“DOWN JERSEY COOKING” AUTHOR COLANERO
TO PRESENT AT HARVEST COUNTRY FAIR SEPT. 17

WEST CAPE MAY--The Center for Community Arts (CCA) Harvest Country Fair will return to Rea’s Farm from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 17 (rain date: Sept. 18). The Fair is fun for the entire family, and offers antique, art, craft and food vendors galore, farm-grown produce and plants, and a wide array of kids’ activities. As an added feature this year, “Down Jersey Cooking” author, Joe Colanero, will present a South Jersey Regional Cooking demonstration at 11:00 a.m. and again at 2:00 p.m.

Presenting a “backstage” look at the research behind his book, Down Jersey Cooking: Celebrating our Heritage from Past to Present, Colanero says, “For too long, southern New Jersey's cooking has been under appreciated and scarcely recognized. No longer.” Hear about local favorites Chicken Pot Pie, Lima Bean Soup, Asparagus and Eggs and other regional favorites that define our cuisine. “And don't forget each season's ‘first’ Jersey tomato sandwich!”

Colanero also will be available for personalized autographing of the book. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to CCA.

Readers may be familiar with Joe Colanero from his past writings in Today's Sunbeam on travel, gardening and cooking. He has written for major southern New Jersey newspapers as well as articles in national magazines such as Woman’s Day, Burpee, German Life, and others. He has also been a frequent guest speaker at community organizations and gardening clubs. His Market Memo, a weekly local market selection from our farmers and watermen can be heard on WSNJ-AM or read in the Cumberland Reminder.

His book, Down Jersey Cooking, came about when he believed that the distinctive foodways of southern New Jersey have been overlooked by previous cookbook writers. While criss-crossing the region covering stories on restaurants, food and farming, Colanero has become a cheerleader for the great cuisine that we take for granted. Besides over 250 recipes, the book is full of illustrations, food-related history and cooking tips.

Admission to the Fair, and the cooking demonstration, is free. The Rea’s Farm is at Bayshore Rd. and Stevens St. in West Cape May. Other new activities this year include pony rides, grape spitting contests, a 9:00 a.m. birding walk with national migration expert Paul Kerlinger, author of “How Birds Migrate;” live music at supper time by Black & Tan; and a Straw Bale Maze. In addition, there will be *free* trolley service between the Fair and the Washington Street Mall, departing the Mall at noon, 2:00, 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. For the second year, there will be a Pig Roast Supper, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., featuring JB’s Barbeque, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting CCA.

CCA’s Harvest Country Fair is an event of the Cape May Food and Wine Festival, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). For further information about the Food & Wine Festival, call MAC at 884-5404. Proceeds from the Fair will benefit CCA’s arts and cultural programs, including the Youth Arts Program, the Community History Program and the Art of Vitality.

CCA is celebrating ten years of community building through the arts and humanities. For more information about the Fair or the Center’s programs, call 884-7525 or visit CCA’s website at www.CenterforCommunityArts.org.

CCA’s programs are supported in part by grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Historical Commission, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Lower Cape Alliance, Sturdy Bank, and other generous donors.