PORTLAND, Ore., April 25, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Oregon Truffle Festival, a Willamette Valley-based nonprofit organization and North America's premier truffle celebration, announces dates for early 2020. The festival's two weekends, spanning January 23-26, 2020 and February 14-16, 2020, are supported by the Willamette Valley Visitors Association through its Regional Grant Awards. The new grant, awarded in early 2019, promotes regional messaging to drive tourism in winter months and supports the festival's year-round goals of building Oregon's native truffle industry.
With four native Oregon truffles and the successful cultivation of prized European truffles in the Willamette Valley, the region is North America's contribution to the short list of world-class truffle and wine regions. This singular culinary bounty in Oregon wine country, coupled with the winter timing of the truffle season, presented a perfect opportunity for collaboration between the festival and the Valley's regional marketing organization.
The 2020 Oregon Truffle Festival will open with the world's premier truffle dog competition, the Joriad™ North American Truffle Dog Championship, wherein spectators cheer for teams of truffle dogs and their trainers as they race to search for hidden truffle-scented targets. Aspiring foragers from far and wide will have the opportunity of finding their own truffles by registering their dogs for the popular two-day Truffle Dog Training camp on January 24 and 25.
The January weekend in Eugene and surrounding counties promises decadent dinners, wine pairing luncheons, cooking classes, a fresh truffle marketplace, and much more. The full lineup of events and participating chefs, restaurants, wineries, and culinary artisans will be made available on the Oregon Truffle Festival's website in the coming months.
The February weekend, with its especially romantic timing in 2020, highlights the shared terroir of Oregon wine and truffles. Taking place at some of the region's most notable wineries, the north Willamette Valley weekend will include truffle hunts, indulgent winery luncheons, decadent winemaker dinners, and a truffle brunch. The weekend will close with a festival favorite, the Newberg Fresh Truffle Marketplace, which brings together regional wines, artisan foods, and fresh local truffles.
Tickets to weekend packages and à la carte events will be released in September 2019.
The Willamette Valley Visitors Association and the Oregon Truffle Festival share the dual goals of raising awareness for the region as a year-round travel destination and driving economic impact to all parts of the region. Every year, the festival takes place across several Willamette Valley counties, including Yamhill, Marion, Polk and Lane counties, across two weekends and welcomes domestic and global travelers seeking the ultimate truffle and wine experience.
The small grant awarded by the Willamette Valley Visitors' Association further supports the Oregon Truffle Festival's seasonal programming, offering many more opportunities to discover the allure of Willamette Valley wine and truffle country. More details on events and workshops will be posted on the Oregon Truffle Festival's website and social media channels as they are scheduled.
This project has been funded in part by a grant from Willamette Valley Visitors Association in utilization of Travel Oregon Regional Cooperative Tourism Program funds.
ABOUT THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY
The Willamette Valley, Oregon's leading wine region, has over two-thirds of the state's wineries and vineyards and is home to more than 500 wineries. It is recognized as one of the premier Pinot noir producing areas in the world. Other cool-climate varieties such as Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Gewürztraminer are equally at home in the Willamette Valley. Around 150 miles long and up to 60 miles wide, it is Oregon's largest AVA. Named for the river that flows through it, the Willamette Valley has the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in Oregon. The region is also a hub for native Oregon truffles and cultivated European varieties, placing the Willamette Valley on the short list of world-renown wine and truffles regions.
ABOUT THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY VISITORS ASSOCIATION
The Willamette Valley Visitors Association is a private, non-profit organization that supports travel and tourism in the Willamette Valley – Oregon Wine Country. Comprised of six destination marketing organizations, the Willamette Valley Visitors Association works to maintain the Willamette Valley as Oregon's premier wine destination, while highlighting the culture, heritage and natural resources of the region. For more information, please visit oregonwinecountry.org or call (866) 548-5018
ABOUT THE OREGON TRUFFLE FESTIVAL
The Oregon Truffle Festival is North America's premier event for truffle appreciation and education. Held every winter in the Willamette Valley, it attracts thousands of culinary travelers, chefs, growers, dog trainers, scientists and journalists from all over the globe for a series of dynamic and participatory events. The festival was founded in 2006 by renowned mycologist Dr. Charles K. Lefevre, OTF General Manager, Leslie Scott, and is run in partnership with OTF Culinary Director Charles Ruff. Dr. Lefevre is also the founder of New World Truffieres, a company specializing in truffle cultivation. Now planning its 15th year, the Oregon Truffle Festival is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Follow the Oregon Truffle Festival on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates.
SOURCE Willamette Valley Visitors Association
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