October 06, 2004
Pleasant weather and continuous live music accompanied the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce's third Olive festival. The event was modest, attracting local residents to the manicured grounds of the mother house of the Dominican Sisters adjacent to the adobe Mission San Jose. Olive oil, Art, craft and food booths were surrounded by olive laden trees which are picked by the Dominican sisters. Every year Nick Sciabica and Sons presses the olives for the sisters to sell as a fund raiser.
This year olive oil retailer Tony Peninsi of Big Paw Grub had a successful day selling his signature wild herb and mushroom vinegars and olive oils.
Volunteers of the Mission Olive Preservation, Restoration and Education Project (MOREP) manned a booth selling rooted olive cuttings from some of the original trees planted hundreds of years ago by the mission fathers. Sales of donated soap, Mission variety olive oil and other olive related products go toward the group's goal of restoring existing mission orchards to productivity, replanting groves on mission grounds and producing oil for fund raising purposes.
The Olive Oil Source booth gave demonstrations of the First PressTM home olive oil press and pneumatic harvesting and pruning equipment. Lisa Deane answered questions about Pieralisi and Il Molinetto centrifugal pressing systems and print material was available.
For more information about MOREP