Flavor of Slo
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Thursday, May 1, 2014 ARTS | 6 Students bite into Flavor of SLO San Luis Obispo community members and Cal Poly stu- dents alike can get a taste of local cuisine at the sixth annual Flavor of SLO this Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at the historic Jack House and Gar- dens. It will feature more than 25 vendors including wineries, breweries, coffee shops and restaurants. The tasting event ben- efits United Way, a non- profit focused on helping to create change in the San Luis Obispo community through education, income and health. The event is planned by a team of seven Cal Poly students, with the help of staff members from the United Way team. One of these students, com- munication studies junior and vendor coordinator Kendra Berner, is planning the event for her senior project. Cal Poly alumna Jessica Sisco started Flavor of SLO as her senior project in 2009 and since then, different Cal Poly students have have continued the event. “We are seeing more vendors from Atascadero and Arroyo Grande,” Berner said. “This will give a lot of students who have only been in San Luis Obispo a change of pace; they can taste food from all of San Luis Obispo county.” Berner has enjoyed meet- ing many of the local busi- ness owners, including some Cal Poly alumni. “I grew up in San Diego and didn’t really get to ex- perience that small-town feel of being able to know local business owners,” Berner said. “It’s been a re- ally cool experience being able to work with business- es based here.” Breweries featured at the event include Black Brew- ing and Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Wineries include Wood Winery, See Canyon Vineyards, Justin Vineyards and Winer, Broken Earth Winery, Pear Valley, Cass Vineyard and Winery and Cottonwood Canyon. United Way Project Coor- dinator Rachel Cementina enjoys the variety of brew- eries and wineries present in the county. “We have so many wineries and up-and-coming brewer- ies, as well,” Cementina said. “There are so many options and it is great to have them all in one place. It is great to bring all parts of the county together in one location.” Alternative drinks will also be available for tast- ing. Downtown Boba, Scout Coffee Co. and Swan Sisters Fine Chinese Teas will each have a booth at the event. Cementina acknowledged the role of the Cal Poly stu- dent team in Flavor of SLO. “We are really thankful that students keep choosing to sup- port United Way and help us raise money each year,” Ce- mentina said. Berner chose Flavor of SLO as her senior project because she had previ- ously enjoyed working with local companies. “You are not going to see a lot of big corpora- tions at this event be- cause we want to feature local businesses because they are giving back to the same community that stu- dents here are growing up in for four years,” Berner said. Not only has Berner helped with coordinating the ven- dors, but also with adding more interactive entertain- ment to the event, including a photo booth and two music acts — James Statton and The Rick Jarret Group. Hayley Noriega, sociology junior and member of the planning committee, has en- joyed being part of the seven- student team, she said. “Each year, the teams take different approaches to marketing, getting sponsor- ships,” Noriega said. “We brought our own perspec- tive. It is really nice that we have been able to bring our own talents to the table.” Noriega brought her own skills with marketing and public relations to the table through writing press re- leases, managing the Face- book event and reaching out to the local media. She also reached out to the local community at a Chamber of Commerce meeting by giv- ing an announcement about the event. At the same meet- ing, there was an announce- ment about a United Way proj- ect that was installing change collectors around the city to give community members the choice to donate money to ad- dicted persons. “It was kind of a full-circle moment,” she said. “Here we are promoting an event and then here is a program that would directly benefit from what we are doing.” Noriega is also excited to see her team’s planning come full circle on Sunday. “I am most excited about see- ing who comes out to support and who comes out from the community,” she said. “I think it will be nice to see people en- joying themselves but doing so for a good cause.” Pre-sale tickets can be pur- chased online at FlavorofS- LO.com. Tickets are $30 for students and $40 for adults. Kelly Trom @kttrom COURTESY PHOTO SUNDAY 1-4 p.m. Jack House and Gardens
Transcript of Flavor of Slo
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Thursday, May 1, 2014ARTS | 6
Students bite into Flavor of SLO
San Luis Obispo community members and Cal Poly stu-dents alike can get a taste of local cuisine at the sixth annual Flavor of SLO this Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at the historic Jack House and Gar-dens. It will feature more than 25 vendors including wineries, breweries, coffee shops and restaurants.
The tasting event ben-efits United Way, a non-profit focused on helping to create change in the San
Luis Obispo community through education, income and health. The event is planned by a team of seven Cal Poly students, with the help of staff members from the United Way team.
One of these students, com-munication studies junior and vendor coordinator Kendra Berner, is planning the event for her senior project. Cal Poly alumna Jessica Sisco started Flavor of SLO as her senior project in 2009 and since then, different Cal Poly students have have continued the event.
“We are seeing more vendors from Atascadero and Arroyo
Grande,” Berner said. “This will give a lot of students who have only been in San Luis Obispo a change of pace; they can taste food from all of San Luis Obispo county.”
Berner has enjoyed meet-ing many of the local busi-ness owners, including some Cal Poly alumni.
“I grew up in San Diego and didn’t really get to ex-perience that small-town feel of being able to know local business owners,” Berner said. “It’s been a re-ally cool experience being able to work with business-es based here.”
Breweries featured at the event include Black Brew-ing and Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Wineries include Wood Winery, See Canyon Vineyards, Justin Vineyards and Winer, Broken Earth Winery, Pear Valley, Cass Vineyard and Winery and Cottonwood Canyon.
United Way Project Coor-dinator Rachel Cementina enjoys the variety of brew-eries and wineries present in the county.
“We have so many wineries and up-and-coming brewer-ies, as well,” Cementina said. “There are so many options and it is great to have them all in one place. It is great to bring all parts of the county together in one location.”
Alternative drinks will also be available for tast-ing. Downtown Boba, Scout Coffee Co. and Swan Sisters Fine Chinese Teas will each have a booth at the event.
Cementina acknowledged the role of the Cal Poly stu-dent team in Flavor of SLO.
“We are really thankful that students keep choosing to sup-port United Way and help us raise money each year,” Ce-mentina said.
Berner chose Flavor of SLO as her senior project because she had previ-ously enjoyed working with local companies.
“You are not going to see a lot of big corpora-tions at this event be-cause we want to feature local businesses because they are giving back to the same community that stu-dents here are growing up in for four years,” Berner said.
Not only has Berner helped with coordinating the ven-
dors, but also with adding more interactive entertain-ment to the event, including a photo booth and two music acts — James Statton and The Rick Jarret Group.
Hayley Noriega, sociology junior and member of the planning committee, has en-joyed being part of the seven-student team, she said.
“Each year, the teams take different approaches to marketing, getting sponsor-ships,” Noriega said. “We brought our own perspec-tive. It is really nice that we have been able to bring our own talents to the table.”
Noriega brought her own skills with marketing and public relations to the table through writing press re-leases, managing the Face-book event and reaching out to the local media.
She also reached out to the local community at a Chamber of Commerce meeting by giv-
ing an announcement about the event. At the same meet-ing, there was an announce-ment about a United Way proj-ect that was installing change collectors around the city to give community members the choice to donate money to ad-dicted persons.
“It was kind of a full-circle moment,” she said. “Here we are promoting an event and then here is a program that would directly benefit from what we are doing.”
Noriega is also excited to see her team’s planning come full circle on Sunday.
“I am most excited about see-ing who comes out to support and who comes out from the community,” she said. “I think it will be nice to see people en-joying themselves but doing so for a good cause.”
Pre-sale tickets can be pur-chased online at FlavorofS-LO.com. Tickets are $30 for students and $40 for adults.
Kelly Trom@kttrom
COURTESY PHOTO
SUNDAY1-4 p.m.
Jack House and Gardens
