PASADENA, Calif.--Once considered a messy sidewalk annoyance on the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) campus, the fruit of the 130 olive trees lining the campus pathways is now being embraced for its contribution to Caltech's sustainability. The olives will be harvested and pressed into olive oil in Caltech's second annual Olive Harvest Festival on Friday, November 7.
Caltech students, faculty, and staff will join together for this harvesting event. If members of the public would like to participate in the Olive Harvest Festival, they can contact Caltech by e-mail at oliveharvest@caltech.edu.
The olive oil will be sold in the Caltech Bookstore approximately one month after the event, with the proceeds going to fund student scholarships and activities.
The Olive Harvest Festival serves as a signature celebration of the ongoing sustainability initiatives at Caltech. Campus sustainability projects range from installation and operation of Pasadena's largest solar-power facility on top of Caltech's Holliston parking lot to the operation of a thriving campus recycling center.
Activities during the Festival occur throughout the entire day. They include:
Olive Harvesting 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Using tarps, ladders, buckets, rakes, and other tools, harvesting teams will begin at the Olive Walk location and sweep through the rest of the campus, collecting olives by hand. Harvesters will transfer picked olives to large crates for processing by the Regalo Extra Virgin Olive Oil Company; then on to the Santa Barbara Olive Company for bottling and labeling.
Olive Milling, Pressing, and Brining/Pickling 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Using a mill and press commissioned specifically for this event, ten people will push the 1,600-pound wheels, and the olives will be put through the manual process that extracts the oil.
Culinary Tastings and Sustainability Exhibits 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Student clubs involved in promoting Caltech's sustainability will host various exhibits and tasting opportunities.
Edible Tour of Campus Noon - 4 p.m. Maps for a self-guided tour will instruct people on how to find, recognize, and prepare the plants and herbs around campus.
"Green" Tour of Campus Noon - 4:00 p.m. Guides will lead tours of the campus while discussing on-campus efforts toward sustainability, including Pasadena's largest-ever solar facility atop Caltech's Holliston Parking lot, several new clubs, and three new LEED gold-certified buildings that are under construction.
Caltech Jazz Band Noon -1:00 p.m. Musicians from the Caltech Jazz Bands will perform.
Ice Sculpture Carving 1 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. An ice carving demonstration will be presented by one of the sous-chefs from the Athenaeum, Caltech's faculty club.
Harvest Festival Games 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. A variety of Festival games will be played in the theme of the Olive Harvest, including olive-branch limbo, hot olive (potato), and olive in a spoon races.
Olive Harvest Dinner 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. A Mediterranean-themed dinner will be prepared by the chefs from the Athenaeum and Caltech Dining Services. Undergrad student waiters will be assisting in serving the family-style dinner that attracted 2,000 people last year.
For more information and the complete schedule of the Olive Harvest Festival, visit http://olives.caltech.edu.
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Written by Martin Voss