Valley Sprout And Shout A Garden Party

Hold on to your hat (you could win a prize!) as the last of the spring winds gives way to the fullness of planting season. To celebrate our first spring in our new location, the Co-op is team-ing up with one of our favorite North Valley neighbors, the Rio Grande Nature Center, to bring the community a wonderful family event.

For the past 12 years, the great folks at the Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center have put together a delightful Herb, Wildflower, and Native Plant Festival. We had planned to do a gardening festival of our own, but when we realized theirs was held about the same time we were planning ours, we decided to pool our resources (how cooperative!) to make a fabulous Valley-wide event.

Events will begin on Saturday May 20, at both the Co-op and the Nature Center. They will continue on Sunday only at the Nature Center.

Come and sit in the lovely little tent in front of the Valley Co-op and enjoy great music and informative workshops.

Speakers include: Joran Viers of the New Mexico Organic Commodities Commission; Kathy Begeal; Monica Rude of Desert Woman Botanicals; Aspen of Santa Ana Pueblo’s Gardening Center; and Mark Williamson. Enjoy wonderful music, thanks to north valley neighbor, well-known singer/songwriter Bonnie Bluhm, and the down-home music of Janice and Elliot Rogers. All day long, the Co-op Deli will provide deli-cious, reasonably-priced food from our special outdoor grill for both vegetarians and non-vege-tarians alike. For a complete schedule of activities at both locations, see below.

Other well-known farmers and gardeners will be on hand with bedding plants for sale and informational booths including: Master gardeners Joe and Diane Holdridge; Josie and Dennis of Silent Spring Farm; Sharlene and Michael of Mimbres (No Cattle) Farms; Sun Star Farms; Seeds West; Seeds of Change; Santa Ana Pueblo Garden Center; Rio Grande Community Farms; and the New Mexico Organic Commodities Commission, to name a few. The great folks from Soilutions will be providing the compost and top-soil for the children’s “Planting your Own Beanstalk” activity, and will be happy to talk to any-one interested in composting. There will be a community plant exchange table, and Lozen Synder will share information on horti-cultural therapy.

There will also be prizes in many categories for the best gardening hat. Do you have an old favorite, one beautifully decor-ated, one that has historical signi-ficance, the funniest, most creative and downright funkiest (but it works)? If you do, wear it down to the Valley Sprout & Shout Garden Party at the Co-op and you might just win a prize!

Bike, hike, or to reduce pollution and parking hassles, park your vehicle just down the street at La Montanita’s Partner School, Cochiti Elementary (look for the signs on Matthew Road just east of the Co-op) and ride free all day, courtesy of the City of Albuquerque’s Solid Waste Department vans between the two event locations.

With all the wonderful events going on at both locations, you’ll want to come to the Valley and stay all day, moving between the Rio Grande Nature Center and the Co-op’s Valley loca-tion. Don’t miss this wonderful collaborative event offered to the community by the Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center and your very own, community-owned La Montanita Co-op.