The Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market will host its Fall Festival from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, and will showcase a variety of Fresno State food and wine products, including free samples of the market’s popular candy-coated almonds and raisins, pumpkin and vanilla ice cream, fall salami varieties, olive oil, chicken tortilla soup, cranberry sauce and other items.
The festival will also feature a pumpkin patch.
“This is the Gibson Farm Market’s biggest event of the year and a great chance to connect the community with the amazing products that our students produce right here on campus,” said Jeremy Lewis, farm market manager. “The Jordan College takes pride in giving our students hands-on exposure in the farm-to-fork process, and they can explain the process first-hand to our customers. Families can buy Halloween pumpkins and fall food items and taste many of our most popular and new products as well.”
The award-winning Fresno State Winery will offer a free wine-tasting from noon to 4 p.m. and will sample its 2013 Muscat Canelli, 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 Saviez Syrah and 2013 Barbera wines. The farm market is the only store in the Central Valley that sells all 19 wines currently available from the nation’s first bonded collegiate winery.
A kid’s zone will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and will offer a pumpkin-carving area, face painting, crafts, prizes and a chance to take photos on a tractor.
A campus farm animal zoo will feature campus livestock and animal science students.
Patrons can also purchase barbecue tri-tip sandwiches prepared by the Fresno State meats lab.
The campus food processing unit will also sell its new pumpkin pie-flavored almonds that were created by unit manager Julia Jepson and culinology student Aida Beltran. A new cranberry sauce will also be available that was designed by Dr. Dennis Ferris, the department’s culinology director.
The horticulture unit will be selling fall and winter vegetable plants.
Patrons can also vote for their favorite pumpkins carved by each of the campus farm units.
The Gibson Farm Market is the only place to buy all the products from the University Agricultural Laboratory’s 22 enterprises that are managed by Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology staff and students. Proceeds from all sales help fund programs for the Jordan College and its enterprises that mirror the diversity of the nation’s leading agricultural area.
