoes in the first 16 months
—It is estimated that there are over 25,000 tomato varieties
VIP event package: An all access festival package which includes a VIP tent and lounge, VIP check-in, valet parking with a separate entrance to the event, exclusive wine and food pairings and limited production reserve wines poured by the winery’s Master Sommelier Tickets for this extra special VIP experience are $150 per person. (*Will sell-out, buy now.)
About Kendall-Jackson Winery: Kendall-Jackson is one of America’s most beloved family-owned and operated wineries. Founded by entrepreneur Jess Jackson and now led by his wife Barbara Banke and their children, Kendall-Jackson is based in Sonoma County and offers a range of acclaimed wines grown on the family’s estate vineyards along the coastal ridges of California. A leader in sustainable vineyard and winery practices including solar cogeneration, water conservation, and natural pest control, 100% of Kendall-Jackson’s vineyards in California are SIP Certified (Sustainability in Practice). Learn more online at http://www.kj.com, and follow KJ on Facebook. Engage in this year’s Tomato Festival conversation on Twitter via @KJWines and #Kjtomfest.
Details: The 18th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival is Saturday, September 27, 2014 from 11AM to 4 PM. Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens are located 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton CA 95439. Advance ticket purchase is essential as the event sells out every year. Purchase tickets online here. General Admission tickets: $95; VIP Package $150. Wear Sun Protection to this outdoor event.
Directions: From Highway 101 going NORTH, take River Road exit. Come to stop light and turn LEFT going over the freeway. Travel approximately 1 1/4 mile to first stoplight, which is Fulton Road. Turn RIGHT at Fulton Road.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens is less than 1/2 mile on the LEFT side of the road. (If you go over the Hwy 101 overpass on Fulton, you’ve gone too far.)
From Highway 101 going SOUTH, take Fulton Road exit. The FIRST driveway on the right is the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens.
Love old Roses? This Sunday’s 33rd Celebration of Old Roses in El Cerrito will have hundreds and it’s free
Oeillet Panachée (1888, striped moss, Verdier) Most of the old striped cultivars are gallicas. Striped moss roses are known to have occurred as sports. ‘Oeillet Panachée’ is the only one still around today, and has square-tipped petals that are striped blush and crimson with a distinctly old-world sensibility and strong fragrance. I waited two years for this rose to bloom. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Who doesn’t love old roses? A symbol of beauty, love, war and politics, roses have their place in history and our hearts. I’ll be swimming in roses this Sunday at El Cerrito’s 33rd annual Celebration of Old Roses…it’s a yearly trek I make along with a number of other old rose devotees from all over California where we can see, smell and talk old roses with other addicts. The annual spring event is sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group and takes place at the El Cerrito Community Center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Old roses or antique roses are varieties that date from 1860 or earlier. Their attractiveness grows from their wonderful rich and varied fragrances, graceful growth habit which makes them ideal for the garden and disease resistance.
The celebration in El Cerrito works like an old-fashioned country fair—visitors walk along and encounter a wonderful menagerie of mason jars filled with freshly picked old roses which have been organized by class—gallicas, centifolias, damasks, mosses, hybrid chinas, bourbons, portlands, chinas, teas, eglantines, floribundas and others—all in glorious states of bloom. There is ample opportunity to explore the nuances of each variety—fragrance, color, size, petal count, foliage and growth habit– and there are educational rose books, light refreshments and a proliferation of rosy knick-knacks. You are also welcome to bring your own roses for display, including any mysterious roses you need identified for the “Unidentified Rose Table.” Children will receive free rose plants and there will be some fun activities to keep them occupied. And, of course, there are old rose vendors from all over who will be selling rare old roses, most of which are own root roses. Last year, I bought an unidentified but very hearty looking rose in a pot for $7 and it turned out to be Superb Tuscan…a major coup!
