Festival Flavor In Full Force: BBG’s 19th Annual Chile Pepper Fiesta

Saturday, October 1, 2011 | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Release Date: August 11, 2011

Brooklyn, New York—August 11, 2011—One of the world’s most widely used culinary ingredients will once again be the focus of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Chile Pepper Fiesta, upcoming on Saturday, October 1, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Musical performances, dancing, and tongue-tingling food will include elements inspired from Cajun, Indian, West African, Mexican, Moroccan, and other chile-loving cultures. And BBG’s Herb Garden will be bright with peppers like Scotch bonnet, pimento, serrano, bell, Tabasco—and our hottest, the habanero (Capiscum chinense).

Over a dozen local chocolatiers and confectioners will showing off their spicy sides, including Taza, Whimsy and Spice, Fine and Raw, Liddabit, and Tumbador Chocolate. Visitors will also have the opportunity to judge The Brooklyn Chile Chocolate Takedown, hosted by Matt Timms, who will award the afternoon’s champion amateur chef.

Special treats from People’s Pops, Nuts + Nuts, Sourpuss Pickles, Green Salsa Company, Mama O’s Premium Kimchee, Tickle Sauce, and other local food purveyors will be on hand to show off their spicy and savory specialties.

The day will be full of live performances throughout the Garden. The Grammy-nominated Lost Bayou Ramblers return from Lafayette, Louisiana, and promise to bring down the house with their Cajun rhythms. Other performers include Chico Mann, the electronic afro-freestyle beats artist; Dominic James and the Rhythm Machine, showcasing Congolese rumba rhythms with Caribbean influence; The Defibulators, playing hometown honky-tonk; the mariachi group Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino; and Dogcat, playing its Balkan, Moroccan, and Middle Eastern grooves.

The heat stays on throughout the day as festival goers are dazzled by feats of flame performed by renowned circus masters Robbins and Ringold. Plus, the Zagat-rated Terrace Café will offer a special Chile Pepper Fiesta menu to tingle the taste buds with spicy food and flavorful beer. For more information on all performances and activities, please visit bbg.org/chilepepperfiesta.

About Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an independent nonprofit institution committed to education, research, and the display of horticulture. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn, the Garden is home to over 12,000 kinds of plants and hosts more than 725,000 visitors annually. Learn more at bbg.org.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Garden is closed on Mondays except public holidays. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens (65 and older) and students with ID. Children under 12, all school groups, and Garden members are admitted free at all times. For directions, please visit bbg.org/visit/directions.

Learn what’s happening at Brooklyn Botanic Garden at bbg.org/visit/calendar; read the Garden’s blog at bbg.org/news; and see photos of current highlights at bbg.org/bloom.