SAGRA
Culinary Breeding Network sagra events are joyful, vegetable-centered celebrations inspired by the sagre of Italy—seasonal festivals that honor harvest, place, and community. These gatherings bring people together around great food, connecting farmers, seed breeders, chefs, and eaters to celebrate vegetables at their very best and the stories behind them.
Each CBN Sagra shines a spotlight on a specific crop or closely related vegetables—such as radicchio and chicories or winter squash and other winter vegetables—exploring their flavors, uses, and cultural roots. Grounded in seasonality and regional growing conditions, the sagre invite curiosity, learning, and connection from seed to plate.
Sagra del Radicchio
Now a much-anticipated winter gathering in the Pacific Northwest, Sagra del Radicchio celebrates one of Italy’s most beloved vegetables along with the many chicories and crops that thrive during the colder months. Guests taste radicchio in its many forms—from deep burgundy Chioggia to speckled Castelfranco to sunny, egg-shaped Verona—while meeting the growers, breeders, and chefs who bring these varieties to life.
The event features chef-led cooking demonstrations, a raw radicchio tasting bar, art installations, and a rotating mix of pop-up activities designed to spark joy, creativity, and play. It’s a feast for the senses and a celebration of winter vegetables in all their bold, bitter beauty.
Winter Squash Sagra
The Winter Squash Sagra celebrates the abundance, diversity, and playful potential of the cucurbit family. Guests explore a wide range of winter squash varieties while learning from farmers, breeders, and chefs about how to choose, store, and cook them.
Hands-on highlights include a winter squash butchery demonstration station—where visitors can learn how to break down large or unfamiliar squash—and the beloved #cucurbitcuddles photo booth. Together, these experiences help build confidence in the kitchen while honoring the seeds and growers behind the harvest.
Across all CBN Sagra events, the goal is not only to celebrate flavor and beauty, but also to encourage seasonal eating, support regional seed stewardship, and create meaningful connections between the people who grow food and those who enjoy it. At their core, these gatherings reflect a simple belief: vegetables can be deeply cultural, deeply delicious, and deeply joyful—and celebration is a powerful way to bring people together.
