Phoenix's First Fermentation Festival Is Going Down April 30

Fermentation is awesome, and if you don't believe us, just consider that just about all the best things to eat and drink — including wine, coffee, bread, and chocolate — require some sort of fermentation to exist. And not to go all Portlandia on you or anything, but you really can pickle just about anything, which not only preserves food in edible form for longer amounts of time, but also makes already healthy foods like cucumbers or carrots or radishes even more delicious and good for you.

All of which is to say that you should probably be pretty excited to hear Phoenix is getting its very own Fermentation Festival. These live culture-centric events have already been popular in cities such as San Diego, Boston, Austin, and, yes, Portland, for years, so it's about time Phoenix gets down with some community fermentation. 

The event, hosted by Suzette Smith of Garden Goddess Ferments, will be held on Saturday, April 30, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Uptown Farmers Market (5757 North Central Avenue) in Phoenix. Attendees can look forward to presentations, demonstrations, and general fermentation-related geek-ery — including, of course, an opportunity to get your hands dirty and ferment some stuff.

According to the event website, presentations will include: 

· Healing With Organics
· Why Eat Fermented Foods
· Benefits of Bone Broth
· How to Beat the Sugar Blues
· Kultured Kommunity Korner Kuestions (Get your fermenting questions answered)                        

Experts will also give demonstrations on how to make kombucha (fermented tea drink), kefir (fermented milk drink), and kvass (fermented rye bread drink). The event will then conclude with a community kraut-making class, during which attendees will select a head of cabbage sourced from a local farm and make their own jar of sauerkraut to take home.

Admission to the Phoenix Fermenters Festival costs $20 — though early-bird tickets are available now through Friday, April 22, for $15.  

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Phoenix Fermentation Festival Eventbrite page.