Please find attached the draft Plan of Activities for 2006. Next week the Committee will meet to finalise and approve it, hence my message to all of you – you can still make a contribution to it, by adding your name as Event Leader or Helper, by suggesting more activities or changes to the ones drafted.

Those of you who will find your names in the plan, please confirm your readiness to take over and think of a day in the month that would, in your opinion, be best for the event, or suggest a different time of year if the one drafted is not convenient. I will also appreciate a (very short) paragraph about the event – how you see it organised, where, what help you will need, etc. With this information, supplied before 16 February, we should be able to finalise the plan and post it on the website. Thank you for your co-operation.

I have got some more info for you, collected from various sources. Hope it's of interest:

Food Health & Society course at Schumacher College, Devon

I have been asked to circulate the attached flyer as a reminder. Cinzia Scaffidi, Director of the Research & Documentation Centre, from Slow Food in Italy, is amongst the excellent team of lecturers.

Slow Food Trails

Slow Trails is an Australian travel company that seeks to provide unique and authentic travel experiences to Italy. This year, for the second time, they will be conducting an Italian Food and Wine tour which culminates in a visit to the 2006 Salone del Gusto in Turin. As Slow Food members they felt that this tour would be of interest to fellow members in the UK.

Slow Trails also provides a range of activities for those desiring authentic Italian Food and Wine experiences that could be of interest to your members. They appreciate and understand the significance that quality food and wine makes to any journey of discovery, no more so than in Italy. Consequently their work mission is to actively share this link with others through initiatives such as Slow Food Tour 2006 and other possible slow travel experiences.

If you would like more information on the tour you can find it on their website www.slowtrails.com.au .

Le CittÞ dell'Arancia 2006
Slow Food Lentini has once again organized Le CittÞ dell'Arancia ('Cities of the Red Orange') with the Arancia Rossa di Sicilia IGP Consortium.
For this fourth edition of the festival, the towns of Lentini, Carlentini, Francofonte, Scordia, Grammichele, PaternÐ and Mineo will represent the best of Sicily's blood orange producers, hosting events throughout February, including exhibitions, tasting sessions, painting competitions, concerts, guided tours and dinners featuring this fruit.
In addition a number of Slow Food convivia across Italy and in Belgium (Belgique Sud), Germany (Berlin-Brandenburg, Dresden, GÆttingen, LÝbeck, Oberfranken, Pfalz, Saarland and Ulm) and the UK (Appetite-Herts, Bristol, Cornwall, Derby, Edinburgh, London, Ludlow Marches, Narberth, Newcastle, North Yorkshire, Skye and Lochalsh, Somerset, Waveney Valley and the Weald of Kent-Sussex) will also join in the festivities. These convivia will hold blood orange-themed dinners on February 23 in their respective cities, with oranges and other traditional Sicilian products provided by the sponsoring Sicilian orange exporters.

- Visit the CittÞ dell'Arancia 2006 website (in Italian) for a list of events and participating convivia, or contact slowlentini@tiscali.it.

Slow Food Facts & Figures

Did you know that:
In 2005 the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity organized 14 exchanges between food communities and Presidia producers, involving 82 producers from 12 countries?

To learn more about Foundation projects and activities, visit the Foundation website.

Looking forward to your replies,

Tamara Schiopu