Farmers market returns for the holidays
We’re all mourning the loss of our Saturday Durango Farmers Market fix, but we’ll get a reprieve next week.
That’s when market organizers will sponsor the Thanksgiving Market from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 22 in the breezeway at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Your favorite local farms will be bringing hothouse vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and salad greens as well as fall’s root vegetables like pumpkins, squashes and potatoes. Local ranches also will have holiday meats and cheeses for sale.
Non-food vendors will offer everything from pottery to soaps, quilts to cutting boards. And just like at the market, local bakers and restaurants will be there to keep you from going hungry.
As an added bonus, the market coincides with the Gardenschwartz fall extravaganza, selling apparel, footwear, gifts and sporting goods. The Ski Barn will join them in the sale.
Fundraiser to help local chef, family
We all know how hard it is to get and keep a good job here in the Four Corners, so imagine how much harder it is when you’re from a foreign country and require a green card to work.
Mahogany Grille chef Arnold Ngumbao is in just that position. Well-known for his fancy carved creations with fruit and vegetables, the chef is cooking up a pan-African feast Saturday at the Durango Elks Lodge. The dinner will feature a traditional Moroccan lamb tagine with couscous, pan fried fish with coconut lime sauce from his home country of Kenya and a dessert from Zanzibar called a tropical pina colada crumble.
The fundraiser is to help Ngumbao, nicknamed Chef Safari, to pay the legal fees associated with earning a green card and a path to permanent residency in the U.S. The money will also help to settle the last two of his five children in Durango, who were in danger because of the violence in their native country. They are to arrive next week.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday with appetizers and cocktails, and dinner is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by calling 749-2081 or 749-0644.
Next step for supporters of GMO labeling
Although Proposition 105 lost statewide last week, it won in La Plata County. But organizers of the local movement to label all genetically modified packaged and raw foods say they’re not done yet.
Members of GMO Free Colorado Southwest worked for two years to help get the initiative on the ballot and ran the campaign promoting it in our county. Though they’re disappointed with the loss, they view the overall campaign as ultimately helping their cause.
That’s because it informed Coloradans about how large a part genetically modified organisms are of their daily diet. And, they note, similar measures passed in Humboldt County, California, and Maui, Hawaii.
Local supporters are vowing to return the initiative to the ballot in 2016. Further inspired by the success on the local level, they’re also considering an effort to pass the labeling requirement here in La Plata County.
To get involved, email the group at gmofreecoloradosw@gmail.com.
Pamela Hasterok
