Taste Your Place is a two week extravaganza every summer that reaches out to people through their taste buds.  The 2012 Taste Your Place will run from July 14th through July 26th. Heirloom will be celebrating Athens’ local flavors along with the following restaurants: DePalma’s Downtown, East/West Bistro, Etienne Brasserie, Farm255, Five and Ten, Ike and Jane, La Dolce Vita, Last Resort, Lumpkin Cafe, Mama’s Boy, NONA, The National, Speakeasy Each of these restaurants will feature a locally sourced meal on their menu for the duration of Taste Your PLACE. For more information about any of the following events, check out www.localplace.org

July 14th, 10am-12pm: Kick Off of Taste Your Place at the Athens Farmers Market, Bishop Park

Includes a squash themed cooking demonstration by PLACE and squash car races for the kids.

July 15th, 8:30am-1pm: Crop Mob Athens at 3 Porch Farm, Comer

Come help out a local farmer & get a delicious meal in return! Volunteers will be pulling up strawberry plants, mulching and weeding around the orchard and blueberry bushes, collecting seeds for saving, and we might even readjust the electric deer fence. 3 Porch Farm is located at 135 Francis Hill Rd, Comer, GA 30629. RSVP to Craig at craigwpage@gmail.com so we can have enough food prepared for everyone!

July 15th, 6pm-8pm: Cooking Class at Heirloom Cafe & Fresh Market

This class will feature unique preparations of locally grown food by Heirloom’s Chef de Cuisine Chris Rountree and Sous Chef Travis Sgarlata in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere. The class is $35 for individuals/$60 for couples and will be held at Heirloom Cafe (815 N Chase St, Athens, GA 30601). Cost includes the meal of the prepared recipes and tasting of wine pairings. Space is limited. RSVP to Craig at craigwpage@gmail.com.

July 21st, 10am-11am: Taste Your Pie Contest at the Athens Farmers Market, Bishop Park

Anyone can enter the contest by bringing two pies (of each recipe if entering multiple pies) to the Athens Farmers Market at Bishop Park by 9:30am with $5 and the recipe(s). Contestants also get to taste all the pies. Cash prizes will be awarded for best sweet pie and best savory pie. Don’t feel like baking? Everyone is welcome to taste all the pies for $5/person. After tasting all the selections, each person can vote for their favorite sweet pie and savory pie.

July 22nd, 5pm-9pm: Summer ‘No Waste’ Block Party, Potluck, and Casserole Contest at the West Broad Market Garden

To celebrate the height of summer and urban agriculture, PLACE is hosting at Summer Block Party and Potluck at the West Broad Market Garden (1573 W Broad St, Athens, GA 30601) with the Athens Land Trust. PLACE will provide the BBQ and dessert and music. You bring your best casserole or side dish AND your own plate and flatware (to reduce waste). Before we dive into the food, we will have the casserole contest with guest judges and cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place casseroles. The evening will include a food preservation demo and a composting demo by ACC Cooperative Extension. This event is FREE and arms wide open for the general public.

July 24th, 7pm-9pm: Janisse Ray Book Tour for The Seed Underground at Cine

With a signature lyricism that once prompted a New York Times writer to proclaim her the Rachel Carson of the south, Janisse Ray (Ecology of a Cracker Childhood) brings us the inspiring stories of ordinary gardeners whose aim is to save time-honored open-pollinated varieties like Old Time Tennessee muskmelon and Long County Longhorn okra—varieties that will be lost if people don’t grow, save, and swap the seeds. Writer, naturalist, and activist Janisse Ray is a seed-saver, seed-exchanger, and seed-banker, and has gardened for twenty-five years. She is the author of several books, including Pinhook and Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, a New York Times Notable Book. Ray is on the faculty of Chatham University’s low-residency MFA program, and is a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. She has won a Southern Booksellers Award for Poetry, a Southeastern Booksellers Award for Nonfiction, an American Book Award, the Southern Environmental Law Center Award for Outstanding Writing, and a Southern Book Critics Circle Award. She attempts to live a simple, sustainable life on a farm in southern Georgia with her husband, Raven Waters. Light and local refreshments will be provided by Heirloom Cafe. Special thanks to Avid Bookshop for helping coordinate this event. Reservations STRONGLY recommended. Those with reservations will be guaranteed seating. Reservations can be made online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/257381.This event is FREE and open to the public, but a charitable contribution would help cover the costs of the event. Suggested $5 donation.

July 26th, 6:30pm-8:30pm: Taste Your Tapas, Silent Auction and Athens Local Food Awards Ceremony at Cine

Join PLACE for the 5th Annual Taste Your Tapas and Silent Auction and presentation of the Athens Local Food Awards. Join us for a night that truly embodies the essence of Taste Your Place where we will be enjoying great local foods prepared by many of the local restaurants supporting local farms. We will also have a silent auction, our biggest fundraiser of the year, with over 30 items from local businesses and artists. PLACE will also present the 5th Annual Athens Local Food Awards for excellence on the farm, for educators, for businesses, and for advocates at 8:00. Tickets are $10/advance, $12/door. Tickets can be purchased in person at Heirloom Cafe, the Athens Farmers Market or online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/257394