Mail Tribune Holds "Dare to Pear" Contest With the Pear Blosson Festival Association

MEDFORD, OR .— The 2009 Dare to Pear Challenge is currently running through April 5th on mailtribune.com/daretopear, adding an interactive element to the regional Pear Blossom Festival by encouraging people to visit local restaurants, taste the pear special, and be the critic while voting online for the best pear cuisine.

Local restaurants will be offering special pear menu items that have been carefully paired with Rogue Valley wines, or beer, depending on the dish. Each restaurant will present a ballot for voting on the pear menu item and complementing beverage, but users are encouraged to go to the Dare to Pear web site to place their vote.

Participants are encouraged to gather a group of friends or make it a date night, to try different items at different places. Participating restaurants include 38 Central, Jackson Creek Pizza and Habaneros.

“This new element of the Pear Blossom Festival is an exciting addition to Medford’s largest community event” said Richard Barney of RJB Consulting. “Medford has long been renowned for it’s pear industry, so it’s great to be able to have our downtown restaurants spotlighting dishes prepared with the fruit (pear) that has historically helped build our local agricultural economy, along side the newest wave of fruit (grape) produced here”.

A celebrity jury of judges will taste the same entries and a final decision, or overall winner, will be announced during the annual Pear Blossom Parade Saturday April 11th at 11am and posted online at mailtribune.com/daretopear.