The forecast for PepperFest? 'Abundant sunshine!'

We're just 4 days away from the biggest family-friendly celebration of local food all year! The weather station forecasts 66 degrees with abundant sunshine on Sunday -- it couldn't get better than this.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: Bring cash if you want to buy beer/kombucha and speed up the entry process! No outside alcohol allowed. No pets are allowed.

Hundreds of Chatham County peppers have been delivered to over 30 of the most creative chefs, brewers, and distillers in the Piedmont in the name of our community's small, diverse farms and farmers.

Decorations like Fairytale Pumpkins and Mums have been donated by Chatham Marketplace to adorn the music stage for The Tender Fruit and Phil Cook. Hundreds of straw bales are being unloaded and arranged so you can grab a seat on the grass with your savory local food and drinks and watch kids build houses from cardboard -- keep and eye out for the car-sized bubbles floating your way! Join us this Sunday for the 7th annual Amazing Pepper Festival!

Ticket prices for PepperFest increase for the last time this Friday at midnight, and you can purchase yours here before they go up!

Remember -- kids under 12 get in free! Learn about the other "PepperFest Rules."

You may also choose to pre-order your re-usable Abundance NC Kleen Kanteen steel pint to drink beer and water out of at PepperFest, and for years to come! Help us reduce dependence on single-use items -- REUSE!

And if you didn't read last week's e-newsletter, we changed our name and have a new website! Now you can just call us "Abundance North Carolina," or "Abundance NC," for short... or just "Abundance," if you're feeling friendly. And check out our new online homes: PepperFestNC.org and AbundanceNC.org!

cayenne peppers and sweaters,

Tami, Jenny, Beth and Charlotte

Abundance NC

Just 4 Days until PepperFest!

Get your early bird Pepper Festival tickets now for just $30 each until Friday at midnight! Kids under 12 are free!

PepperFest is almost here -- Oct. 5th from 3-7pm at Great Meadow Park south of downtown Chapel Hill by 6 miles!

Keep a lookout for the Lekker Bike Giveaway at Briar Chapel's Pepper Lounge and a few Burts' Bees Giveaways at the Abundance NC Picnic Shelter & Learning Tent.

NEW PHOTO CONTEST: Help us capture PepperFest -- Take a photo at PepperFest, email it to us at wow [at] theabundancefoundation [dot] org and we'll send you a PRIZE donated by our participating chefs, brewers & distillers! All photos submitted will be put in our Facebook album next week, The BEST photo will be front and center on our Facebook page and our next newsletter!

Don't miss this great deal for endless pepper dishes, awesome live music, mini DIY workshops,

kids' activities, and more. Check out all the participating chefs + brewers + distillers, and find out about the mini-workshops and other activities at our new PepperFest website!

Never been to Pepperfest? Not sure what it's all about? Learn all about it here!

BUY TICKETS!

Featured Story:

Why so Spicy? The Science of Peppers

The peppers that will be showcased at this year's Amazing Pepper Festival are delicious and colorful members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Without this family, today's garden would be sadly empty of popular favorites such as potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), tomatoes (S. lycopersicum), eggplants (S. melongena), and tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica). Peppers are of the genus Capiscum, a name which originates from the Greek word "kapto," which means, "I bite". Read more!

Waste Station 101

At Abundance NC we are increasingly trying to make PepperFest a zero-waste event. We're providing all the compostable service ware for serving dishes and drinks, and we've got 15 different compost and recycling stations around the park at PepperFest. We've also got a team of volunteers providing guidance at each zero-waste station! But we need your help and careful attention to prevent contaminating the compost bins....

Before you toss your "waste," pause for a moment:

GREEN ROLLING BINS = COMPOST ONLY: all food, 3" tasting plates, bowls, sporks, forks, spoons, napkins and corn cups go in here! Not sure? ASK!

BLUE RECYCLING RECEPTACLES: all plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans. Not sure? Ask!

WHITE TRUE TRASH BINS: all plastic wrap, used tape, rubber and anything you think MAY contaminate the recycling and compost bins. There are only 2-3 of these at PepperFest. Look for them near the porta potties at the middle of the park!

HAVE A QUESTION AS YOU MAKE THE TOSS? Ask the nearby waste station oversight volunteer! They'll help you out.

THANKS FOR YOU HELP BRINGING PEPPERFEST CLOSER TO ZERO-WASTE!

PEPPERFEST SPONSORS MAKE IT POSSIBLE


Tobago Sponsors:	Jalape�o Sponsors: Pimiento Sponsors: With the help of our great sponsors, PepperFest is able to keep coming back each year.... to celebrate the Piedmont's farmers and sustainable agriculture, and the creativity of chefs, brewers, and distillers with Chatham County peppers! Learn more information about our PepperFest Sponsors.

Upcoming DIY Workshops:


INTRO TO AQUAPONICS grow your own fish! OCT. 18, 10 AM-3 PM Aquaponics is gaining considerable attention lately as a serious sustainable farming practice... Mike and Rachel will show you how to build your own backyard system. Just add plants, fish and water... Instructors: Mike Yablonski, PhD & Rachel Tinker-Kulberg, PhD $50 Learn more + register!	DRINK 'N THINK: cocktail alchemy OCT. 19, 4-6 PM This session will enact a comparative religious history of the alchemical traditions implicit in the distilling of spirits and mixing of cocktails. The very word "cocktail" originated in 1803... Instructors: Colbey Reid & Gary Phillips $35 Learn more + register!	RAISING RABBITS FOR MEAT why and how? OCT. 25, 10 AM-3 PM Rabbit meat is healthy, lean, and very low impact. With the manure you can fertilize your garden and with the fur you can make warm stuff! Instructors: Mary & Dan of Fatty Owl Farm $40 half-day $80 full-day Learn more + register!

Why the new look?

New logo, new website, new name... it's been a journey.

People also often ask us, "So... I've seen your name around a lot, but what exactly is it that you all do?" We decided we need to do a better job of explaining to everyone what we are all about.

So in the spirit of clarity, we decided we needed to do a better job of explaining to everyone what we are all about. And in figuring out how to explain how all the diverse things we do relate to each other, we realized it was time for a new name, a new mission and vision, and a new website that was easier to navigate and glean useful information from.

We sincerely hope that this re-visioning process will in the end make us better at doing what we came here to do...

Read the story of our journey, or...

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE!

Thank you for being part of the Abundance community!

Stay Connected

Tobago Sponsors:

Pimiento Sponsors: