Bread, Cheese & Cured Meat Festival tomorrow

TRINIDAD - The annual Bread, Cheese & Cured Meat Festival will be celebrated at White Heron Cellars tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 18, starting at 6 p.m.

Vinman's Bakery, Alpine Lakes Cheese, and Glondo's Sausage, all from the Kittitas Valley, will be offering their artisan foods. Visitors will be able to sample or put together their own delectable picnic.

Vinman's has been making European Style breads with a Kittitas Valley twist for many years. Alpine Lakes Cheese makes a variety of hard to soft farmstead cheeses from sheep's milk.  

Glondo's Sausage will bring its Italian style salami, coppa, and other cured meats. It opened in 1986, and the recipes are well honed.

The Kittitas Valley theme will be completed by Open Country Joy of Ellensburg. Its members will play their inimitable funk/jam band style.

"They call themselves country funk, but it's hard to hear the country part," White Heron proprietor Cameron Fries said. "Maybe it's because they are from the country."

Bread, cheese, and cured meat will be available for purchase from the individual artisans. There will be a $10 charge at the door for the musicians, and White Heron will have Iron Horse beers available in addition to wine.

The next White Heron event, a week later on Aug. 25, will be the annual TomatoFare. Heirloom tomatoes in all shapes, sizes, and colors will take center stage.

Sun Dial Bistro from Soap Lake and Tequila's from Ephrata will also be here, preparing dishes centered on tomatoes. It all goes from 1 to 5 p.m. Advance-purchase tickets will cost $20. They will be $25 at the door.

Admission will cover tomato sampling, wine sampling and food from the two restaurants. It also covers central Washington songwriter Michael Carlos and his Latin rock 'n roll style big band.