Field to Vase Dinner Tour Comes to Arcata!

Field to Vase Dinner Tour Comes to Arcata!

#american grown #CAGrown Amy Stewart Debra Prinzing F2V Dinner Tour field to vase Lady Aster Wil Franklin

The Field to Vase Dinner Tour is starting 2016 off right!  The widely-acclaimed dinner tour (the brainchild of American Grown) is kicking off this year's circuit right here in Arcata, in one of Sun Valley's very own tulip greenhouses--and you are invited to join us for this enchanted evening among the flowers.

Sounds magical, right?  Believe me, it is.  What I love about the concept is that it is not just a typical gourmet dinner in a pretty setting.  It is those things, but it is also an opportunity to support your immediate community, while also advocating for our country.

Yeah, I said it, and it's not hyperbole..... (Okay, maybe a little bit).


What do I mean by that? Well, did you know that 80% of flowers in the United States are imported from South America?  Unfortunately, this statistic is not well-known, which is why the American Grown brand (an offshoot of the California Cut Flower Commission) launched the Field to Vase Dinner Tour last year.  Its intention is to create awareness of the domestic flower movement.  Everything about the enchanted evening highlights the importance of Fresh, Local, and Sustainable--the flowers at the center of the table (and surrounding it), the wine in your glass, and the food on your plate.  Studies have shown that given the choice, consumers prefer American Grown flowers, echoing the preference of those who care where their beer was brewed and how their beef was raised, chickens were reared, and so on.

Last year, the dinner tour was a smashing success, nearly selling out in every location, and it looks like we are on track to do that here.  Here's what to expect:

A four-course meal of local food prepared by local businesses--think Eel River Grass fed Beef incorporated into gastronomical delights by Arcata's own Café Brio and Folie Douce; beer flowing from McKinleyville's Six Rivers Brewery; a selection of award-winning wine from StargazerBarn.com and Trinity River Vineyards (Willow Creek); and Drunken Botanist-inspired cocktails mixed from locally-made vodka.  Dinner will be served on a single long table, against a backdrop of millions of growing tulips.  This is the unique setting for an intimate tour of Humboldt County's epicurean and agricultural delights.

The tulips growing in the greenhouse won't be the only flowers, of course. There will be arrangements galore, all done by local business owner Faye Zierer Krause of Flora Organica Designs.  She'll be using Sun Valley flowers, greens, and botanicals to make table arrangements and dramatic installments, and there's even going to be a small demonstration for those who want to learn a few tricks.  

Also joining the evening for drinks, dinner, and conversation will be best-selling author and flower fanatic, Amy Stewart,  floral advocate and garden geek Debra Prinzing, and Winemaker Wil Franklin.  Of course, the evening would not be complete without our very own CEO Lane DeVries, whose passion for flowers, this community, and the Sun Valley team stands as testament to the American Grown feel of the entire event.

Tickets are $184 and include all the food and drink, a farm tour led by Lane DeVries, a flower demonstration by Faye, a swag bag of American Grown goodies, and of course an armful of local flowers.  There are only 150 tickets available for this once-in-a-lifetime event, so you better get while the gettin is good. 

So, what are you waiting for? Show Humboldt Field-to-Vase some love, buy your tickets here.  

What's the Story Behind Your Flowers?

What's the Story Behind Your Flowers?

#americangrown dinner party entertaining field to fork field to vase flowers J Schwanke Tulips uBloom

"At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.
                                                                                                             -W.  Somerset Maugham

They say you eat with your eyes first. The appearance of food plated at a restaurant or at home is the first experience a diner has with the meal, long before smell, and even longer before taste.

Amber Waves

However, I would argue that the experience starts before that. The table, the room, the music, the conversation and of course, the flowers, all compliment or detract from the food. These impact our senses before the food or drink is served. It is ironic that people throw a “dinner party,” when really it could be an “ambiance party” or a “flower party” or even a “conversation party.”

Redwood Tulips

With the Field To Fork movement about as hip as dinner can get right now, and the Field To Vase movement close on its heels, we are lucky to experience this wave of farmers market inspired dinners and flowers, this didn’t exist ten years ago.

The interesting thing about flowers as a centerpiece, arranged around the room or in the kitchen is that as the food gets eaten, wine bottles get emptied, plates cleared and conversation creates its own path among friends and family, what stays on the table?

 The flowers.

Tulip Dream

Chairs get pushed back, napkins folder into odd shapes, candles burn down, but the flowers remain. It is the flowers that stay as the focal, starting before the food comes and remaining after the waiter has brought the check, or your host has stacked the plates in the sink.

The flowers often become a conversation piece in themselves, and especially now, as the story of where your flowers came from is just as important as who grew your lettuce or vinted your wine. Do you know your flower farmer personally? Do you know the farm where they grew?  Are they grown in the United States?

Hot Property

Perhaps a good dinner party is really a “story party,” since this is what we talk about, the story of the recipe you used on the wild caught California Salmon, or perhaps how you developed the drink recipe for your signature cocktail, maybe how you toured the vineyard of the wine you are pouring.  Sure, we talk about family, work and topics of the day, but when you throw a dinner party you are sharing your home, your passions and your knowledge with your guests.
 
Make sure you have the story of your flowers in your repertoire, your guest will surely ask where they came from.

A big thanks to J Schwanke of uBloom.com for all the wonderful flower arrangements in this post.

Field to Table Flowers

Field to Table Flowers

Debra Prinzing fall arrangements field to fork Field to table field to vase local flowers

"Know your food, know your farmers, and know your kitchen"
                                                                                        -Joel Salatin

Do you know where your vegetables came from? Do you know who brewed your beer or made your wine? These days the answer is typically “yes.”  In a world where it often seems we are racing to mediocrity, I am thrilled to watch the “farm to table” and “field to fork” food movements continue to grow.

Field to Fork, with flowers!

According to the USDA, there are currently 8,268 Framers Markets in the United States, up from 3,706 in 2004. People are demanding access to fresh, seasonal and local foods; and retailers, farmers and all sorts of individuals are responding.

Right next to the produce section in the grocery store, and the most colorful booth at the farmers market is the flower section.  The same trend effecting fruits and vegetables is finally coming to flowers. It might surprise you to learn that 80% of the flowers sold in the United States are grown in far flung places like Columbia and Ecuador. The top three biggest sellers; roses, carnations and alstroemeria, are grown almost exclusively in South America.

Fall Flower Bouquets

This trend is changing as flower lovers “think outside the rose box” and explore the vast array of flowers grown domestically.  Just like with your food; once you start to look for flowers grown closer to home, you find a deeply rooted subculture of flower connoisseurs. These folks know where to find sunflowers from a farm stand on the edge of town or lilies from an artisanal greenhouse grower a few exits up the freeway. They know soil grown tulips are better than hydroponic, they know the heirloom varieties, as well as, the flashy new hybrids.

Classic iris and mason jar arrangement

Whether you live in the city or in the country, fresh flowers grown in America are becoming “a thing.” Author Debra Prinzing found that many people want to buy local flowers, but didn’t know where to find the blooms.  So she started a website called, Slow Flowers, which is basically a vast data base of small, regional and national flower farms. Just put in your zip code and learn about a flower farm near you. This is sort of like the secret hand shake to get in the local flower club.

Hold onto summer, with this early fall arrangement.

The movement has been dubbed “field to vase” and one of the most vibrant and beautiful blogs about finding local flowers goes by the same name.  CAUTION: this blog will make you want to quit your day job, and become a flower farmer!

Even though Sun Valley is a pretty big operation, we are proud to be a part of the field to table movement.