Hello from Slow Food Santa Cruz!

This is the first of our new monthly email newsletter to the Slow Food Santa Cruz community. We call it Snail Mail and hope you find it useful. Please tell us what you think of it, what topics you would like covered, or how it can better serve you.

News

• Join us tomorrow night, September 9 @ 5:30pm at Vino Cruz for our monthly Summer Slow Down event. Details below.
• Erin Justus, Slow Food Santa Cruz board member and owner of Companion Bakers, will be attending Terra Madre! Look forward to a future event where she tells us about her experience!
• The SFSC Board has almost finished the new bylaws. Look forward to hearing more about them next month!
• Have you seen Slow Food Santa Cruz on Facebook ? See what others are saying and join the conversation!

Calendar

• September 9:
  • Summer Slow Down at Vino Cruz
    When: Thursday, September 9th, 5:30-7:00 pm
    Where: Vinocruz, 725 Front St. #101, Santa Cruz, CA (right behind Lulu’s at the Octagon)
    Cost: $5.00 tasting fee for the flight, waived with a purchase of a Vine Hill or La Honda wine
    RSVP: This event is open to the general public, please RVSP by clicking “Attending” on the Facebook event page. No Facebook? No worries, come anyway! For more info, please email us.

    Can’t tell a Chardonnay from a Cabernet? Or maybe you want to debate the merits of fining and filtering? Drop in to Vinocruz on September 9th at 5:30 pm to sample some wines from local wineries Vine Hill and La Honda with your fellow Slow Foodies and learn more about wine and the Slow Food movement!

• September 18:
  • Seasonal Griller’s DelightWhen: Saturday, September 18th, 9am to 1pm, grilling starts around 10am
    Where: Corner of Western Dr. & Mission Blvd, Santa Cruz
    Cost: FREE!

    Join Slow Foodies when the Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market hosts a sampling event to showcase seasonal fruits and vegetables for their patrons. The focus of this very popular event is to highlight seasonal fare and to introduce market shoppers to new foods and preparation methods; new this season the Market will collaborate with local vintners and breweries to offer complimentary beer and wine pairings. Guests are treated to samples of grilled fruits, vegetables, meats and simple tapas-styled appetizers throughout the market as they shop and enjoy live music. This event is free, and seating is available.

• September 25:
  • Dig In! The Slow Food National Day of Action
    Who: You and your clean-beach loving friends
    When: Saturday, Sept. 25, 9am-noon
    Where: Black’s Beach – check-in will be at the end of 14th Ave. near the beach entrance
    RSVP:  You can pre-register for this cleanup site on the Save Our Shores website

    On Saturday, September 25, Slow Food chapters around the country will come together to promote good, clean, and fair food in their towns. On the same day, coastal communities around the world will head to the shores for International Coastal Cleanup Day. You can participate in both by attending one event! Join us for the cleanup at Black’s Beach on September 25 to protect your local fisheries!Slow Food Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz NEXT are partnering with Save Our Shores to protect one of Santa Cruz’s greatest sources of local food and local beauty – the ocean. This is a global event, and Santa Cruz has a long history of playing an important role in keeping our coast clean. Last year over 4,000 volunteers pulled nearly 15,000 lbs. of trash and recycle off our beaches!  Stay tuned for details about a guest speaker at this site, and plan to join us for a post-clean-up BBQ at the Capitola and Santa Cruz Whole Foods locations.

• October 7
  • Slow Food Santa Cruz Board Meeting
    When: First Thursday of each month, 6:30pm. Location varies
• October 21-25
  • Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto take place in Turin, Italy.
• November 7:
  • Follow the Snail Trail Through the WestEnd – A Fundraiser for Slow Food Santa Cruz
    When: Sunday, November 7, 12:30-4:00pm
    Where: In and around the Swift Street Courtyard, 402 Ingalls St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060Join Slow Food Santa Cruz on a tour of the wonderful wineries and eateries that are part of the up and coming “WestEnd” neighborhood, which includes the Swift Street Courtyard. The focus of this tour will be local, heirloom apples; edibles and libations at the stops on the tour will feature this tasty fruit. Stops will include Kelly’s Bakery, New Leaf Market, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery, and additional Surf City Vintners. The event will culminate at Bonny Doon Vineyards/Cellar Door Café. More details to come in early October, stay tuned to our Facebook page and website for more details about this exciting event!

Slow Food Santa Cruz is a registered chapter of Slow Food USA, a non-profit 501 3(c) organization that aims to link the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.

Dear friends of Slow Food Santa Cruz,

The Santa Cruz Slow Food chapter is making positive changes! With a brand new board, we are entering 2010 with energy and enthusiasm. We are fortunate to have an excellent team with great experience and dynamic backgrounds. Slow Food Santa Cruz is excited about connecting with local farmers, chefs, teachers, students and community members to celebrate our wonderful bounty of food and culture!

Whether you are a new member to Slow Food or a long time supporter, 2010 will be a promising year filled with new ways to become involved in our local chapter here in Santa Cruz County. As a board we are working to turn ideas into action! Our goal is to help our community link the pleasures of food with a commitment to “Good, Clean, and Fair” food!

To start we have created a 2010 calendar of events that we are proud to sponsor. Please visit our website: SlowFoodSantaCruz.com for our full 2010 calendar.

Coming up: March 21st Please join us for our Spring Forward event as we celebrate the new face of Slow Food Santa Cruz. This is your opportunity to meet our new board, check out upcoming projects and share your ideas about what you would like to see happen in the coming year. Of course there will be tasty snacks and beverages. Tickets are $5 for members, $8 for non-members in advance or $8 and $10 respectively at the door.

Please participate in the Member Survey. We value your feedback and need your help in determining what type of events to plan and where to focus our energy this year. Thanks for your input!

Slow Food Santa Cruz is shifting towards advocacy and education and of course there will still be plenty opportunity for taste exploration. Please consider renewing your membership today and help us become a delicious, dynamic and relevant voice in our community!

Slowly and sincerely the new board,

Erin Justus
Kathryn Lukas
Jody Biergiel
Carolyn Smith
Allison Clark
Camille Nava
Donna Rose Gardener
Sarah Reed
Thomas Howard