It’s a midsummer day’s dream with food demonstrations, a farmers market, plant starters, gardening advice and a soil tunnel for the kids to explore at a Plants and Healthy Living event Saturday at Foster Botanical Garden.

The free event kicks off with a talk about the Blue Zones Project and its healthy-living initiatives, followed by food demonstrations, said City and County of Honolulu recreation specialist Iris Fukunaga.

Trisha Gonsalves, founder of Mama T’s Ital Kitchen, will demonstrate how to make smoothies and other green drinks reflective of her vegetarian and vegan restaurant’s offerings.

“We’ll be having Down to Earth doing a meatless meatball and chocolate pudding, and we’ll end up with Divine Creations,” said Fukunaga. “She’s going to be doing a few tofu dishes and maybe a musubi, a healthy local musubi with a twist.”

The farmers market will have an area featuring starter vegetable plants, eggplants and assorted vegetables, as well as blooming floral plants and succulents, Fukunaga said.

Olay Thai Food Express and Jamba Juice will have food and drink for sale.

A plant doctor will be on hand to answer questions. Those who want to show the doctor a sample of the plant are asked to bring it in a zip-top bag to prevent disease transmission, she said.

One of the speakers is a master gardener who will give a morning talk about super soil, because “you really just need good soil to grow healthy plants,” Fukunaga said.

A vermiculture demonstration with dirt, worms and “food materials” will go more in depth about super soil, but even the kids can get in on some dirty fun.

Children have a chance to get an up-close look at what super soil looks like in the soil tunnel created by Department of Parks and Recreation staffers, complete with the “creatures that you normally find in soil,” Fukunaga said.

Not real ones, just so you know.

“We’ve been making them out of seed pods and painting them. It’s a bit abstract,” she said.

Also for children is the activity area where they can try “botanical painting, or paint on a clay pot and bring it home with a zinnia plant, or participate in other activities and bring home rosemary plants,” Fukunaga said.

Kids can also make a planter from an empty toilet tissue roll. “We’re going to be putting a plant in there, and they can take it home and plant the whole toilet tissue roll into the ground,” Fukunaga said.

They’ll learn how the hungry caterpillar of storybook fame exercised healthy eating habits.

A horticulturist will talk about planting and nurturing houseplants, while representatives from Growing Creations will offer instruction on growing herbs.

Docent-led tours of the garden will begin at 1 p.m. Foster Botanical Garden closes at 4 p.m.

The Plants and Healthy Living event replaces Foster Garden’s usual Midsummer Night’s Gleam while repairs to the upper terrace continue.