Rooted in Community

Rooted Santa Barbara County presents Rooted in Community, the second annual bilingual plant-powered fall festival on Sunday, October 13 from 2-7 pm at the Community Arts Workshop, 631 Garden Street in Santa Barbara. Featuring a food court, live music, story-telling, art projects, trivia, giveaways, and a “Chopped”-like competition, the event celebrates the role of plant-centered nutrition in equipping our community with more health-care options. Attendees can enjoy this event in either English or Spanish, thanks to simultaneous interpretation by Bridging Voices-Uniendo Voces.

Rooted in Community will showcase local partnerships, fun activities for kids, live music and story-telling, trivia and giveaways, and delicious plant-powered bites from local restaurants from 2-5 pm. The event will also feature an educators’ table with 5-minute meal plans, tips, and recipes. Participating restaurants include Rascals Vegan, Cafe La Fonda, Nimita’s, and Farm to Bar serving plant-based mocktails. This portion of the festival is free and presented in partnership with the Greater Santa Barbara Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Guests who pre-register for the event will be entered into a drawing for plant-filled prizes and will receive a treat from Sun & Swell Foods.

The Chopped-like competition will take place from 5-7 pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.. Hosted by prominent local television producer JD Roth, the showdown will challenge three teams of talented local chefs and culinary educators to prepare an appetizer and entrée using a mystery basket of plant-based ingredients for a panel of judges. Competing will be Diurka Sotomayor RD and Mary Galindo, RD, Registered Dietitians & Culinary Educators, Rooted Santa Barbara County; Sandra Adu Zelli, Chef and Owner, Gipsy Hill Bakery; and Melissa Pettito, RD, A-List Personal Chef, Registered Dietitian, Cookbook Author. Judging the competition will be Dalan Moreno, Chef and Owner, Rascals Vegan; Erik Talkin, CEO, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County; and Michelle Fried, Sustainability Manager with a Masters in Food Systems Sustainability.