Green Dirt Farm’s Creamery Opening and Other Weekend Possibilities

What’s it called when we all scream for cheese? Green Dirt Farm is opening its creamery and tasting room (1099 Welt St.) this weekend in downtown Weston. It means more of their sheep’s milk cheese and yogurt, as well as cow’s milk ice cream (sheep’s milk ice cream is in the works for the future).

The tasting also will feature wine from nearby Vox Vineyards, as well as bread from Weston’s Hearth Bread Co. and jams from Kansas City Canning Co., among other local goods. There also will be suggested cheese and wine (or beer) pairings. The creamery opens Saturday at 11 a.m. and will have a grand opening celebration from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Want to meet the new class of local food trucks? The Mid-Continent Public Library is hosting KC Food Truck Face-Off: Rookie Class 2016 on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Roasterie (1204 W. 27th St.).  American Fusion, Boo Yah, Flossie Mae, Fungal Fusion, Greg-Co. BBQ, KC Pinoy and Pita For Good all will be cooking to be named as Rookie of the Year. The event, which includes food samples and beer and spirits samples from six local breweries/distilleries, is $25. A VIP ticket, which includes early entry, a T-shirt and parking is $45.

The Crossroads Flock Party, a celebration of local food, music and makers, is Friday from 5 to 11 p.m. Snag bites from Mildred’s, Extra Virgin, The Sundry and The Bite. Mid-Coast Modern (2119 Washington St.), a Crossroads shop focused on locally made goods, is hosting a pop-up shop with Dez Nuts from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Country artist Rex Hobart also will be performing.
America has had a long-standing love affair with doughnuts. The World War I Museum and Memorial (100 W. 26th St.) is hosting Storytime: Doughnut Day on Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. It’s a reading of “Paulie Pastrami Achieves World Peace,” along with the story of how volunteers in World War I helped doughnuts go viral, so to speak. The program is free with RSVP.

Here’s a new challenge for you. BeerFit Kansas City is a 5k or mile-long race at Arrowhead Stadium at 9 a.m. Saturday, wherein you drink beer (potentially at the beginning) and definitely at the end. A lot more folks might use a treadmill if they came with drink holders. Registration is $60.

June is strawberry season, hence the Vaile Mansion (1500 N. Liberty St., Independence, Missouri) Strawberry Festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The festival is free, and there will be everything from vintage cars to antiques (100 craft and antique vendors are slated to attend) to strawberry goodies.

Need garden inspiration? The Wornall/Majors Garden Tour, a self-guided tour of six area gardens, is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 in advance ($30 at the door). There’s also a free Strawberry Swing pop-up craft fair with food trucks from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Wornall House lawn (6115 Wornall Road).

Feel like you have enough veggies in your diet? The Bourbon & Bacon Fest is on Saturday at Knuckleheads from 2 to 5 p.m. General admission ($30) includes 10 bourbon and bacon sampling tickets. (There are also designated driver tickets for $20, which include only 10 bacon samples.) VIP tickets (early entry, 15 bourbon and whiskey tickets, swag bag) are $60.

Festa Italiana returns to Zona Rosa this weekend. The annual celebration, which includes Italian bites, an Italian motorsports show (think lots of pretty Vespas) and a host of live musical acts, is presented by the Kansas City chapter of UNICO. Admission is free. The festival is 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

— Jonathan Bender writes about food trends and is the author of “Cookies & Beer” and “Stock, Broth & Bowl.” Follow him on Twitter @jonathanbender.