The fertile land in and around the Santa Maria Valley supports an incredible variety of fruits, vegetables, and row crops. Although wine grapes seem to receive the lion’s share of the attention and glory, it’s the less glamorous bounty—the radishes, cabbage, celery, carrots, and lettuce—that first put the region on the culinary map.
A seaside town, Guadalupe lies about 10 miles west of the city of Santa Maria amid sprawling fields of agricultural plenty. On any given day, trucks rumble through town loaded with bins holding the fixings for countless salads, sides, and vegetable medleys.
To celebrate this abundance of fresh food, a dynamic group of Guadalupe’s merchants and residents have announced the first-ever Salad Bowl Festival, to be held on Sept. 12. The day-long event features family fun, innovative kid-friendly games, music, and entertainment, as well food, beer, and wine for sale.
“It was my idea, and if it’s your idea, you’re in charge,” laughed festival director Veronica Foster. “I thought we needed a great party, where everybody in Guadalupe could celebrate and have fun.
“Since we grow a lot of salad,” she continued, “I thought, ‘Why don’t we do a salad bowl festival?’ I presented it to the merchants group, and we all liked the idea, so we ran with it. It’s a really fun event that’s related to food, but in a different way.”
Budding chefs and those who have a way with fresh greens will want to enter their favorite recipes into the festival’s salad dressing contest, which features two categories: creamy and vinaigrette. In addition to cash prizes and bragging rights, the winners of Best in Show recipes will have their dressings served on salads presented at Guadalupe’s upcoming Excellence in Agriculture Dinner, slated for Nov. 6.
The fleet of foot can participate in the Salad Bowl Festival’s 5K run or half marathon, and compete for one-of-a-kind prizes handcrafted by a local artist. One flat, fast portion of the course follows the levee and offers long views of the Santa Maria Valley, while a section of the half marathon climbs the majestic Guadalupe Dunes, the site of the buried movie set from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 silent film, The Ten Commandments.
Local businesses hosting food booths at the lively outdoor festival include La Chiquita market and Two Guys Pizza, which will also offer a selection of beer and wine for sale. Hapa Haole’s Snack Shack, a unique eatery based in Pismo Beach, will dish up tasty Hawaiian treats.
As the primary sponsor of the event, Guadalupe-based Apio, Inc., proprietors of the Eat Smart line, will showcase fine edibles grown on the Central Coast.
In keeping with the theme of fresh-picked produce, Salad Bowl Festival activities include healthy-living booths staffed by Marian Medical Center and Marian Community Clinic representatives offering body mass testing, glucose testing, and methods for evaluating sugar content in beverages.
“We’ll have some arts and crafts vendors, too,” Foster said, “and bounce houses and races for the kids. All the kids’ activities are free, because we really want to keep it affordable and fun.
“We’re going to do some different games that are vegetable related,” she continued with a laugh, “like cabbage bowling. I’ve tried it, and it’s really fun!
“Regular bowling pins are too heavy,” she added, “so I might get milk jugs and paint them to look like rabbits and gophers.”
Also on tap are a tic-tac-toe-like broccoli toss and “gunnysack” races that challenge participants to retrieve carrots and croutons, and then place them in a salad bowl.
“It’s a celebration of all the produce that makes a great salad and the people who help create that produce,” said Foster, whose event-planning experience includes running Live Your Dream conferences for seventh- and eighth-grade girls.
Foster and her husband own Guadalupe-based Servewell Insurance Services, which has a branch office in Southern California. The couple, along with their 12-year old daughter, moved about a year ago from Riverside to Guadalupe.
“It’s a small town, and the people here are really nice and friendly,” Foster said. “I’ve never seen a community as generous as this town. It’s really amazing!
“If somebody comes up with a good idea,” she added, “everybody supports it, and the idea of the Salad Bowl Festival really seemed to resonate with locals. I know all my neighbors, and we all just want to see great things happen for our town.”
K. Reka Badger is digging out her running shoes. Contact her at rekabadger@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Sep 2-9, 2010.