Kombooyah! L.A. Fermentation Festival Debuts In Venice
The annual Santa Barbara Fermentation Festival attracts so many Angelenos that its organizers figured the Southland deserved its own, and come Sunday, the first will debut in Venice.
We can attribute numerous joys in life to the natural handiwork of fermentation—beer, wine, pickles, crusty loaves of sourdough, and perhaps best of all, though under-appreciated, a healthy gut thanks to the probiotics inside the many foods and beverages fermentation creates. At the Los Angeles Fermentation Festival, you can sip and snack on everything from kimchi and kombucha to raw chocolate and sparkling wine. Yes, there's also a Farm-To-Bar area pouring artisan distilled whiskey and other barrel aged ferments.
To help spread the word about the Los Angeles Fermentation Festival, Patty the Pickle has been making the rounds at our local farmers' markets. (Photo: Los Angeles Fermentation Festival)
This is not your typical food festival. Experts will be there to show you how to make these foods yourself. Over at the Fermentation Station, learn how to pickle and then pack up on supplies so you can make charcuterie boards at home. This is an experiential event designed for kids too. There's a Culture Petting Zoo where future bacteria farmers can peer trough telescopes and learn about starter cultures, and if they're 15 or younger, their tickets for the festival are free.
Fermentation fangirl "Patty the Pickle" has been doing appearances at Westside farmers' markets, spreading the word (and likely plugging the Screamin' Pickle Contest). Though this is an L.A. event, it's already setting roots in the community. It will be held at the Venice Arts Plaza and sponsored by Kiss The Ground, a local organization that has been regenerating the city soil there and creating edible gardens and gathering spaces in front of the Venice Fire Station, Beyond Baroque, and SPARC.
Established in 2011 by Katie Hershfelt and her mother Lynn Hartman, the first was held in Carpenteria with local experts sharing knowledge and recipes with their community. It quickly grew in popularity and in 2013 expanded to the Fairview Gardens in Santa Barbara.
L.A.'s debut Fermentation Festival will take place on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Farm-to-Bar area goes from 12 to 3:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $45, and if want access to the bar area too, they're $65. Enjoy a Lincoln & Rose readers discount: $5 per ticket when you enter promo code ROSE. Purchase tickets here.
Los Angeles Fermentation Festival // Venice Arts Plaza // 681 N. Venice Blvd. Venice 90291
