King Arthur Flour invites baking enthusiasts to help celebrate the grand opening of its new bakery and café, school, and store in Norwich, VT. Special events begin Thursday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m. and continue through the weekend.

“We started this project over two years ago, but the journey began long before that.  Our presence in Norwich has always been about bringing people together to enjoy all things baking,” says Karen Colberg, a vice president and general manager at King Arthur Flour. “In designing and building our new campus, we wanted to create a space that remained true to our brand values of authenticity, quality, and community, where visitors feel inspired and welcome to explore, learn about our history, enjoy our artisan breads and sandwiches, and feel our passion for baking. We’re excited to celebrate the completion of this journey with baking friends from near and far at our grand opening.”

The celebration begins with an open house Sept. 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. featuring complimentary pizza and beverages, plus short guided tours of the new facility. Throughout the weekend guests can enjoy baking demonstrations, kids’ activities, free samples, raffles, and celebrity chef appearances, including a demonstration from Joy Wilson (blogger and cookbook author Joy the Baker) on Saturday at 1 p.m. King Arthur Flour long-time employee-owner, writer, and baker PJ Hamel and former owner and cookbook author Brinna Sands will also be on hand demonstrating a recipe and signing cookbooks on Saturday. Families can experience the joy of baking together on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with hands-on dough-shaping and cookie and cake decorating activities. In addition, the first 200 customers to come in after 8 a.m. Friday through Sunday will each receive a free loaf of bread. Details are available at kingarthurflour.com.

King Arthur Flour broke ground on its $10 million expansion in June 2011 and completed construction on its new baking destination on schedule in July 2012. The company continued all bakery, retail, and educational operations throughout the year-long project.

King Arthur Flour is America’s oldest flour company and premier baking resource, offering ingredients, mixes, tools, recipes, educational opportunities, and inspiration to bakers worldwide. The employee-owned company is headquartered in Norwich, Vermont. Learn more at kingarthurflour.com.