To me, this is the essence of the community – its food.

As for our fair, we celebrated the sweet and tart flavors of the Gravenstein Apple. 

The Slow Food USA site describes this Sonoma County favorite:

The Gravenstein, which was first planted in Sonoma County in 1811 by Russian trappers, ripens in late July—making it one of the first apples in North America ready for market.  It is a squat, irregularly shaped apple with a very short stem that comes in a variety of colors; it usually has a greenish yellow background covered with broad red stripes.  The Gravenstein is known for its all-purpose versatility as a terrific eating, sauce and pie apple.  The apple has a crisp and juicy texture and a flavor that is aromatic and full of old-fashioned, sweet and tart flavor.

At our little fair, fair-goers were treated to fritters and pies, and were able to test their competitive skills eating a freshly made Gravenstein Apple pie with no hands, work their through a delicious caramel apple, gulp a jar of apple sauce or show off their apple juggling skills. As our kids scattered about the children’s section painting their own faces, gathering herbs to create herbal teas, decorating bags and blowing bubbles, Grayson cored an apple, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and wrapped it in dough. When finished, he proudly held it before him and exclaimed, “Look what I made! Can we bake it at home?”