Farm to Fork Fest Showcases Black Artists, Farmers and Chefs

By Madi Church | Special to The OBSERVER

Last weekend, roughly 100,000 people gathered to attend Sacramento’s 11th annual Farm To Fork Festival. 

This festival celebrates Sacramento’s food and agricultural heritage and honors its designation as ‘America’s Farm-To-Fork-Capitol’. The two-day event was free to attend and featured vendors showcasing local foods, performances, regional wine, cooking demonstrations, and more.

Many local musicians performed including, Arden Park Roots, DJ Stace Lace, Boot Juice,  Zephyr,  Inner Nature, E D D Y, and Nat Lefkoff. 

Grammy Award-winning artist Andra Day headlined Saturday night. Day, 39, is an R&B and soul artist best known for her smash hit song ‘Rise Up’.  She has acted in Hollywood films such as Exhibiting Forgiveness, The United States vs. Bille Holiday, and The Deliverance. 

Sacramento resident Braunte Beeks, a recent move from Seattle, WA, attended her first Farm-to-Fork Festival and was captivated by Day’s performance. As a longtime fan, Beeks was in awe of experiencing Day live for the first time.

“Her voice was amazing,” Beeks said. “I’ve been a fan since middle school, ever since I heard Rise Up, and I will continue to be a fan of hers. It was such a great performance!”

Sacramento residents Patrick and Miranda Taylor attended Farm To Fork for the first time on Saturday. Living in Sacramento for eight years, they were both eager to check out the vendors lined up on Capitol Mall.

“We saw it on the news this morning. We were interested in seeing the food trucks and exploring the festival,” Patrick Taylor said.

Farm To Fork is known to highlight local businesses, farmers, producers, and other organizations. Black-owned businesses and farmers are often underrepresented, but several were highlighted at last weekend’s festival. 

RELATED STORY: Farm-to-Fork Hopes to Spur New Generation of African-American Farmers

Saucy Oysters BBQ made its second appearance at Farm to Fork, generating nonstop lines of eager customers,  roughly selling 700 orders. Founded by Sacramento native Iesha Herrera in 2018, this popular street vendor offers customizable oysters. 

“When I signed up, I crossed my fingers,” Herrera said.  “It was our pleasure to see people walk away happy and we appreciated everyone’s patience.”

For people craving something sweet, Sugar Coated Cupcakes became a popular stop for many festival-goers. Returning for its third year as a vendor, the bakery, owned by Laqueanya Henry, continued to delight attendees with its delicious treats.

“We love it! We try to come back every year,” Henry said. 

For people who crave savory condiments, Pearson’s Premium Gourmet BBQ Sauce returned to the vendor for the fifth time on Saturday. Born and raised in Sacramento, David Pearson and his brother Harold Pearson Jr started their business inspired by their father. The Pearson brothers try to come back and vendor at Farm To Fork to keep increasing their sales and gain attention from the community. 

“We were featured in magazines and tons of cases of our sauce got sold, just by being visible at Farm To Fork,” said David Pearson.

Farm To Fork draws visitors from across the country and attracts vendors from various parts of California to showcase their fresh locally sourced products. The Bay Area’s  The Final Sauce, a women-owned and run BBQ sauce vendor, debuted here.

Brownie and Princess Sims were inspired to create their business from their Aunt Marion’s hot sauce recipes. Their goal is to inspire older black women who aspire to be business owners. 

“I don’t care how big or small the event is, there’s a renewed energy being put out here [every time],” said Princess Sims. “We want to show other women it’s not too late, you can still do this.”