No kid will be bored during winter break when The Culinary Kids Food Festival hits the New York Botanical Gardens February 17-23.
Culinary Kids Food Festival
February 17–23, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
In the Dining Pavilion behind the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
As part of the Garden’s Edible Academy initiative, join us for a family-friendly, weeklong food festival celebrating the relationships among plants, farms, and your favorite foods. Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden staff and the culinary team, Growing Chefs, will be on hand offering cooking demonstrations, recipes, and hands-on activities, with plenty of music and tastings to add to the fun. Bring your Festival passport along as you tinker with the science of kitchen chemistry and get to the root of foods from pickles to cheese at a variety of activity stations. The daily 1 p.m. cooking demonstration will feature kid-friendly recipes and tasty samples, while local chefs will share tips and recipes.
Activity stations:
Tip-Top Pickle Shop
Visit the Tip-Top Pickle Shop to learn more about the science and cooking behind food preservation. Experiment in our chemistry kitchen to test acids and bases, and take home a recipe to make your own pickles at home.
Cheesemonger’s Shop
Explore the fun, simple and fascinating process of cheese making and sample fresh cheeses you help to make. Learn about the animals behind the scenes and the plants they like to eat, and take an up-close look at the smallest cheesemakers of all—bacteria!
The Bakery
Experience the art of bread-making from seed to loaf, and grind your own sample of flour to take home and use in your own recipes. You’ll learn about the various grains used to make different kinds of bread, from whole wheat blends to gluten-free.
Spice Adventures
Spices are harvested around the world from plant parts for their powerful flavors, aromas, and colors. Take a sensory journey to learn the origin stories of your favorite spices and vote for your favorites by marking your spice map. Take home a delicious recipe and a passport from your culinary expedition.
Make A Seed Envelope
Grow your own! Fold your own fun seed packet to take home delicious basil seeds, and learn how to grow basil indoors as a tasty sprout, or outdoors in your summer garden. Family Garden staff will be on hand to share green thumb opportunities at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden in 2014 and to share news about NYBG’s exciting new garden and food education facility, the Edible Academy, opening in 2017.
Even Puppets Love to Eat!
February 21 – 23; 11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Janice Buckner’s puppets take a musical, imaginary journey around the world in search of their favorite foods. Join Janice and the puppets on their exploratory adventures at The New York Botanical Garden as part of the Culinary Food Festival. Learn more about Janice.
Bronx Arts Ensemble Family Concert: Hansel and Gretel
In the Ross Hall; Sunday, February 23, 1 & 2:30 p.m.
Hansel and Gretel sing, dance, juggle, and do slapstick to tell the famous story of the pair meeting the Witch in the forest with a wonderful gingerbread house. Animated actors perform to live music played by the Bronx Arts Ensemble musicians. The audience will be introduced to each instrument and join in the adventure! Admission included with an All-Garden Pass.
My kids and I will definitely be attending and so will a few of the other mom bloggers. We will be in attendance on February 22nd between the hours of 10-5 so come by and visit our table and see what we have in store for the kids. One thing your kids can do at our station is write a food blog post that just might be used in a NYBG publication.
New York Botanical Gardens is hooking one of my readers up with a family four-pack of tickets to the festival. Just leave a comment and tell me what healthy foods do you encourage your kids to eat. Giveaway ends tonight 2/17 at 8pm.
Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post but I will be volunteering at a station.
Just a little intro to each of us:
Please check out their blogs
Monica M. Jones
So Family
http://www.sofamilyonline.com
Nichol Perez
Five Little Words
http://www.fivelittlewords.net
Karen Angustia
Mami Does it All
http://www.mamidoesitall.com
Nilsa Karimi
3CityGirlsNYC
http://www.3citygirlsnyc.wordpress.com
Denise Wei-Vital
Boyz Rule Our World
http://www.boyzruleourworld.com
Rebecca Borrero
The Mommy Sauce
http://www.themommysauce.com
Christina Cespedes
Mommy’s Mingle (co-founded with Rebecca)
http://www.meetup.com/Mommys-Mingle/
Scherrie Donaldson
Thirty Mommy
http://thirtymommy.com
Joyce Lee
Bronx PR
http://bronx-pr.com/
Nicole Perrino
BronxMama
bronxmama.com
Five Little Words 
I want to win
Good luck!