Wednesday, April 14, 2010

4/14 - Jim Fiolek, Beth Aldrich, Barry Bostwick, Paul James

Jim Fiolek - Executive Dir - Santa Barbara Vintner's Assoc 
 2010 Vintners' Festival Weekend  April 16th - 19th The annual Santa Barbara County Vintners' Festival Weekend attracts wine lovers from near and far for an opportunity to meet member vintners, taste their wines, and enjoy great food and music over a long spring weekend.  The main event is the Vintners' Festival - a festive outdoor environment at River Park in Lompoc on Saturday April 17th from 1 to 4pm. The festival features the wines of our 130+ members of the Association, live and lively music, a silent auction and wine country cuisine by the area’s finest chefs. But our wineries will be hosting  throughout Santa Barbara Wine Country Friday April 16th.

Master Gardener Paul James -  HGTV   "Grow Your Own Food"
Spring has sprung and it’s time to start planting! People are looking to eat simple, delicious foods – especially those grown at home – which can make all the difference for you and your family. In fact, a recent study showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans are interested in growing their own food in a backyard garden, and that 3 in 4 Americans prefer to eat foods with a few, simple ingredients. Master Gardener Paul James, host of HGTV’s “Gardening by the Yard,” is here to get us started! His tips on how to plant and grow in community and home farms will be useful to the 56% of Americans who did not grow food last year because of their lack of time and space. He can also talk about his role in the Triscuit “Home Farming Movement,” which celebrates the values of simple goodness by encouraging people to discover the joy of growing fresh herbs and vegetables at home no matter where they live. To help Americans get started, Triscuit is putting plantable herb seed cards in four million boxes of Triscuit crackers to be grown on home farms in backyards and balconies, creating 50 community-based home farms with non-profit Urban Farming to connect communities through growing food together, and working together with the National FFA Organization to create encourage farming methods for the future.
 
Barry Bostwick - BARRY BOSTWICK (Uncle Henry on NBC's "Secrets of the Mountain" )
Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Barry Bostwick stars in NBC’s two-hour movie “Secrets of The Mountain” as loveable and eccentric Uncle Henry who leaves his family some unexpected surprises.  From his portrayal of the quintessential all American Brad Majors in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” to the Mayor Randall Winston on “Spin City,” Barry Bostwick has had quite a career spanning all facets of show business.  Bostwick made his professional stage debut when he was a sophomore at San Diego’s U.S.I.U. School of Performing Arts in the summer stock production of “Take Her, She’s Mine.” He later attended NYU’s Graduate School of the Arts and made his Broadway debut soon thereafter in the title role in “Cock-a-Doodle-Dandy.” Bostwick earned two Tony nominations for his roles as Danny Zuko in “Grease” and for Joey in “They Knew What They Wanted.” Bostwick won a Tony for “Best Actor in a Musical” for his portrayal of “The Robber Bridegroom.” In 1991, he returned to Broadway to star in “Nick and Nora.” Last year, Bostwick starred in the features “Bedrooms,” “Together” and “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” Bostwick’s most recent TV appearances have been on “Nip/Tuck,” “‘Til Death,” “Ghost Whisperer” and “Supernatural.”  Bostwick, a prostate cancer survivor, speaks around the country to raise awareness for the disease. On behalf of the American Cancer Society, Bostwick received the Courage Award presented by President Clinton in recognition of his determination to reach others about the importance of early detection. Bostwick was also recognized with the Gilda Radner Courage Award from the Roswell Institute in Buffalo and the Brooklyn Hospital Foundation Award in recognition of his efforts to tell his personal story in the hopes of helping others.  Bostwick resides with his wife Sherri Ellen in Malibu with their children, Brian and Chelsea. Bostwick is an accomplished ceramic artist. His work has been displayed in prominent galleries and he gives many of his pieces away to charities around the country.

Grand Prize winner: French's LIVE Cook-Off Suellen Calhoun, Des Moines
Five national recipe finalists flew to New York City to compete in French's First-Ever Live National Cooking Competition on February 25, 2010. The challenge was to create an original family meal, using at least one French's product, and no more than eight ingredients, which would be ready to serve in under an hour. Twenty-five hundred recipes were submitted to the contest, and five entries were chosen to be prepared live before the panel of judges. Suellen Calhoun of Des Moines, Iowa, took home the grand prize of $25,000 for her Onion Polenta with Spiced Tomato Avocado Salad. A frequent participant in cooking contests, Calhoun said that she planned to donate most of her winnings to the missionary work she holds close to her heart, including humanitarian agencies such as Kids for Hunger, which sends packaged meals to Haiti.

Beth Aldrich - Green Living Expert  (Earth Day - April 22) 40th Anniversary
Beth Aldrich, Healthy Lifestyle and Green Living Expert  As a former PBS TV/Radio producer and host, Beth is a natural choice for enlightening your viewers about the role they can play in improving our planet. She writes the green mom blog and promotes green companies and products on  her blog and in broadcast media. An Executive Board Member for the original  Cool Globes exhibit in Chicago, Beth practices what she preaches at home, as a  busy green mom of 3 sons. Beth is also the founder of For Her Information Media, LLC (FHI) established in 2003, with productions such as the PBS T series,  For Her Information, the radio show, A Balanced Life with Beth Aldrich, and the Online magazine and newsletter, FHI Online.