Saturday, August 13, 2011

Your Guide to Feast of Fields

Vancouver Island's Feast of Fields will be upon us in less than six weeks and it's shaping up to be another good one. Another exceptional one. This is my favorite food event of the year because it always takes place on a beautiful, scenic farm, with local food and drink of every variety and with people who goes are all passionate about the same thing, namely food. Here are the details:

Marley Farm in Saanichton is the host of this year's Feast of Fields on Vancouver Island. The farm is located on 42 acres including five acres of vineyards with lots of open grasslands, fields and heritage fixtures. There's also horses, chickens, turkeys, ducks and pigeons and it's just the place to spend a lazy, late summer day. Location is 1831 Mount Newton X Road.





One thing Feast of Fields is synonymous with is a wandering gourmet harvest. Spread over the farm, there will be farmers and chefs, vintners and brewers serving up generous samples of the very best food and drink they have to offer. Right now, there are 55 participants with more coming in every day. New this year are:

Choux Choux Charcuterie, Victoria's charming yet traditional, European-style delicatessen
Fruition Paletas, with their fresh fruit popsicles and ice cream bars
Intrigue Wines, from the Okanagan Valley started by Gray Monk’s co-winemaker Roger Wong
The View Winery, from Kelowna which first began as an apple orchard five generations ago
Kulu Restaurant, serving up Asian fusion cuisine from Gladstone Square in Fernwood
Moon Under Water with samples of their session ales


The festival takes place all afternoon, from 1-5 pm, and I recommend arriving promptly to get the most out of your day. Take 10 minutes at the start to walk around the farm, get the laid of the land and size up some of the offerings. The day requires a little finesse and strategy when it comes to taking it all in. Start with the tasty food samples, perhaps honing in on some of the seafood or bbq bites. Enjoy some of the many beers and wines, and later in the day take in some of the sweet delectables. The chocolate.


The festival sells out every year, and is expected to do so again this year. As the saying goes, to avoid disappointment, don't delay. Tickets are $85 for adults, $15 for children ages 7 to 12, and free for children under 6. They can be purchased online at online at www.feastoffields.com or in person at Muffet and Louisa in Victoria. If you want to try your hand at winning a pair, click over to Green Muse to enter their ticket giveaway now until September 8.

4 comments:

Patricia said...

This sounds wonderful. If we are lucky, we get up to Vancouver once a year for a visit and we are always drawn to the countryside and the islands.

Heather Anne said...

Can't wait! Bought my tickets they second they were released online :)

Murissa said...

Sounds like a delicious event! I have never heard of this before and will be sure to go next year when I have completed my University writing & art history majors at UBCO.

The Wanderfull Traveler

Melody Wey said...

Thanks everyone for the comments. As always, I love reading them! Heather, I'll keep an eye out for you - it would be lovely to meet:) I think we may have a few friends in common.