Souvenir d’Alphonse Lavallée (1884, hybrid perpetual, Verdier) was named after one of the Presidents of the national French Horticultural Society. The flowers are 3 inches wide and have exceptional form, with many petals, deeply cupshaped in early stages. In later stages, some of the outer petals reflex a bit and the inner petals are quartered making the flower more shallow cupshaped. In early stages the flowers are a deep pomegranate red with crimson shadings, but as they age they turn a deep royal purple. Richly fragrant. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Among purveyors and supporters of old roses, Vintage Gardens of Sebastopol, stands out. Over the years, it has emerged as one of the country’s prime suppliers of rare old roses. Its owners, rose gurus, Gregg Lowery and Phillip Robinson, through their enthusiasm and thoughtful scholarship, have really raised awareness and interest in these lovely plants. A dog-eared and pen-marked copy of their Vintage Gardens Complete Catalogue of Antique and Extraordinary Roses is staple in any serious collector’s home. This must-have catalogue gives an utterly riveting blow by blow accounting of the properties of nearly 3000 old and very rare roses. For the past 29 years, Vintage Gardens has persisted through boom and bust but, like so many rose nurseries, it has finally succumbed to economic hard times and will stop selling roses on June 30, 2013. This comes as a blow to those in the rose community and will mean a very significant loss of resources to lover of old roses who have been buying rare roses from Gregg Lowery for years. Without Vintage Gardens, my antique rose garden, and many other Bay Area old rose gardens, would not exist. With their help, I’ve added some 150 plants to my garden over the past 14 years, a true labor of love.
Thanks to the efforts of a group of old rose lovers, Lowery’s collection of several thousand old roses that he developed with Phillip Robinson beginning in the late 1970’s, will be saved. A new non-profit, the Friends of Vintage Roses, assisted by the Heritage Rose Foundation, has begun the work of stabilizing and restoring the collection of old and rare roses that once numbered over 5000 varieties. Gregg will be in El Cerrito this weekend and it’s bound to be an emotional experience. Stay-tuned to ARThound for more coverage of Vintage Gardens closing.
Léda (1827, damask) also known as Painted Damask, is an Old Garden Rose of unknown origins that appeared in England around 1827. “Leda” comes from Greek mythology: Leda was the Queen of Sparta and as a maiden was seduced by Zeus disguised as a swan. Out of that union came the beautiful and disastrous Helen of Troy. Produced in clusters, Leda’s buds are at first a deep, dark red and then open to full white blooms edged richly with pink with a button eye at center and a strong damask fragrance. The foliage is atypical for a damask rose, being rounded and dusky green, folded up along the midribs. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Old rose events like the one in El Cerrito sustain those of us who are hungry to see, smell and compare rare roses and to road test the extensive knowledge we’ve gleaned from late-night reading and dog-earring of our rose books.
Annabella DeMattei, founder of Luna Fina, distills special roses in organic brandy and distilled water to create healing and aligning Rose Chakra Flower Essences which she sells in sets or individually. Each bottle comes with a delightful card, an artwork itself, which explains all about the drops and their properties.
Another fabulous aspect of El Cerrito’s celebration is the chance to try and buy some very high quality and in some cases, unusual, rose products. Last year, I had a delightful conversation with Annabella DeMattei, Luna Fina founder, who distills special roses in organic brandy and distilled water to create Rose Chakra Flower Essences. Widely used as traditional remedies, flower essences are respected for their abilities to promote physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Annabella says that each of her essences is attuned to one of the seven chakras and a few drops on a regular basis will provide a unique opportunity to summon forth the full experiential bounty of the chakras, which each hold certain qualities representing aspects of the self. She chooses special roses to distill that correspond with both the color and qualities of each chakra and sells them as sets. These drops have been a huge hit with my friends. Do drop by and explain your issues to Annabella and she’ll rosey you up. While roaming the vendor area, you have your graden tools sharpened by Eric the Joiner.
Heritage Roses Group: Rose shows require extensive planning, organization and support. The Heritage Roses Group, formed in 1975, which has Bay Area chapter, is a community of those who care about old garden roses, species roses, old or unusual roses – particularly those roses introduced into commerce prior to the year 1867. The group’s purposes are to preserve, enjoy, and share knowledge about the old roses. Every year, the San Francisco bay Area Chapter sponsors the Celebration of Old Roses on the Sunday after Mother’s Day at the El Cerrito Community Center. For upcoming roses events that the group or its members sponsor, click here.
