Celebrate phenomenon of Slow Food Nation

<p>Slow Food Nation -- a four-day celebration of "simple, affordable, sustainable street food" -- will give the Bay Area a delicious taste of America's regional cuisine over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.</p><p>Taste -- a celebration of "good, clean and fair food" from across the United States -- will be held Aug. 30 and 31 at Fort Mason. Tickets are $45 to $65.</p><p>The speaker's series will be held Aug. 29 and 30 at the Civic Center's Herbst Theater and Milton Marks Auditorium. Among those attending are Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini and food writers Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser. Tickets are $5 to $25.</p><p>A free marketplace showcasing 60 California farmers and artisans will be held Aug. 29 through Aug. 31 at the Civic Center Plaza.</p><p>Slow Food Rocks, a music festival featuring Gnarls Barkley and other bands, will be held Aug. 30 and 31 at Fort Mason's Great Meadow. Tickets: slowfoodrocks.com.</p><p>For other Slow Food Nation tickets, go to slowfoodnation.org.</p><p>Slow Food Nation was conceived in 2007 by Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters as a national community event that would celebrate the principles of Slow Food, an organization founded in 1986 by Italy's Petrini as a response to the opening of a McDonald's in the heart of Rome. The movement has spread to more than 50 countries and oversees a wide range of programs ranging from culinary education to the protection of heirloom foods.</p>