Like every year at the same time, the famous International Agricultural Show turns the Versailles exhibition center into a giant farm.

This year, the event will be held from Saturday, February 21st to Sunday, March 1st, 2015.

As usual, I will definitely be stopping by, and after browsing through the program, I’ve put together my own selection of insider tips to take advantage of if you visit this Parisian show.

Melle Bon Plan’s selection:

• AOP Ossau-Iraty cheeses (Hall 1, Stand no. 68, aisle F in the “South West France” area, alongside the Pyrenees Milk-Fed Lamb in particular)

Like every year, the AOP Ossau-Iraty originating from Béarn and the Basque Country, the only sheep’s milk cheese from the Atlantic Pyrenees to be AOP recognized and made in the pure tradition of the shepherds of these regions, is participating in the International Agricultural Show.

The goal is to introduce this local product to as many people as possible, while highlighting the wide diversity of its range of cheeses:

• fairly mild dairy Ossau-Iraty
• Basque and Bearnese farmhouse Ossau-Iraty
• summer pasture Ossau-Iraty

The stand will feature a tasting area where visitors can (re)discover the richness and diversity of the flavors of Ossau-Iraty.

The tip: a nice contest on the AOP’s Facebook page where tickets for the SIA are up for grabs.

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• Passion Céréales (Hall 2.2, Stand D042)

After my little trip to Beauce for the harvest, I remain attached to this association that highlights the cereal industry.

To discover at the stand:

• educational activities for the whole family about cereal products
• a presentation of “the cereal workshop,” to discover unusual objects made from agricultural biomass, from their production (a 3D printer and its 100% French bioplastic filament presented exclusively), to their biodegradability (demonstration of composting at home)
• walks in the cereal fields and educational games to discover the plants
• a ride on board a real combine harvester (I did this for real in the Beauce and it was incredible!!!), to chat with a cereal farmer

The tip:

Passion Céréales is giving away tickets for the SIA right here.

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2015 International Agricultural Show

Porte de Versailles

From February 21st to March 1st, 2015

Every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Wednesday and Thursday until 8 p.m.

Price: full price entry: €13 / reduced €6

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“EXPRESS” CONTEST:

The AOP Ossau-Iraty has offered me the chance to give away 2 tickets for the Agricultural Show via my blog.

To participate, just leave a comment below this article answering the following question: What do you like/interest you most about the Agricultural Show?

A random draw will select the 2 winners (1 ticket per winner) from among the people who have answered this question. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the Agricultural Show!

Rules:

– Contest limited to Metropolitan France

– + 1 chance if you are a fan of the blog’s Facebook page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Twitter page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Hellocoton page + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Instagram page + 1 chance for every share of the article (don’t forget to leave your usernames in your comment if you want to benefit from extra chance(s))

– 1 entry per IP address

– Transport to the show location is not included in the prize

– Contest start date: Saturday, February 14th, 2015 – deadline for participation: Tuesday, February 17th, 2015, and results the following day on the blog in an edit of this article

EDIT of February 18th, 2015:

Following the draw, I am announcing that the 2 winners of the invitations for the Agricultural Show are Tchideme and Tchideme corinne0402.

The good news is that my partner Passion Céréales has added 6 other tickets to be won for my readers, and so 6 other lucky people will receive an email from me to win the remaining tickets. So keep a close eye on your email inboxes…

Congratulations to you, I will contact you shortly by email so you can give me your details. Thank you all for your numerous participations and enjoy the Agricultural Show, maybe we’ll run into each other there then!