The Plant presents the 18th Annual PepperFest on Sun, Sep 14, 12pm-6pm. PepperFest is a celebration of sustainable agriculture, local farmers, and the creativity of the Piedmont’s top chefs, brewers, and artisans. The event features peppers grown on-site in the Pepper Patch, a hot sauce contest, a variety of Pepper-Themed food and drinks from The Plant denizens, a chili cook-off, pop-up vendors, live music, and many more pepper-related activities. The average distance traveled by this year’s peppers can be measured as roughly fifty yards.

PepperFest originated in Pittsboro in 2007 to support Doug Jones’s plant breeding work at Piedmont Biofarm. At the first PepperFest, visitors walked through a tent filled with raw pepper samples and filled out surveys on clipboards before they could receive a beer. Doug was licensing his seeds to seed companies, and he needed consumer data to back up his work in pepper genetics.

Touch the pepper patch and physically see the difference between a poblano and a Marconi pepper on the vine. You’ll also see the Scotch Bonnets (Jamaica’s national pepper) before they are picked for dishes served at Kingston 99 Kitchen. You’ll also see how Flying Pepper Vodka is made at Fair Game Beverage Company, using Aji Dulce Tobago peppers grown in The Plant’s pepper patch.

Grab a pepper beer from bmc brewing, food at Kingston 99 Kitchen or JDub’s PoBoys, and wander The Plant’s eclectic campus.

This event is free to the public, and tickets are not required for this year’s event. If you have accessibility questions, contact tami.schwerin@gmail.com. Pets are not recommended – please leave your furry friends at home.