Quick Bites: Food Calendar

July 16-17
Pageland Watermelon Festival
Located in Chesterfield County (46 miles southeast of Rock Hill), Pageland touts itself as the “Watermelon Capital of the World.” To reinforce this image, the town has held an annual Watermelon Festival since 1951. Steamy July days make the perfect weather to chow down on cool, refreshing watermelon. See how much watermelon you can consume in 90 seconds, or enter the watermelon seed-spitting contest. A pageant, parade, live music and a kids’ carnival add to the fun.
Pearl St., downtown Pageland.
(843) 672-6400
www.pagelandwatermelonfestival.com

July 22
Cooking Class: Simple Fresh Southern
Join Chef Mark Pollard, The Cook’s Station’s corporate chef, for this quintessentially Southern class. Participants will enjoy recipes from the Lee Brothers latest cookbook, Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor. Fee includes the demonstration and a multi-course meal.
The Cook’s Station, 659 S. Main St., Greenville. 6-8 p.m. $40. Reservations required. (864) 250-0091 or email julie@thecooksstation.com, www.thecooksstation.com

August 12
Cooking Class: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
In August, Chef Mark at The Cook’s Station will be cooking with Julia Child—in spirit anyway—as he prepares dinner from the pages of Child’s classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Fee includes the demonstration and a multi-course meal.
The Cook’s Station, 659 S. Main St., Greenville. 6-8 p.m. $40. Reservations required. (864) 250-0091 or email julie@thecooksstation.com, www.thecooksstation.com

August 13-15
Asheville Wine & Food Festival
Entering its second year, this festival heralds the goodness of wine and food items produced in North Carolina. Leading up to the main events in mid-August, local chefs will square off against each other in weekly dinners at The Flying Frog Café (1 Battery Park Ave.). The last two chefs left standing will vie, Iron Chef-style, for the highest honors at the Grand Tasting on August 14. With more than sixty wineries, regional restaurants, and local food producers represented, the Grand Tasting promises to attract a host of Carolina foodies.
Expo Center at the WNC Agricultural Grounds Campus, Asheville, N.C.
(828) 777-8916
www.ashevillewineandfood.com

July and August
Carolina First Saturday Market
Join the fun every Saturday morning (May to October) at the downtown market. This is real, one-stop shopping, with just-picked fruits and vegetables—many of them organic—free-range eggs, local honey, baked goods, fresh pasta and sauces, raw-milk goat cheese, fish from the South Carolina coast, flowers and plants, homemade dog treats, and more.
Main St. at McBee Ave., downtown Greenville. Saturday, from 8 a.m-noon. (864) 467-4494
www.saturdaymarketlive.com

July and August
Pick Your Own Fruits and Berries
Fisher’s Orchard
Peaches—some twenty varieties—and nectarines are ripe for the plucking from June to September at Tom Fisher’s family farm. Don’t feel like working? Fisher’s sells already picked fruit as well.
504 S. Buncombe Rd., Greer. Daily,
8 a.m.–7 p.m. (864) 877-2010,
www.fishersorchard.com

The Happy Berry
Its climate moderated by Lake Keowee, this modern subsistence farm welcomes visitors to pick blueberries and blackberries in July. Come back in August for figs, seedless table grapes, and muscadines late in the month.
510 Gap Hill Rd., Six Mile. Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m. until dark; Sat 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun noon until dark. (864) 350-9345, www.thehappyberry.com

Wednesdays in July
Wine on Wednesdays
Gather at Larkin’s on the River Wednesdays after work to sip wines from around the globe and nosh on hors-d’oeuvres. Each Wednesday’s tasting will cover a different region, and wine makers or winery representatives will be on hand to answer questions.
Larkin’s on the River, 318 S. Main St., Greenville. Every Wednesday in July,
5-7 p.m. $15. (864) 467-9777, www.larkinsontheriver.com

Fridays in July and August
Wine Tastings at Northampton Wines
From Alsace to Australia, shop owners Richard deBondt and David Williams cover the globe at their weekly wine tastings. These guys are knowledgeable wine gurus, so the tastings attract a serious crowd. If you’re new to the wonderful world of wine, plan to attend the popular How to Taste (a.k.a. Wines 101) class, held about once every six weeks.
211-A E. Broad St., Greenville. Friday, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Reservations required with admission, $20-$30. (864) 271-3919, www.northamptonwines.com