Tidewater Boil and Skagit Farm to Pint Fest at La Conner Marina

Mark your calendars for a gourmet, connoisseur and fun weekend celebrating Skagit Valley grown, caught, brewed and prepared food and drinks Sept. 29 and 30. Genuine Skagit Valley is offering its first ever Tidewater Boil Friday evening at the La Conner Marina. Return on Saturday for the Skagit Farm to Pint Fest. You will meet Blake Vanfield, director of Genuine Skagit Valley and the event’s sort-of executive chef. She is all but bubbling over with excitement for the complex coming together of people, their skills, talents and the foods and drinks they produce from the bounty of the region. Plus, locating it at the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina puts the icing on the cake.

The location is a key factor, she says. “I am appreciative to be at the Marina and the opportunity to highlight some of its important features to the community in regards to outdoor space and the quality of this public space.”

But first the food. The idea for the Tidewater Boil came from a recipe that will be found in “Genuine Skagit Cooking,” a cookbook and another GSV project, coming out in 2024.

“I love it. It (the recipe) marries fishing and farming communities into one meal. It combines our heritage, what it means to have grown up and been raised in Skagit Valley.” Vanfield sees the Friday dinner “as an opportunity to sit at a table with friends and families and break bread. This is a nice community meal.”

The promotion sums it up: “Dungeness crab, spot prawns, Skagit-grown corn and potatoes and andouille sausage marry in a savory pot of broth. Strained and loaded down the middle of long tables with baskets of buttery cornbread, guests are invited to crack crab, peel as many shrimp as they can and bite into the farm and sea-based flavors of the Skagit Valley. All ages are welcome and ticket price includes all-you-can eat.”

The evening’s entertainment is provided by the Artful Dodgers, with Dean Luce, Peter Bridgman and Tom Forster. Their music includes rockabilly, honky tonk and surf. Luce farms sheep in Bow.

“Genuine Skagit Cooking” can be ordered at a discounted 10% off price at the Boil. It is a community-based cookbook for the recipes, their cooks and the ingredients that make them possible.

The 14 breweries are bringing a variety of beers and ciders, many of them specially crafted to pair with foods for the weekend. The ingredients for both beverages and foods are coming from Skagit Valley farms or the region’s waters.

“There are wonderful farm to pint pairings. It is just beautiful. Chefs are taking advantage of our farm products; it is harvest time; right?” Vanfield observed, ending with an obviously rhetorical question.

Genuine Skagit Valley has created the Pacific Northwest’s only local brew festival. Vanfield notes, “With our farm and food community featured we are differentiating the beer festival as our opportunity to get a taste of Skagit;. That is something that is only going to grow. We will do this every year and we will continue to do this at the La Conner Marina. It is a perfect place for this.”

The Tidewater Boil and Skagit Farm to Pint Fest are fundraisers for Genuine Skagit Valley.

The Tidewater Boil runs 5:30-8:30 p.m. and costs $55. Farm to Pint is 2-6 p.m. at $60. Both have VIP opportunities.

Tickets are on sale at skagitfarmtopint.com.