If you’re still pondering attending the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner in Homer, Alaska, on Aug. 3, we’re making your decision even easier! 

Now, before you dine among peonies, you can design with them! 

Make your American Grown Field to Vase Dinner experience complete by participating in our exclusive floral workshop with renowned designer Christi Lopez, AIFD EMC, on Aug. 2 from 10 a.m. to noon on the farm at Joslyn Peonies. 

Imagine learning to design a beautiful arrangement for your home from Christi Lopez, this year’s co-lead of the First Lady’s Luncheon Design Team. Photo by Kirstin Smith Photography.

You’ll work with gorgeous blooms and learn all the techniques you need to create a stunning centerpiece for your home that will engage your guests and be a conversation-starter. You’ll be able to use what you learn again and again, and you’ll be working in person with one of America’s most talented floral designers! 

Photo by Joshua Veldstra Photography.

All materials, including an awesome pair of Corona clippers, are included in the $75 fee. Sign up when you save your seat at dinner! Just add the workshop at checkout. 

You’ve just got to join us in Alaska! 

We’re always looking for ways to make the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour even more special. And when it comes to the Aug. 3 dinner tour stop at Joslyn Peonies in Homer, Alaska, that means an oyster bar! 

Photo by Joshua Veldstra Photography.

Guests at this tour stop will have the extra-special add-on of a full oyster bar hosted by Jakolof Bay Oysters as part of the pre-dinner reception. 

Jakolof Bay Oysters are renowned for their prime condition – plump, clean and firm – a benefit of slow, pristine, cold-water growth. 

Photo courtesy of Jakolof Bay Oysters.

And because the flavor of oysters changes with the seasons, the weather, their age, their reproductive cycles and even their very placement within a small bay, a single Jakolof oyster can provide a kaleidoscope of flavors.

There’s the salty taste of the liquor when it first hits the tongue, gliding into a sweet burst as the silky fatty lipids are released, then a smooth sea tang lingers And if you add lemon, shallot mignonette or Tabasco, that extra kick will give you a thirst for a sip of Muscadet or a local beer. A bite of buttered French bread will clear the palate for another round.

In addition to the oyster bar, guests can also create wearable floral flair at the dinner’s popular bout bar before sitting down for a multi-course artisan meal at a community table overflowing with amazing Alaskan peonies! 

A stunning table will be set with the beauty of Alaskan grown peonies and a break-taking view of the Kachemak Bay. Photo by Joshua Veldstra.

Oh, and it all takes place smack dab in the middle of fields of peonies in full bloom.

Opportunities like this don’t last long, and just a few seats for this dinner tour stop remain!

Save your seat and then start planning your Alaskan adventure that might also include sightseeing, tours of more Certified American Grown peony farms and fishing excursions.

Sacramento chef Aziz Bellarbi-Salah understands the joy amazing food brings to people’s lives. In fact at his area restaurants Brasserie Capitale and Café à Coté, the menus embrace “the charm of life” an evening of fine dining provides.

Guests at the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner June 12 in Sacramento will get a taste of Chef Bellarbi-Salah and Chef Christophe Cornet’s talents as they dine on the lawn of the State Capitol at tables overflowing with flowers and greens from flower farms spanning the entire state of California.

Sacramento icon, Chef Aziz Bellarbi-Salah, has created a delightful menu for guests of the Sacramento Field to Vase Dinner using much-loved California Grown ingredients. Photo courtesy of Brasserie Capitale.

The variety of flora is going to be breathtaking, as are Bellarbi-Salah and Cornet’s dishes. After all, Bellarbi-Salah and his father, Reda Bellarbi, have been icons of the Sacramento restaurant scene for over 20 years. Reda opened the doors of the iconic Aïoli Bodega Española (1800 L Street in Midtown) in August 1994 and The Grand Wine Bar (1600 L Street) in February 2007.

And they’ll be working with top-quality, farm fresh ingredients, many of which are coming directly from the California Cattlemen’s Association, the California Blueberry Commission, the California Olive Committee, the California Fig Advisory Board and the California Milk Advisory Board.

Guests at the VIP reception will enjoy a variety of appetizers, including avocado mousse canapes, beef tartare and brie and onion crostini.

Photo courtesy of Brasserie Capitale.

The multi-course dinner will feature a mixed green salad with watermelon, radish, ricotta, blueberries and chopped herbs; roasted salmon with tomato basil relish, eggplant with tomato-basil coulis; seared bavette steak with red wine reduction and potatoes gratin or a vegetarian option of ratatouille in puffed pastry; and cantaloupe with a fig and port reduction.

You won’t want to miss this unique opportunity to dine on the lawn of California’s capitol surrounded by the floral bounty of the state and enjoying the delightful menu created by Chef Aziz Bellarbi-Sala.  Photo by Eye Connoisseur Photography.

An artisan meal; wine, craft brews and floral-inspired cocktails; and a tables abundantly dressed with American Grown Flowers and Greens. All in the shade of the trees of the State Capitol building. What’s not to love?

Just a few spots remain!