Cycle and Feast in Our 100-Mile Circle (and Ontario!)
AUGUST 6, 2007 - So far as we can see, the third-annual Slow Food Cycle in Pemberton, BC, was the first event of its kind in North America. Last year we rode the 25-km route (50 kilometres return) and were impressed by how many folk did the whole thing. (Families with young children, or newbie cyclists, can turn around at the first farm about 5 km in.) It's good fun, cruising along country roads and stopping at farms along the way.
This year it's on Sunday, August 19, anytime from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting at the Community Centre on Pemberton Meadows Road. Bring water and cash (though the event itself is free, you'll want to buy snacks).
We're speaking at the Pemberton public library on Aug. 19 as well, 9-10 a.m., to launch the ride.
Spend the whole weekend - on Saturday, Aug. 18, Feast of Fields, the upscale version of the cycle, offers the chance to eat chef creations from BC produce, and sample BC wines, in a bucolic open-air environment. It's wildly popular, so get your tickets early. At the North Arm Farm on Highway 99.
There are also Feast of Fields opportunities in Vancouver, at the UBC Farm on Sept. 9, and on Vancouver Island Sept. 16 at Keating Farm. Proceeds to Farm Folk/City Folk.
For those of you in Ontario, check out the original Feast of Fields (founded 1989) in Hillsburgh, on Sept. 16 at Everdale Organic Farm. Proceeds to the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario.
We're happy to see the Slow Food Cycle concept spreading. On Aug. 25 the town of Agassiz, BC, is having its first annual ride, following the 30-kilometre Circle Farm tour. Begin at the Agassiz Fairgrounds, or anywhere on the route, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
