Farm Bureau's Having Fun With Food

If you've got the balls for it, get your tickets now for the Testicle Festival, in Aromas at the end of the month.

Jim Warren, owner of the 101 Livestock Auction and one of the best auctioneers in the state, will be hosting the third-annual event, a fundraiser for the Young Farmera and Ranchers committee of the .

There will be all-you-can-eat mountain oysters (bull testicles) as well as barbeque chicken, salads, bread and dessert.

The Testicle Festival will 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at the 101 Livestock Auction in Aromas. Loretta Estrada will be preparing the Rocky Mountain Oysters and Derek Witmer will be barbequing the chicken.

The ticket price includes the rocky mountain oysters and full chicken barbeque dinner. It's $40 for adults, $20 for children 5-12 and free for children under 5. The event will have a raffle, live auction and contests for adults and children.

Warren also will be giving lessons to a Young Farmer and Rancher in the art of auctioneering.

Call the Agri-Culture Office for tickets at 831-722-6622 or go online to www.agri-culture.us.

For something sweeter, enter the annual Apple Pie Contest and you could have your apple pie announced as the “Best in the Pajaro Valley” on Tuesday, Sept. 13—opening day of the Santa Cruz County Fair.

The entry deadline for the 35th annual Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau Apple Pie Baking Contest is: Tuesday, Sept. 6, and postmarks from that day will be allowed.

The contest is held on opening day of the Santa Cruz County Fair. Pajaro Valley apple growers, shippers and related industries as well as pie lovers throughout Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley sponsor the contest. It's a much-anticipated event that has been organized by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau since 1977.

Entry forms can be found in the fair’s premium book located at the office, 2601 E. Lake Ave. in Watsonville, online at the county fair website and at the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, 141 Monte Vista Ave. in Watsonville. There is no entry fee for the event.

There are three divisions:

1. Juniors: 17 years old and younger.
2. Seniors: 18 and over
3. Masters: anyone who has won first or second place in the Senior Division in the past.

Each division has cash prizes: First Place $45, Second Place $35, Third Place $25. Best of Show wins $45 and all of the awardees will receive a ribbon.