As summer, 2010 all too quickly slips into the past, you (and everyone else except the skiers)  are wishing you could savor summer  all through winter.  In a way, you can.  All that delicious produce in your supermarket (or, better yet, in your garden) is just waiting to jump into jars and remain in suspended animation until some snowy day when you long for fresh-like fruit.  Yes, truly fresh fruit appears in the supermarkets in winter, too but at exorbitant prices and with diminished taste.  The long journey from who-knows-where to your supermarket jacks up the price and diminishes the flavor; the produce grows too old and tired to retain its just-grown taste.  Canning is one inexpensive way to feed the year-round urge for produce that tastes great. Furthermore, you know your own canned goods won’t have preservatives, color additives, or other chemicals you may not want to consume.

With almost everyone on some sort of diet--be it low-calorie, low cholesterol, low-fat, low-salt, or low everything--why would you choose summer entertainment that highlights food?  Here's the answer--these festivals not only educate visitors about the crops and food industries in their area; they also offer a lot more--for example, music, cooking demos, contests, and games.  There are food fests galore during the late spring, summer, and early fall.  You might even find a few within a morning's drive from your home. It's a great day's fun for adults and kids. Even if you're not planning to attend, you'll find some of the activities and refreshments described below amusing (or, perhaps in one case, disgusting).