Scottish-Irish Highland Festival

Okay, Estes Park isn't Boulder County, but it's a nice drive and this is the only event like it in the area.

Here's what you need to know about the festival:

WHAT:          
Get your tickets today and join more than 80,000 attendees for the 36th annual Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival in Estes Park, Colorado.

The festival began in 1976 and will kick-off on Thursday, September 6th with Tattoo Estes, a one-of-a-kind parade ground concert that features military and pipe bands. This year’s program will commemorate those who served in the First World War and events that occurred between 1910-1920. During that same time, right here in our community, Estes Park was incorporated, Rocky Mountain National Park was dedicated and The Stanley Hotel and Fall River Road were constructed.

The festival has become one of the largest of its kind with more than 50 Celtic events held throughout the weekend, including Jousting competitions, Highland games, musical acts, dance performances and dog show contests as well as plenty of Scottish and Irish food, drink and crafts. Unique to the festival is North America’s largest Celtic parade attracting 40,000 spectators.

World-class Jousters headline the festivities as they vie for the sport’s largest purse in skill and accuracy events as well as the all-new heavy armor competition. Not to be outdone, the Highland games showcase equally talented athletes displaying amazing strength and agility in the caber toss, hammer and stone throw. The festival also features a Scottish Challenge strong man competition.

Each day of the festival, Estes Park’s breathtaking mountains play backdrop to more than 1,000 Scottish, Irish and Welsh dancers while Celtic rock, folk and traditional bands liven up the clear nights. Those seeking a true glimpse into Celtic culture can top it all off by sampling traditional food and drink and browsing the wares of more than 100 importers and crafters of Celtic goods.

WHEN:
 • The festival will kick off Thursday, September 6th with Tattoo Estes at 7:30 p.m.
    (Tattoo Estes will be held Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m.)
• Friday, September 7th through Sunday, September 9th – fairgrounds open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day, with musical acts nightly.
• Friday, September 7th and Saturday, September 8th – concerts start at 7:30 p.m.
• Festival Parade: Saturday, September 8th at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE:
Stanley Park Fairgrounds
1209 Manford Ave.
Estes Park, CO, 80517

HOW:
Order tickets today. Call 1-800-90-ESTES, visit www.scotfest.com or get tickets through Ticketwest at any King Soopers location.

Children four and under are admitted free.

Food at the Fair

Going to the Boulder County Fair? Here's what you might find to eat there.

http://www.timescall.com/fair/ci_20993484/boulder-county-fair-vendors-will-offer-little-everything

Pizza is not a vegetable?

But I thought it grew on pizza trees!

Here's more on the legislation, direct from the press release:

To reverse Congress’ absurd decision to define pizza as a vegetable in school meals, Congressman Jared Polis today unveiled new legislation—the SLICE (School Lunch Improvements for Children’s Education) Act—to protect students’ health by allowing sensible nutrition standards for pizza in the meals our children eat at schools.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a rule that would have prevented pizza from being counted as a vegetable in meals, but Congress succumbed to lobbying from the frozen food industry and blocked it.

“Agribusinesses should never dictate the quality of school meals,” said Polis. “Big food companies have their priorities, which include selling cheap, unhealthy foods at high profits. But parents and schools have their priorities; making sure our kids eat right because research shows a clear connection between nutrition and student performance in school.”

Polis announced the new legislation today at Louisville Middle School, where he was joined by Boulder Valley School District Food Service Director, Ann Cooper, who has been a leader in improving nutrition in school meals.

“For the past three years BVSD has worked hard to ensure that all of our students have access to healthy delicious food in schools,” Cooper explained. “We have eliminated added transfats, high fructose corn syrup, colors and dyes. We are proud to have added salad bars in every school with fresh fruit and vegetables as well as organic milk, whole grains and instituted a priority on regional procurement. We fully support Representative Polis' work to improve school food as our children's health is our most important asset.”

With alarming increases in child obesity rates and other troubling indicators of child health, Congress acted to update national school meal standards in December 2010 by reauthorizing the federal Child Nutrition Act (the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act).

But the current Congress undermined those standards last year when it included language in a USDA funding bill that would allow pizza to qualify as a vegetable due to the small amount of tomato paste it contains.

While tomato paste has a small amount of nutrients, pizza is loaded with sugar, salt, bread and cheese, which carry a great deal of fat and carbohydrates that turn into sugar during digestion. Categorizing pizza as a vegetable because of its small amount of tomato paste is exactly the wrong approach, as Type II diabetes rates among children and child obesity continue to climb.

The SLICE Act would restore USDA’s authority to implement healthful standards to pizza in public schools in three significant ways:

• Allow the USDA to accurately count 1/8 of a cup of tomato paste as 1/8 of a cup, instead of half of a cup, which qualifies pizza as a vegetable. 
• Allow the USDA to implement science-based sodium reduction targets. 
• Allow the USDA to set a whole grain requirement. 

With Congress preparing to reauthorize farm and nutrition programs this year, Polis is hopeful that the SLICE Act can be incorporated into the larger agriculture bill should it be acted on in this session. A fact sheet on the bill is available here.

Pizza as a vegetable

The last thing I want to do is get political here, but a press release landed in my inbox that I had to pass along.

It said:

To reverse Congress’ absurd recent decision to define pizza as a vegetable in federally-subsidized public school meals, Congressman Jared Polis will unveil legislation on Monday, May 14 at 12:45 PM at Louisville Middle School that will restore sensible nutrition standards for pizza in the meals our children eat at schools. 

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a rule that would have prevented pizza from being counted as a vegetable in school meals, but Congress succumbed to lobbying from the frozen food industry and added a provision to the USDA spending bill that blocked it.

