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The “Lavender Ladies,” a group from Capitola’s Mid-County Senior Center (MCSC), will make a guest appearance Sunday at the Live Oak farmers market (9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 15th & East Cliff). Culinary-related products for sale will include cooking lavender, edible lavender sugar, and bowl cozies. They will also have lavender eye pillows, sachets, massage oil, and sugar scrubs.
Proceeds benefit the nonprofit MCSC (mid-countyseniorcenter.com), which provides dozens of activities and programs to individuals 50 and older. There are currently nine Lavender Ladies who volunteer their hours and donate needed materials to create the products. The lavender they utilize comes from local gardens including the on-site MCSC garden.
The annual Watsonville Strawberry Festival kicks off from 5-9 p.m. Friday with carnival attractions and music at Watsonville’s City Plaza (358 Main St.). The festival is from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday on Main Street. There will be many vendors selling items like art and jewelry, plus lots of strawberries and treats including strawberry tamales, strawberry funnel cake, strawberry pizza, and strawberry shortcake twinkies. Admission is free. Visit watsonvillestrawberryfestival.com.
Mushroom shop and café Far West Fungi (224 Laurel St., 831-226-2626, farwestfungi.com) recently added three menu selections, all vegetarian: watermelon poke with pickled shiitakes and sriracha mayo, porcini arancini with chili pepper marinara, and mushroom loco moco. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Sunday is the next monthly Westside Marketplace from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2801 Mission St., co-hosted by Food Trucks A Go Go and the Santa Cruz Mountains Makers Market. The food trucks will be Pana, Cuevas, What the Pickles, Three Waves Coffee, Cracked Cookies, and Aunt LaLi’s. More than 40 vendors including Tiny House Chocolate and Mike & Nikki’s Honey will be selling items. Ancestree performs live music from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Visit facebook.com/events/795829785129962.
The Watsonville Wine, Beer & Art Walk will be 1-5 p.m. Aug. 20. Early bird tickets are available for $35 until Aug. 5; then they are $40. The event features 22 wineries and breweries including Martin Ranch Winery, Pelican Ranch Winery, Santa Cruz Cider Company, The Slough Brewing Collective, Fruition Brewing, and Buena Vista Brewing Co. Attendees will receive a wine glass, tote bag, and passport book for one tasting at each site. For details and tickets, see eventbrite.com/e/wine-beer-and-art-walk-2022-tickets-320375962127.
Scrumptious Fish & Chips has several upcoming popups. These include 1-6 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown Santa Cruz farmers market (and the same hours Aug. 10 and Aug. 17), 4-8:30 p.m. Thursday at Humble Sea Brewing Co. (and the same hours Aug. 11 and Aug. 18), and 4-8 p.m. Friday at Stockwell Cellars. Other appearances include the Felton farmers market and Steel Bonnet Brewing Co. See full schedule at scrumptiousfc.com.
Staff of Life Natural Foods (906 E Lake Ave.) is doing Wine Down Wednesday wine tasting from 5-7 p.m. every other week. Customers receive a 10% discount on any items from the tasting. The next events are Integrity Wines Aug. 10 (tasting Chardonnay, Cabernet, Rosé, and Sauvignon Blanc with winery owner Eric Silverman) and Armitage Wines Aug. 24. Also, from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays—at least until the end of August—the store is featuring cheeseburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, and tater tots.
Colectivo Felix is doing a popup at 5 p.m. Saturday at Soif Wine Bar & Merchants (105 Walnut Ave., 831-423-2020, soifwine.com). No reservations are needed for this event, which will last until 8 p.m. (or earlier if sold out). Selections will include Empanada Duo (Black Bean Mole & Chicken); Monterey Bay Fish Crudo with Hoja Santa Aguachile, Red Onion & Cabbage Encurtido, and Camote Chips; and Farofa & Seaweed Crusted Fried Oyster Mushrooms with Corn Huancaina and Scallions.
Leslie Karst, author of the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari culinary mystery series set in Santa Cruz, will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bookshop Santa Cruz (1520 Pacific Ave.) to celebrate the release of The Fragrance of Death. There will be a short talk, reading, and Q&A, as well as a book signing. The event is free, but registration is recommended as seating will be limited. Register at bookshopsantacruz.com/leslie-karst.
Quick Bites, compiled by Tara Fatemi Walker, is your weekly helping of Santa Cruz County restaurant, food, and drink news. Send items to sentinelfood@gmail.com (Sunday 7 p.m. deadline for that week’s column). Want local food & drink news as it happens? Follow the Sentinel’s food crew on Twitter @santacruzfood.
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