"EARTH DAY TOO" RETURNS TO ROBLIN

Tired of wooden tomatoes from Mexico?
Tasteless strawberries from California?
Potatoes from Texas or apples from Australia?
(All of which grow quite nicely here on our Canadian prairies, thanks very much!)
What's wrong with this picture?
Wouldn't it be better on so many levels to buy your veggies or baking, or preserves, or meat,for that matter, from a local producer rather than some faceless corporation in the supermarket?Obviously this is not always possible in the "off-season."But how about when these items are at their best,right in your own community?Does common sense not tell us;

a) local food would be fresher,safer, better-tasting and even healthier;
b) we'd save a lot in transportation costs;
c) this would be kinder to the environment (avoiding all the harmful
greenhouse gases produced when our food is trucked over long distances);
d) we'd boost the economic health of those local producers?
Keep reading and find out what folks in the Roblin area of western Manitoba are doing to correct this unsustainable situation.

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The "eat -local" movement in the Roblin area of western Manitoba will get another boost at a special event this fall!
Local Food Producers, the Roblin Life &

Art Centre, and the Manitoba Food Charter present:
SEASON'S-END CELEBRATION MARKET
(sometimes called "Earth Day Too")
August 30, 10 am. - 4 p.m.Life & Art Centre - 3rd Ave NW & Hwy 5, Roblin MB.
Join us as we celebrate local food, life, and art in

partnership with the 100th anniversary of the Life
& Art Centre building.

.Produce

.Preserves
.Pork
.Crafts
.Tea Party
•Films
.Literature
.Celebration

Contact Larry (204) 937-3055 or Tamela 937-8016 for
details.
(Scroll way down to see what our "eat-local" movement did last year.)
Also, watch this video for an excellent summary of this subject from the
Worldwatch Insitute.

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See the postings immediately below for more details.

ORGANIC MEAT JUST ONE OF THE GOODIES AVAILABLE

Visitors arrive at Kate and Doug Storey's Poplar Glen Organic farm near Grandview, MB.
Kate (far r.) shows her guests some of the livestock.

In addition to pork, the Storeys will have their free-range eggs for sale at the market, too!

OTHER VENDORS:

Tamela Friesen (l.with straw hat) and partner Karen Hardy (r. pic.);(AKA,the "Famous Bicycling Chicks.")

They sell all kinds of fresh veggies and preserves.

(They also operate a bed and breakfast just north of Roblin.)
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Rowena and Larry Powell operate a vegetable market garden on a 6-acre parcel they call Earthkeeper Farm. It’s less than 20 kilometers northwest of Roblin.
For five years, their produce was certified organic through the Organic Producers’ Association of Manitoba.
While they no longer have their crops officially certified, their growing methods remain the same.
“We grow organically because we believe in it,” says Larry. “I think far too many chemicals are used on our food crops these days. We somehow have to find a way of 'getting our farms off drugs'and going organic!"
The Powells have marketed much of their produce at farmers’ markets in Winnipeg.
“It’s a long way to go,” Larry adds, “but that is where we had to go to find a ‘critical mass’ of people interested in organics.
“Eventually, I’m sure the market for organics, specifically, will grow to the point where smaller, urban communities will also seek it out.


“We’ll have lots of "fresh from-the-ground" stuff on sale at the Roblin market on Sat., August 30th (the Labour Day weekend). We’ll see you there!”

The Powell's will also be selling a limited quantity of their pure, homegrown maple syrup at the market.


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Local horticulturist, Hugh Skinner will sell perennial flowers - hosta, daylily, lily, peony and possibly his comprehensive and authoritative gardening books
Isabel Wendell will sell her locally-produced honey।





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ARLENE ARNOTT (r.):
Knitted Items; Pot scrubbers from baler twine and dish cloths.
Crocheted; Purses, Barbie and Ken doll clothes, baby sweaters
and bonnets, dresser runners, doilies, hot-dish mats, pot holders
and kitchen towels.
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Brenda Neuhofer of the Inglis district will display the fine wools of "Asessippi Alpaca Products"(L), and finished goods made from the wool." These will include toques, scarves, socks and even blankets.
And, oh, by the way, don't be surprised if one or two of the animals themselves will make an appearance there!

INDIGENOUS CRAFTS WILL BE AVAILABLE.

Yvette Bouvier of Boggy Creek, north of Roblin,
will display an array of aboriginal art,
including

antler jewelery,
caribou pictures
and birch bark biting.
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LATE ENTRY!
Pat Kisiloski of Lake of the Prairies, near Roblin, will be there with sweet corn and some zucchini!
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Don't forget, all during the summer, every Tuesday,the Roblin Farmers Market is going strong - from 10am to 2pm - next to the Post Office on Main Street!

OTHER ATTRACTIONS: Plans are in the works for an herb demonstration, complete with recipe samples. (Those plans have yet to be finalized.)

Paul Chorney of the Manitoba Food Charter will be there with a display about his organization. Funding from Heifer International - a US-based charity which strives to achieve food security for people around the world - made available through the Food Charter, has made this event possible.

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT:

Pint-sized fiddling sensation Scott Cornelius will drop by the market in the morning. (Not only will he be playing, he'll have his CD, "Fiddlin' Around," available for sale!)

The Storeys from Grandview will add their own brand of celtic entertainment; Doug on bagpipes and Kate on the tin whistle.

Larry Powell will play a few tunes on his clarinet and may (if he works up the nerve),
even sing a song.