This weekend's Winter Wonderland in Pine Island seeks to inform and entertain

Pine Island - The W. Rogowski Farm in Pine Island will be setting for the Winter Wonderland Festival this Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 1-2 Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids (ages 3-12), and includes the musical entertainment, an all-natural craft for the kids and refreshments. There’s also Gingerbread House Contest, with a grand prize of $250. It will be judged by award-winning pastry chef, Jean-Claude Sanchez (of Jean-Claude’s Artisan Bakery & Dessert Café) and Lisa Ciriello (of Lisa’s Cookie Shop). The contest is intended to encourage families to create a completely edible work of art together. For contest rules, go online to www.Warwickinfo.net/WinterWonderland. Visitors will be able to sample and receive a copy of the recipe for Cheryl Rogowski’s Black Dirt Onion Pie, “as bold and arresting as a New York accent,” according to The New York Times. Guests will also get a taste of her home-made cookies and brownies. On Saturday evening, composer and pianist Richard Kimball will perform. He is a seasoned pianist with an extensive career as a performer, teacher and composer and has produced two CDs bearing his name: The Art of Aging and X-Tempore. On Sunday, Olaj, featuring stringed-instrument musicians, Peter Holmgren and Kevin Andreas (from Village Music in Warwick), will perform. Also on Sunday, All Natural Beef, from Chester, will be providing samples of their grass-fed beef, one of this season’s most popular vendors from the Warwick Farmers’ Market. The Winter Wonderland Festival is both entertaining and informative. Guests will be able to learn more about sustainable agricultural and how buying from local farm markets reduces our community’s dependence upon growing transportation costs while strengthening the local economy through the multiplier effect. Attendees will also be able to speak with Rogowski about her Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that allows them to support sustainable local farming through farm share ownership. “The Winter Wonderland Festival is the perfect family outing,” Rogowski said. “Kids can get involved in crafts while they learn about the role that farmers markets play in our community; meanwhile, music from such local recording artists as Richard Kimball and Peter Holmgren will make it fun for everyone.”