Details: El Cerrito’s 31st annual Celebration of Old Roses, Sunday May 18, 2011, from 11 to 3:30 p.m. El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. There is no admission charge. Wheelchair accessible. Ample street parking. More information: online flyer: http://www.celebrationofoldroses.org/celebration-of-old-roses.php or phone Kristina Osborn/ The Heritage Roses Group (510) 527-3815
Love old roses? This Sunday’s 32nd Celebration of Old Roses in El Cerrito will have hundreds and it’s free
Tuscany Superb, pre-1837, known in ancient times as “Old Velvet,” is well-named. Its flowers are deep crimson to maroon when they first open, taking on the appearance of crushed velvet, and take on black and purple tones as they age. Photo: Geneva Anderson
May belongs to old roses. Whether they climb on a fence, or explode on their own with sprays of colorful and fragrant blooms, or flavor gourmet ice cream, they are a source of pure delight. I’ll be in rose rhapsody this Sunday at El Cerrito’s 32nd annual Celebration of Old Roses. This is a yearly trek to the I make along with a number of other old rose devotees from all over California where we can see, smell and talk old roses with other addicts. The annual spring event is sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group and takes place at the El Cerrito Community Center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Old roses, or antique roses, are varieties that date from 1860 or earlier. Their attractiveness grows from their wonderful rich and varied fragrances and graceful growth habits which make them ideal for the garden and disease resistance. The celebration in El Cerrito works a lot like an old-fashioned country fair. The focal point is a 100-foot plus display of freshly picked old roses in old-fashioned mason jars, all in glorious states of bloom and organized by class—gallicas, centifolias, damasks, mosses, hybrid chinas, bourbons, portlands, chinas, teas, eglantines, floribundas and others. There is ample opportunity to explore the nuances of each variety—fragrance, color, size, petal count, foliage and growth habit. There are educational rose books, light refreshments, and a proliferation of rosy knick-knacks—greeting cards, essential oils, jewelry, scarves, painted china, rose-flavored jam and honey. And, of course, there are old rose vendors from all over (Vintage Gardens from Sonoma County) who will be selling rare old roses, most of which are own root roses.
Monsieur Tillier, a glorious tea rose that repeats several times and has a remarkable color—salmon and peachy shades of pink blended with deeper pinks that change over the course of its bloom. The result is an ever-changing spectrum of lush color. Photo: Geneva Anderson
I was seriously hooked on roses about 20 years ago, when I was working as a journalist in Bulgaria and wrote about rose attar and the world famous annual rose harvest festival in Kazanlik. After encountering acres and acres of richly fragrant damask roses, I too wanted a piece of the action. From there, it’s been a joyous ride, that first required me to put down some roots of my own. Now, settled in the country Sonoma County and growing about 100 old roses on two properties with differing microclimates, I am living out my rose dream…but there are NEVER enough roses.
When our local Sebastopol rose gurus, Gregg Lowery and Phillip Robinson, went exclusively mail order with their revered antique rose nursery Vintage Gardens, we lost one of the best hands-on rose education experiences to be had in Northern, CA. With their very livelihood in jeopardy, they won’t be having their annual open garden this year which, for years, has showcased their fabulous collection of some 3,600 rare and old roses (all labeled). Old rose events like the one in El Cerrito have to sustain those of us who are hungry to see rare roses and to road test the extensive knowledge we’ve gleaned from late-night reading and dog-earring of our rose books.
My bible is the Vintage Gardens Complete Catalogue of Antique and Extraordinary Roses. This must-have catalogue gives an utterly riveting blow by blow accounting of the properties of nearly 3000 old and very rare roses, the largest list of roses offered by any nursery in the world today. Consulting rosarians like Gregg Lowery will in be El Cerrito on Sunday, answering questions and identifying old roses. His enthusiasm for old roses is legendary and if you have a chance, do stop by and let him know how much his efforts in bringing us rare roses are appreciated.
Have a rose that you can’t identify? Just put a complete cutting (full bloom, bud and some foliage) in a jar and bring it to the event and the experts will try to identify your rose.
Another fabulous aspect of El Cerrito’s celebration is the chance to try and buy some very high quality rose products. Last year, I purchased some delightful “Rose Embrace” rose eau de toilette from Healdsburg perfumers Jan and Michael Tolmasoff who run the Russian River Rose Company. The Tolmasoffs are the real-deal–they grow hundreds of damask roses and harvest their own petals to make their own unique rose scents. They also offer hands-on perfume rose harvest tours at their Healdsburg rose ranch where they have over 650 varieties of roses. I also bought some Green Rose Chakra Flower Essence by Luna Fina, laced with vodka, that promised to help align my chakras and am definitely getting more of those.
Summer Damask is an abundantly fragrant ancient rose from which rose attar is obtained. It blooms but once a year in massive pure pink sprays with very spiky thorns, loaded with blooms and with very soft, green gray leaves. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Rose shows require extensive planning, organization and support. The Heritage Roses Group, formed in 1975, is a fellowship of those who care about old garden roses, species roses, old or unusual roses – particularly those roses introduced into commerce prior to the year 1867. The group’s purposes are to preserve, enjoy, and share knowledge about the old roses.
