Celebrate local foods at the Common Grounds Festival

Common Grounds, the farm stand that sells local vegetables and raises money for the Urban Ministry Center, has a great event coming up Saturday morning.

The 5th Annual Cornucopia, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 119 Huntley Place in Charlotte, will be packed with unusual offerings. You'll be able to buy some great things to have on hand in the next few busy weeks, including frozen family-size dinners, soups and chiles, salsas and dips. There will be vendor appearances by Lenny Boy Kombucha, Your Mom's Donuts, The Naked Pig, the Scone Shop, Stella & Dot and Magnolia Coffee, and the food truck Maryland Crab Company. There will be music by Wicked Powers, and art from David French, Liz Saintsing and The Painted Elephant.

And there will be silent auction with offerings from a bunch of local chefs and restaurants, including Block & Grinder, Barrington's, Chef Alyssa's Kitchen, Mimosa Grill, Tin Kitchen, Harvest Moon, Upstream, Passion8, Reid's, Heritage Food & Drink, and the Wine Bar at Foxcroft.

Sounds like you can get a good start on entertaining food, family food and food gifts, all in one stop. And of course, it all still raises money for the Urban Ministry Center.