Sunday, October 2, 2016, 2-7pm
Located at the Great Meadow, Briar Chapel, Chapel Hill.
For directions, click here.
The Amazing Pepper Festival is North Carolina’s largest local food festival – with 50+ chefs, distillers, brewers, and culinary artisans – 2 live bands – 1,400+ attendees – and 800 lbs. of local, organic peppers… Come explore the culinary creativity of the Piedmont!
Festival goers get the opportunity to sample different dishes, drinks, and other creations from our vendors – all of which feature local Chatham County peppers. Some are hot – some are not. We value flavor over heat. This is a family affair! Kid’s can spend the festival frequenting our Kid’s Pepperpalooza – a pavilion with all day arts n’ crafts, giant bubbles, kid’s sustainability workshops, an aerial silks demo, and even an insane science show! Come enjoy the food, music, and community! All of this is included in the price of admission. Visit Pepperfestnc.org to learn more!
PEPPERFEST 2016 marks our 9th Annual Amazing Pepper Festival…. and we’re on cloud 9! Pepperfest 2016 will be held once again at Briar Chapel’s Great Meadow Park on Oct. 2 from 2pm – 7pm. For updates on new chefs, a look at last year’s award winning dishes, information on this year’s Kid’s Pepperpalooza, and more – visit Pepperfestnc.org
This year, we’re elated to announce that we’ll be adding another hour to the festival to accommodate a Sustainable Threads Fashion Show, featuring local designers, North Carolina grown cotton, and alternative fibers such as hemp! This event is a collaboration between Fiberactive Organics and Redress Raleigh, a nonprofit that raises awareness about sustainable textiles and “gives a damn” about the effects of fast fashion on our environment. After all, food and fiber go hand-in-hand. To suggest a designer, become a Sustainable Threads Sponsor, recommend a business, or offer any other inspiration, please email wow@theabundancefoundation.org. We’d love to hear your ideas!
Our headliner band is Front Country, a progressive bluegrass band with a “passionately intoxicating” sound. They’re sure to have you dancing the day away. Bring the family. Bring the kids. Bring an open mind and an empty stomach. Commune with Chatham County. Taste the Piedmont. Celebrate the bounty of community, culture, and culinary creativity.
FOR VENDORS
Pepperfest is an AMAZING way for your business to gain exposure, meet some of NC’s most dedicated foodies, align yourself with the local food movement, build up momentum in the community, and show your culinary creativity! This year’s vendors include well know restaurants and brewerys, such as the Fearrington Granary, Top of the Hill, JuJu, Fullsteam Brewery, and Fair Game Beverage – as well as up and coming businesses, such as Haw River Mushrooms.
There’s still time to register for Pepperfest 2016! REGISTER HERE
HOW IT WORKS
As a vendor, you’ll have the opportunity to pick up to $100 worth of local, organic peppers. We purchase and deliver these peppers to you and in return, you make 1,000 samples of a dish, drink, desert, or other culinary concoction with those very peppers to distribute at the festival Oct. 2. We provide the compostable dining ware!
Got any questions? We’ve got answers! Email wow@theabundancefoundation.org with all inquiries.
FOR FARMERS
Abundance NC’s Amazing Pepper Festival grew out of a little local backyard pepper tasting. Chatham County’s own Farmer Doug Jones asked a group of community members to sample pepper varieties he was cultivating and Voila! Pepperfest was born. Since that pepper tasting, we’ve grown to include 50+ vendors and 10+ farmers. In the past, we’ve put a whole lot of emphasis put on the vendors, but it’s the FARMERS who are the root of Pepperfest. This year we’re focusing on honoring our farmers – we’re even giving out farmer awards!
HOW IT WORKS
To become one of our Pepperfest pepper farmers, please contact hannah@abundancenc.org with a list of available varieties, approximate price per pound, and your anticipated harvest schedule. A few weeks before the festival, we’ll get a list of pepper orders from the vendors, then coordinate purchasing and pick-up with our farmers based on harvest schedule, variety, and availability. Last years farms include Granite Springs, Paz, Penny Lane, and Piedmont Biofarm.
FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
At Abundance NC – we love collaboration! We want Pepperfest to act as a switchboard – connecting people with local food, farms, and other nonprofit organizations doing AMAZING work in this community. We invite you to set up an informational table and tent among the food and beverage vendors to promote your message. You don’t have to be a 501c3 nonprofit to table at Pepperfest, but your mission does need to resonate with our’s. If interested, please fill out this Application!
VOLUNTEERING FOR PEPPERFEST
Many hands make light work! It takes about 100 volunteers to have Pepperfest run smoothly and successfully. In exchange for 1 volunteer shift, you can earn 1 ticket – shifts are typically 3 hours or less. Delivering peppers. Hanging posters. Painting signs. Taking tickets. Painting faces. There’s something for everybody! To volunteer, please fill this out. We’re also looking for talented community members with creative kid skills to lead educational or artistic workshops in our Kid’s Pepperpalooza. To lead or organize a kid’s activity or workshop, please email hannah@abundancenc.org.
SPONSORSHIP INFO
Sponsoring Pepperfest is a great way to gain community exposure, attract new customers who are aware of the value of living local, and align your business with the local food movement. Email tami@abundancenc.org to learn more!
