On October 19th, 2014, the Vancouver Farmers Markets will present their 6th annual dinner fundraiser event: RIPE: A Harvest Celebration, at the Roundhouse Community Centre from 4pm – 8pm. RIPE is a casual, family-style meal that includes a feast of delicious and seasonal food prepared by local chefs and market vendors, regional beer, wine, and cocktails, a silent auction, and live entertainment.

The RIPE dinner will be a sit-down, buffet-style meal starting with appetizers prepared by chefs from Edible Canada along with Forage and Vij’s Rangoli, using seasonal food provided by Farmers Markets vendors. Along with our fantastic roster of farm vendors, RIPE 2014 will also feature our new breweries, distilleries, and wineries. Long Table Distillery and Odd Society Spirits will be on hand mixing seasonal cocktails, R & B Brewery plan to brew a signature RIPE keg for the event, and BC Wine Studio will present a selection of their Okanagan wines.

The Vancouver Farmers Markets, a registered BC non-profit society, hosts their annual dinner celebration to raise funds for two main purposes:

1.       To grow and improve the organization that hosts Vancouver’s weekly, year-round Farmers Markets in their efforts to bring healthy, local food to urban consumers.

2.       To build the Farmers Nest Egg Fund, an initiative created by VFM to help farmer vendors in times of financial need and to expand the network of local farmers that make the markets so successful.

RIPE tickets are available online at https://eatlocal.org/ripe/. Ticket prices are $75 , and $15 for children under 12.