Festival offers taste of what County has to offer

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

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Bon Accord – For four hours Saturday, Sturgeon County residents and visitors to the area had a chance to enjoy a perfect fall day and to sample a variety of seasonal flavours from Sturgeon County chefs, cooks and other food specialists all in one place.

Held in conjunction with Prairie Gardens Annual Haunted Halloween kick off, the first Sturgeon County Bounty appeared to be well attended and well received by those participating in the joint venture between Sturgeon County, Travel Alberta and Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm.

Edmonton Garrison Base Commander Lieutenant Colonel Tom Bradley was invited to cut the ceremonial ribbon and to participate in this year’s inaugural firing of Prairie Gardens pumpkin cannon. “This is a great symbol of why it’s fantastic to live in Sturgeon County,” Bradley said of the event prior to cutting the ribbon.

Sturgeon County Deputy Mayor Don McGeachy said he was pleased with the turnout of vendors and visitors to the festival. “We’ve got a great showcase for what’s right about Sturgeon County and all the surrounding municipalities,” McGeachy said, noting he was pleased with the job that had been done putting the event together. “We’re really encouraged with where our Sturgeon county Bounty is going and we want to continue this and grow [it] with enthusiasm.”

A dozen local purveyors of food participated in the inaugural event, each cooking or preparing dishes or goods they specialize in. Whether it was the Dinner Factory’ alpaca meatloaf, Premium Food Services’ Caribbean pork tenderloin, flambéed with dark rum or a healthy dose of wheat grass, freshly juiced while you waited by the people at High Q Greenhouses – the Sturgeon County Bounty offered a number of dishes that are far from commonplace but all available within the region.

But there was more to Saturday’s event than merely giving residents an opportunity to try some foods they may never have sampled before. The festival was part of the County’s initiative to develop value-added agriculture in Sturgeon County, the County Bounty being an opportunity to let producers network with chefs, caterers, restaurants and the public. McGeachy said the goal for the Sturgeon County Bounty is to hold three or four events each year.

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