Polis will be joined by Boulder Valley School District Food Service Director Ann Cooper who has been a leader in improving nutrition in school meals.

Bootstrap Brewing to open in Niwot

Bootstrap Brewing is on schedule to open in June in downtown Niwot. The brewery, located at 6778 North 79th Street, just south of Cottonwood Park Shopping Center, is currently under interior build out. You can follow the progress of the construction on Facebook.

Steve and Leslie Kaczeus will be hands-on owners. Leslie said, “We are so pumped about the positive feedback we’re receiving from all the Niwot residents and businesses that we’ve spoken to so far. We also live here in town and have always dreamed of opening a neighborhood brewery. Our goal is simply to make great beer and have fun.”

The Kaczeus’ spent the last four years planning and researching the craft beer industry and were inspired by the breweries and biergartens they visited while vacationing in Bavaria. They have also enjoyed meeting other brewery owners and love the unique camaraderie and support the craft beer industry is known for.

“Brewing beer has been a passion of mine for a long time and I’m living the homebrewer’s dream by opening my own place,” Steve said. “After graduating from the American Brewer’s Guild last summer, we made the commitment to open up a brewery and took the first step by buying a really cool copper brewhouse which we stored while we searched for the perfect place.”

Beer Maestro David Mentus is getting back into the game to help the couple launch the endeavor. "I am excited to bring my experience and passion for brewing craft beer to Bootstrap Brewing and the town of Niwot," he said. "We will be offering an eclectic mix of beers from classic styles to unique ales and lagers that will satisfy a wide range of beer enthusiasts."

Bootstrap Brewing will have a tasting room that will be open to the public in the afternoon, customers can purchase tasting flights, pints and 64-ounce growlers to take home. In addition, the company will have a wholesaler’s license. 

Initial hours for the tasting room will be Monday-Thursday 3-8 p.m. and Friday-Sunday noon to 8 p.m but that may change.

Frasca on Eater

An article about Frasca in Boulder is on Eater today. Check it out here.

James Beard Nominee

Congrats to Frasca Food and Wine for a James Beard Award nomination in the Outstanding Wine Program category. Other nominees in that category are A16, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Emeril’s New Orleans, and No. 9 Park.

Party at Niwot Market

On Thursday, March 15, Niwot Market celebrated its 10th anniversary with a party for its friends and neighbors.

At the Ollin Farms booth, kids have fun planting seeds.

Speaking of seeds, Curtis Jones, Niwot resident and owner of Botanical Interests (a seed company) was so busy talking about seeds and gardening that he didn't have time to snap any photos. If you know Curtis, you know what that means - it seems he's always got a camera at his side, so this is proof of how successful the event was.

 Bert and Alison Steele look like they had a good time, too. 

Happy anniversary to one of the pillars of the community!

Niwot Market Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Farmer's market tomatoes

On Thursday, March 15, Niwot Market celebrates its tenth anniversary in its current incarnation. Old-timers might simply consider Niwot Market the evolutionary decendent of Steele's Market, which preceded it. It's all in the family, after all..

Owned by Bert Steele and his family, the Niwot Market is a big part of the community, and the store opens its arms to other small businesses that need a little space to set up shop or to sell their wares on the store's shelves.

From florists to bakers to jewelery makers, the market has welcomed them all. Produce comes from local farms when possible, and many of the other foodstuffs are from local vendors.

It's not ALL about local though - unlike some of its bigger competitors, Niwot Market sells some specialty items that you won't find at the chains, including a certain brand of canned tomato products that will make your pasta or pizza weep for joy.

And did you know that there's no tax on food in Niwot? The prices you see are the prices you pay.

Bert himself is always willing to lend a hand. From farmer's markets to pancake breakfasts, he is always volunteering space, time, labor, and friendship.

To celebrate the milestone, Niwot Market will be hosting an anniversary party from 4-7 p.m. Thursday night, featuring live music from local bands. The market chefs will be preparing appetizers, and local vendors will have samples on hand, including Colorado's Best, Boulder Granola, and Ollin Farms.

Niwot Market is at 7980 Niwot Road. For more information, see their website.

There's a new distillery coming to town!

Oskar Blues is opening a new distillery in Longmont. Read about it in the Times Call.

Local Foods, Local Jobs

Today the Local Foods, Local Jobs act, sponsored by Senator Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass), passed through the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee. The Local Foods, Local Jobs act supports local, small-scale growers and producers by creating alternative methods for them to sell homemade, value added goods. Senate Bill 48 will allow small growers to sell their products directly to consumers, jump starting local economies and increasing the availability of healthy foods.

Senator Schwartz offered the following comment on Senate Bill 48:

“I am pleased to see that this jobs bill passed with bipartisan support as it will directly benefit many hard-working Coloradans. By empowering Colorado’s small farms and small-business entrepreneurs, this bill will create jobs, strengthen the economy, and promote tourism in our local communities.”

The Local Foods, Local Jobs Act will ease impediments to local markets by exempting home kitchens from certain health inspections that are generally applied to large retailers. Home kitchens will be trained on safe food handling and processing procedures, as well as labeling requirements to ensure healthy products. Small businesses that promote locally sourced foods can get a strong start due to these streamlined regulations.

Sixty-five year-old Monica Wiitanen is the owner of The Small Potatoes Farm in Paonia, Colorado, and will directly benefit from the passage of Senate Bill 48:

“This bill would make a big difference to our farm operation as we could use excess or injured produce to make garlic and chile powder, dried tomatoes, kale chips, potato bread, and lots more. I work with a young professional baker and this will create income for him as well. It really has a spiral effect, and I think it will bring some life and prosperity into our community.”

Nearly 30 other states have passed similar laws to promote local products. Senate Bill 48 is sponsored in the House of Representatives by Representative Don Coram (R-Montrose).