Media release | Kona County Farm Bureau

INAUGURAL FARMERS & FRIENDS DINNER MARCH 26

KEAUHOU, BIG ISLAND OF HAWAI‘I — Enjoy a spectacular dinner—with the farmers and ranchers who produced its ingredients—at a new event presented by the Kona County Farm Bureau (KCFB).

The first Farmers & Friends Dinner-A Localvore Experience is 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 26 at the Keauhou Beach Resort. The event is open to the general public and geared to localvores—consumers who are dedicated to eating food that’s grown and produced locally.

“The goal of this event is to spread the word about the amazing depth and breadth of our local agriculture production,” says Stefanie Delmont, KCFB president. “Attendees will have a chance to get acquainted and break bread with the people in West Hawaii who are producing our food.”

The inaugural KCFB event includes an opening reception to meet and mingle with local food producers and a display providing ag-related information. Also available will be a silent auction stocked with dinners, activities and merchandise donated by community businesses to benefit KCFB.

The evening’s highlight is the Farmers & Friends Dinner, a sit-down buffet showcasing locally produced food. Keauhou Beach Resort Chef Cy Yamamoto, a Hawaii Community College-West Hawaii alum, is creating a tantalizing dinner using a cornucopia of just-picked vegetables, fruits and herbs; red veal, grass-fed beef and fresh ocean fish, plus a pairing of 100 percent Kona coffee with chocolate made from island cacao.

Throughout the event, door prizes will be awarded featuring products from the Farm Bureau’s weekly Saturday Keauhou Farmer’s Market. Earlier in the day, the market stages its free monthly Farmer-Chef presentation that highlights local growers, their products and an island chef preparing them—brought to you in partnership with the USDA Farmers’ Market Promotion Program. The weekly farmers market at Keauhou Shopping Center is 8 a.m.-noon with the Farmer-Chef presentation at 10 a.m. the last Saturday of each month through 2011.

Tickets for the Farmers & Friends Dinner-A Localvore Experience are $65 and available online at www.konafarmbureau.org. The host Keauhou Beach Resort offers a “Localvore” overnighter rate that includes a breakfast buffet for two with a partial ocean view room for $119 plus taxes, phone 808-324-2515 for reservations.

For more event info, phone 808-324-6011 or visit www.konafarmbureau.org.

Farmers & Friends Dinner-A Localvore Experience

Produced by the Kona County Farm Bureau, this inaugural event is sponsored by Kamehameha Schools, Keauhou Resort, Keauhou Beach Resort, Kona Brewing Company, Hawaiian Springs and the Keauhou Farmers Market.