Details: El Cerrito’s 32nd annual Celebration of Old Roses, Sunday May 20, 2012, El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. 11 am to 3:30 p.m. There is no admission charge. For information, call Kristina Osborn at The Heritage Roses Group (510) 527-3815, or visit http://www.celebrationofoldroses.org
Love old roses? This Sunday’s 31st Celebration of Old Roses in El Cerrito will have hundreds and it’s free
The continuous blooming and highly fragrant Moss rose James Vietch is prized among collectors of old roses. The rose has deep crimson-purple flowers, globular in bud form, opening wide with layered and folded petals which tone from amaranth to pink with very mossy green sepals.
I’ll be in rose rhapsody this Sunday at El Cerrito’s 31st annual Celebration of Old Roses…it’s a yearly trek I make along with a number of other old rose devotees from all over California where we can see, smell and talk old roses with other addicts. The annual spring event is sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group and takes place at the El Cerrito Community Center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The concept is simple—complete old rose immersion. Old roses or antique roses are varieties that date from 1860 or earlier. Their attractiveness grows from their wonderful rich and varied fragrances, graceful growth habit which makes them ideal for the garden and diesease resistance. The celebration in El Cerrito works like a old-fashioned country fair—visitors walk along and encounter a wonderful menagerie of mason jars filled with freshly picked old roses which have been organized by class—gallicas, centifolias, damasks, mosses, hybrid chinas, bourbons, portlands, chinas, teas, eglantines, floribundas and others—all in glorious states of bloom. There is ample opportunity to explore the nuances of each variety—fragrance, color, size, petal count, foliage and growth habit– and there are educational rose books, light refreshments and a proliferation of rosy knick-knacks. The event also includes a silent auction for old roses . And, of course, there are old rose vendors from all over (Vintage Gardens from Sonoma County) who will be selling rare old roses, most of which are own root roses.
Vintage Garden’s catalogue of old roses is a descriptive compendium of some 3,000 old roses and the Bible for many collectors. It and many other rose resources will be offered at El Cerrito’s 31st annual Celebration of Old Roses on May 15, 2011.
I was seriously hooked on roses about 20 years ago when I was working as a journalist in Bulgaria and wrote about rose attar and the world famous annual rose harvest festival in Kazanlik. After encountering acres and acres of richly fragrant damask roses, I too wanted a piece of the action. From there, it’s been a joyous ride, that first required me to put down some roots of my own. Now, settled in the country Sonoma County and growing about 100 old roses on two properties with differing microclimates, I am living out my rose dream…but there are NEVER enough roses.
When our local Sebastopol rose gurus, Gregg Lowery and Phillip Robinson, went exclusively mail order with their revered antique rose nursery Vintage Gardens, we lost one of the best hands-on rose education experiences to be had in Northern, CA. All the more disappointing, they won’t be having their annual open garden showcasing their fabulous collection of some 3,600 rare and old roses (all labeled). Old rose events like the one in El Cerrito have to sustain those of us who are hungry to see rare roses and to road test the extensive knowledge we’ve gleaned from late-night reading and dog-earring of our rose books. My bible is the Vintage Gardens Complete Catalogue of Antique and Extraordinary Roses. This must-have catalogue gives an utterly riveting blow by blow accounting of the properties of nearly 3000 old and very rare roses, the largest list of roses offered by any nursery in the world today. Consulting rosarians like Gregg Lowery will in be El Cerrito on Sunday, answering questions and identifying old roses at the “mystery” table. This is the chance to have any roses from your own garden identified—just put a complete cutting ( full bloom, bud and some foliage) in a jar and bring them to the event and the experts will try to identify them for you.
Another fabulous aspect of El Cerrito’s celebration is the chance to try and buy some very high quality rose products. Last year, I purchased some delightful “Rose Embrace” rose eau de toilette from Healdsburg perfumers Jan and Michael Tolmasoff who run the Russian River Rose Company. The Tolmasoffs are the real-deal–they grow hundreds of damask roses and harvest their own petals to make their own unique rose scents. They also offer hands-on rose harvest tours at their Healdsburg rose ranch where they have over 600 roses.
Rose shows require extensive planning, organization and support. The Heritage Roses Group, formed in 1975, is a fellowship of those who care about old garden roses, species roses, old or unusual roses – particularly those roses introduced into commerce prior to the year 1867. The group’s purposes are to preserve, enjoy, and share knowledge about the old roses.
Details: El Cerrito’s 31st annual Celebration of Old Roses, Sunday May 15, 2011, El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. 11 am to 3:30 p.m. There is no admission charge.
ARThound 