Natural Chefs Food Demo Theatre

Lorna Sass

Whole Grains for Busy People

Lorna Sass is the award-winning author of 13 cookbooks. She is a specialist in vegan vegetarian cooking and is considered America's leading authority on pressure cooking. Her latest cookbook, WHOLE GRAINS EVERY DAY, EVERY WAY (Clarkson Potter, 2006) recently won the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award in the "healthy focus" category. It was selected one of the 20 most noteworthy cookbooks of 2006 by the New York Times and Leite's Culinaria.

Visit www.lornasass.com for more info.

Main Stage

Guy Dauncey

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: The Importance of Local Organic Food as a Solution to Global Climate Change

Global climate change is an enormous concern, which also threatens our future global food security. All the food that we import carries a large carbon footprint, and all food that is not organic requires the use of fossil fuels.

Growing more organic food locally is a very immediate, simple step that we can all take to contribute to the solution, while also improving our health, and the health of our farm ecosystems.

Guy Dauncey is author of the award winning book, Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change, and President of the BC Sustainable Energy Association.

Natural Chefs Food Demo Theatre

Laura Moore, Good for you Gourmet

Whole Foods For YOUR Whole Family

“Our mission is to prepare a wide variety of wholesome, health-supporting and delicious food for clients and their families, using only the finest organic grains, natural sweeteners and locally grown products as ingredients,” says Laura Moore, also known as Victoria’s Green Caterer.

The Good For You Gourmet will teach you how to prepare whole foods for your barbeque. Each participant will receive food samples, learn marinade techniques and recipes, food preparation tips, and have fun. Join us!

Main Stage

Current Swell

Musical Entertainment by hot new Victoria based folk-rock band

Current Swell, based in Victoria BC includes Scott Stanton, Dave Lang, and Louie Sadava, all originally from Alberta, with Chris Petersen recently being added on drums. The band has been together for over 2 years but been writing for 4 or 5 and, since congregating in Victoria, have found their own style of music from the coast. 2005 saw Current Swell releasing So I Say, which quickly gained momentum led the band to be one of the hottest new acts from British Columbia.

The end of 2005 and beginning of 2006 saw the band spending 5 months traveling from Bali to New Zealand to Australia playing shows and earning many fans along the way. The remainder of 2006 saw the band continue a relentless touring schedule which included a full Canadian tour and numerous Western Canadian tours, while beginning the process of writing and recording their sophomore album.

The band has performed with some great acts including a tour with The Beautiful Girls and appearances with Bedouin Soundclash while also earning heavy fan bases all over western Canada, with many other loyal fans across the globe. Dubbed as "a blend of Ben Harper meets Sublime", any fan of sunshine and good times is sure to smile when the songs of Current Swell grace their ears.

Visit www.currentswell.com for more info.

Natural Chefs Food Demo Theatre

Heidi Fink

Spectacular Summer Appetizers

Get ready for the summer season! Heidi will demonstrate a variety of healthy and delicious appetizers using seasonal produce, with a focus on ethnic flavour combinations. Today's demo includes ideas for entertaining, make-ahead tips for the busy cook, and valuable information on getting the best from your favourite recipes, as well as samples of several summer-fresh appetizers.

Heidi Fink is a chef, food writer, and cooking class instructor, specializing in vegetarian and ethnic cuisines. Previously Executive Chef of the renowned restaurant ReBar Modern Food in Victoria, Heidi now shares her cooking expertise and enthusiasm through her classes and food articles. With these, Heidi hopes to inspire people in the kitchen and bring excitement to the everyday work of cooking and eating well.

Main Stage

Dr. Christoph Weder & Erika Weder

PRESENTATION: Sustainable Agriculture at Spiritview Ranch, Alberta

Together with 16 other ranch families, their "Eco-committed" beef is raised without antibiotics, growth promotants, animal byproducts and tied to sustainable ranching and land use practices.

The Weders are proud recipients of the Outstanding Young Farmer Award in 2006, and the 2007 Country Side Canada Land Stewardship Award. They are also the founding members of the Prairie Heritage Beef Producers.

Natural Chefs Food Demo Theatre

Bruce Brennan, The Hippy Gourmet

Solar Powered Cooking Demo

Bruce was a teenager in the Haight-Ashbury of San Francisco during the Summer of Love in 1967. He learned to cook for hundreds of hungry hippies, and then trained under some of the industry's finest French chefs. Bruce went on to cook at several New York and Los Angeles restaurants, and catered on Hollywood sets and backstage events (including Fleetwood Mac, Francis Ford Coppola and even Ronald Reagan).

Bruce and his sister renovated an old Victorian home in the heart of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, creating a successful bed and breakfast, which provided the inspiration for The Hippy Gourmet show on PBS-TV.

Visit www.hippygourmet.com for more info.

Main Stage

Mae Moore

Musical Entertainment by Juno-nominated Canadian singer-songwriter

"More than ever we need to connect in community," she says, "and not feel so isolated. Songwriters bring the world together. That's also my mandate: helping people feel less alone."

When she is not in the studio, Mae can be found alongside her husband Lester Quitzau, working their organic garden and heritage apple orchard, or tending their flock of motley , but much loved hens. Mae has gardened organically for 35 years and is most at peace when doing just that.

Visit www.maemoore.com for complete bio and more info.

Natural Chefs Food Demo Theatre

Lorna Sass

Whole Grain Cereals Beyond the Bowl

See Lorna's bio above, or visit www.lornasass.com for more info.

One Workshop only

Wrigglers at Work - Build your own worm compost bin

The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre will be providing a "Wrigglers at Work" workshop for children of all ages. Led by Dr. Wiggles, this interactive program will teach about Vermicomposting with Red Wriggler worms.

Build a worm composter while exploring the biology of our worm friend EISENIA FOETIDA.

Workshops ongoing
*every half hour, last workshop at 4:30 pm

Lantern Making - Create Luminara Lantern with recylced materials

30 minute mini-workshops suitable for children aged 5 and up. Bring your lanterns on July 21st, to Beacon Hill Park, and share the magic of Luminara.

Musical Entertainment

Old Time Fiddle Kids

After several years of practicing The Old Time Fiddle Kids, Kai Gronberg (age 9) and Lia Gronberg (age 7) have put out their own CD entitled "The Fox and the Fiddle". Both kids have been actively involved in the Canadian old time fiddle scene for the past two years. Lia placed first in the BC provincial championship; Kai won second at BC provincials and qualified for the Grand North American Championship finals.

The Old Time Fiddle Kids are very active in playing at local events such as Spirit of Sea Festival, Organic Islands Festival, Berry Beat Festival, HSBC Childrun for BC Children's Hospital, and many other community events.They enjoy performing and have memorized over two hundred songs!

Ongoing activities

Create stories with String Figures

Michele Hibbins will show how to weave and bend a loop of string around your hands and viola! A butterfly, a house, or a Cat's cradle appears. Hundreds of figures and the stories that go with them are what make up "String Figures"; a clever activity invented by indigenuous cultures on every continent.

Similar to oral storytelling traditions, String Figures have been handed down for generations, and create endless opportunities for learning and play.