{"id":78939,"date":"2025-07-20T21:07:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/78939\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T21:07:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:07:16","slug":"dine-with-sharks-snakes-at-living-coasts-farm-to-bay-in-august","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/78939\/","title":{"rendered":"Dine with sharks, snakes at Living Coast’s Farm to Bay in August"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/a>Owls, hawks, sharks, snakes, jellyfish and an endangered sea turtle will be among the wild company at Living Coast Discovery Center\u2019s annual fundraising Farm to Bay event on Aug. 2 in Chula Vista. (Photo courtesy of Living Coast Discovery Center)<\/p>\n

For one evening in August, San Diegans get the chance to be the dinner guests of slithering snakes, swimming sharks, eagle-eyed hawks and jumping jellyfish at a seaside soiree in their natural habitat.<\/p>\n

Chula Vista\u2019s Living Coast Discovery Center<\/a> is convening the coast once again for what\u2019s become a local summer tradition: a sunset dinner where guests can dine among the bay at its zoo and aquarium. Set in the heart of the marshlands at the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge<\/a>, the center\u2019s Farm to Bay dinner<\/a> on Aug. 2 promises an evening experience with wild company \u2014 for the 16th year in a row.<\/p>\n

\"Emerald,<\/a>Roughly 60 endangered green sea turtles, like Emerald from Living Coast Discovery Center, call San Diego Bay home. (Photo courtesy of Living Coast Discovery Center)<\/p>\n

Farm to Bay\u2019s highlight is its guest list, which is packed with the native species that make San Diego the most biologically rich county in the continental United States. Attendees will get the chance to interact up close and personal with the center\u2019s animal ambassadors<\/a> as they roam the dozens of local food and wine booths that will set up shop at the center.<\/p>\n

As for the star of the show? Naturally, that\u2019s Emerald, the center\u2019s resident Atlantic green sea turtle and a rare representative of the endangered species that calls San Diego Bay home.<\/p>\n

Fundraiser \u2018more important than ever\u2019<\/p>\n

Farm to Bay won\u2019t just be a celebration of the coast. It\u2019ll also be held in support of it, as the nonprofit center\u2019s largest fundraiser of the year. <\/p>\n

All proceeds \u2014 from tickets to auctions \u2014 will go to support the dinner\u2019s wild guests of honor, as well as the camps<\/a>, school trips<\/a> and workshops<\/a> the center holds to educate San Diegans about the spectrum of species they share the coast with.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Farm to Bay raised over $128,000 for the dinner\u2019s animal guests. This year, the center said the fundraiser is even more essential as the Trump administration has clawed back more than $80 million<\/a> in funding from the county\u2019s nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>All proceeds from August\u2019s Farm to Bay dinner will help support the event\u2019s animal ambassadors. (Photo courtesy of Living Coast Discovery Center)<\/p>\n

As the federal government has slashed the grants and other government funding sources that San Diego nonprofits rely on to survive in recent months, the cuts have forced many local nonprofits to stop or scale back services. As they\u2019ve lost federal funds, many nonprofits, like Living Coast, have turned to local donors to fill the gap.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Funds from local foundations and sponsors enable Living Coast Discovery Center to offer free field trips, composting workshops and climate-change classes to local low-income schools. (Photo courtesy of Living Coast Discovery Center)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pot is getting smaller for grants, and it\u2019s becoming reliant on the fundraising that we\u2019re doing and getting our name out there and making sure people are aware of our mission,\u201d said Sadie Klughers, the center\u2019s marketing and communications manager. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, this event is really crucial to spreading the word about the mission and hopefully subsidizing some of the grants that we might not be able to acquire in the coming year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klughers said the funds from Farm to Bay will enable the center to keep providing field trips and other educational programs at little to no cost<\/a> for many local schools.<\/p>\n

By the bay, for the bay<\/p>\n

As guests watch the golden-hour sun sink to sunset over San Diego Bay, a legion of workers and volunteers will be sorting through all the trash generated by the dinner to ensure as much waste as possible gets recycled or composted.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of the center\u2019s commitment for Farm to Bay to be a zero-waste event \u2014 meaning that less than one in 10 trash items must go to landfills. The rest have to be recycled or composted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A team of workers and volunteers will sort through all of the trash at Farm to Bay by hand to make sure as much waste as possible is recycled or composted. (Photo courtesy of Living Coast Discovery Center)<\/p>\n

To meet that goal, Farm to Bay vendors \u2014\u00a0from street-food staple House of Bao<\/a> to sweet shop Babycakes<\/a> \u2014\u00a0will be serving up dishes on reusable materials. It\u2019s all in an effort to ensure Farm to Bay honors the coastal environment that Living Center calls home.<\/p>\n

Farm to Bay has successfully hit the zero-waste benchmark every year it\u2019s been held, according to Klughers. Last year, it shattered that goal, with only one in 20 trash items going to the landfill.<\/p>\n

Tickets<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The food and wine sampling event is adults only. Guests must be aged 21 or over to attend. (Photo courtesy of Living Coast Discovery Center)<\/p>\n

Guests can purchase tickets to this year\u2019s Farm to Bay at Living Coast\u2019s website<\/a>. Tickets for the dinner, which will be held at the center from 4-7:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, go for $120. The event is for guests age 21 or over only.<\/p>\n

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