Beet kvass peddler, Friday night at COP for Festival of Friendly Ferments 2015. Thanks to Andrea B. for the photo.

This past weekend went by in a flash. For anyone who attended the Festival of Friendly Ferments, presented by The Light Cellar at the facilities at Canada Olympic Park this past weekend, did you feel the need to sleep in on Sunday morning? Or did you wake up in a flash super-inspired to create new ferments, combinations dreamt over the course of the night? A combination of both in my case, it would seem.

Sandor Katz, sharing stories and fermenting ways on the Saturday

I would like to send a great big huge CONGRATULATIONS and MASSIVE THANKS to the good folks at The Light Cellar in Bowness, for so aptly putting together a festival of fermentation for both newbies and seasoned fermenting vets alike, and for inviting me along to take a seat on this crazy fermenting ride. The weekend was a smooth affair, with delicious eats and treats available for sampling; the kraut-off was a hit, not to mention Larry The Big Pickle; the community that gathered and shared stories and recipes, tips and tricks; and of course, the inimitable Sandor Katz, the grand guru of fermenting brought his wonderful wit, anecdotal tales and his wealth of fermenting knowledge and history to the weekend's festivities. The whole weekend flowed smoothly from one topic to the next, with chances for participants to get right in there and get their hands dirty with a few take-home ferments. I had the distinct pleasure of hanging out at the Flavour-Your-Own-Water-Kefir station, where it seems everyone came through and asked some fabulous questions, imparted some of their own fermenting tales and struggles, I had a most wonderful time with the lovely Angela setting you up for water kefir success.

Our spot at this weekend's Festival of Friendly Ferments. Yummy homemade probiotic soda participants flavoured and took home to try it out! Thanks to Dean C. for the photo.

If you are new to this blog, or are receiving this post via my newsletter (thanks to the 60 new folks to the newsletter!), know that there are a few things here on this site that may be of interest to you. Take a tour of the site, check out the full information on hosting your own fermenting party at home; find out about upcoming presentations on Navigating Fats, Optimizing Digestion and other topics that may be of interest to you; request your own favourite topic or get in touch with a topic you may want to bring to a group in which you belong (like the talk for healthy nutrient-dense lunches I am offering this week to the parents of new Grade 1 students at a school here in town); you should also know that I have a Holistic Nutrition practice where I do nutritional counselling at Renewal Homeopathy & Wellness here in Calgary. Whatever it is you need, I am all ears. Welcome, both new and seasoned visitors alike!

The bubbles were such a nice touch! Bit blurry, but completely beaming, we all. Thanks to Tanya M. for the photo.

COMMUNITY CULTURE SERIES WINNER: I have announced the winner to the Giveaway so very generously offered by Malcolm and the team at The Light Cellar. Congratulations to Jennifer Bergfeldt who will be participating in The Light Cellar's continuing series of connecting with local fermenters as a five-week follow-up to this past weekend's Festival of Friendly Ferments! Jennifer, like many others, signed up for my newsletter just recently and it was her name that came out of the hat. I will be leading this first class this week on how to make your own Beet Kvass, full information to be found on the kvass class here. The Light Cellar is selling individual tickets to those who would like to attend a class or two, but let me tell you, it's a fantastic deal to sign up for the next five weeks of Thursday night classes, as you will delve into 10 different styles of fermenting and connect with 10 different fermenting ambassadors from our local community. It is a whopper of a deal, and a definitive way to continue the magic from this most wonderful weekend of Friendly Ferments. Full information on the Community Culture Series can be found here, including tickets.

So whether or not you are new to this fermenting way of food life, I would like to welcome you to Good Food + You, and thank you for taking the time to stop by the booth this past weekend or for supporting me in my new venture over the course of this last year. I am so very grateful for your interest and support, and for the community backing that happens in this vibrant food + health scene here in Calgary. I invite you to get in touch if you're keen on delving deeper into reclaiming your food & body groove. Here's to good food and you!