Farm to Fork plans weekend of events

DURHAM, N.C. — One of the hottest foodie events of the year is next weekend! I'm talking about Farm to Fork, which celebrates local food and farms.

Everything kicks off Friday, June 5, with An Evening Affair at Duke Gardens. The event will include a dinner featuring five acclaimed North Carolina chefs, including PBS "A Chef's Life" star Vivian Howard of Kinston and Amy Tornquist from Watts Grocery and Hummingbird Bakery in Durham. Tickets are $165 each anc include a copy of James Beard award winner and New York Times best-selling author Paul Greenberg's new book, American Catch, which talks about the state of the fishing industry in the United States.

If you want to learn more about Greenberg's work, then the event on June 6 is perfect! Greenberg will be on hand at the Rickhouse in Durham to talk about his book. After that, there will be a panel discussion about local seafood, followed by a fish fry featuring Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood Joint and James Clark of The Carolina Inn. Tickets for this event, which starts at 5 p.m., are $35 for the dinner and $45 if you want to get a copy of Greenberg's book along with your meal.

Of course, the highlight of the weekend has to be the Farm to Fork Picnic at W. C. Breeze Family Farm in Hurdle Mills. More than 30 chefs and farmers will be paired to create amazing dishes. There will also be craft brewers, wine distributors and coffee producers on hand. Tickets are $100 for adults and $50 for those ages 13 to 20 years old.. Children aged 12 years and younger get in for free. The picnic is from 4 to 7 p.m.

Tickets for all events can be purchased through the Farm to Fork website.