Coldstream Winter Farmer's Market

I am posting this for Anita:

Hear ye Hear Ye

This is a reminder about the Weekly Winter Farmers Market starting this Wednesday October 19 and continuing till April 2012.

Every Wednesday between 2:00 and 6:00pm a Farmer's Market will be held in the Women's Institute Hall across from Coldstream Elementary school.

The Vendors will include certified Organic and natural products ... Cheese, meat, vegetables, fruit, grains, baked goods, coffee, honey, jams and jellies and samosas.

Please Pass this message on to your friends and family and thank you for your support.

Plant Walk at Ellison Park

Thursday, October 20th
11-12:30

Marcie is organizing a plant walk with Mikaela, who we met at the Allen Brooks Nature Centre field trip. She is very passionate and knowledgeable about plants and trees and has given some information about what she will be offering: "A 1-1.5 hour plant walk at Ellison Park . We will look at a few select trees (Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Maple and Birch) We will learn to identify them, talk about their uses and for those who want, they can try some Douglas fir chewing gum. Make sure no one is allergic to resin....quite a few people are. We will identify some shrubbery such as Oregon grape and snow berries and talk about uses and cautions. I will bring with me some frozen berries and some roots for the kids to try if they want and are allowed to. However most of the talk will be about the lichen and the moss that is just glorious right now. We will compare moss to lichen and also compare the species to each other. I will bring some magnifying glasses to look closer at them. If any of the children have their own it would be fantastic if they could bring that. We will learn about historic uses for some lichen and moss and I will show some yarn that has been dyed with lichen. I want to talk a little about how mosses and lichen grow and show the kids this miniature wonderland. I also intend to speak shortly about the animals at the park with special focus on Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, chipmunks and White tailed deer. At the end we will have a question and answer session. Of course they can ask questions at any time during the hike but I like having that time at the end to round the talk off. My fee will be $5 per child (This year the prices that I charge are less than I will in the future) The max amount of children in one group is 15. With 15 children I require minimum 2 adults to tag along. These adults will not have to pay the fee. If there are 8 or less children 1 adult is sufficient. I prefer if the ages of the children are sort of close together as it is easier to know at what level to talk, however if the group is mixed that is fine too. I want to stress that if the parents are uncomfortable with their children tasting Douglas fir resin and Oregon grape berries and root then they should perhaps not let their child along for the hike. I will not resume any responsibility for any allergic reactions. I have used these plants for a long while and I have not had any ill effects but I made a salve for my sister with resin in it and she flared up and had to treat it with antibiotic, we found out that she is super allergic to resin. So I just want to make it extra super clear that I will not take responsibility for the children. I will be very cautious as to what I let them try and what I teach them. I currently don't have liability insurance so I will need waiver forms to be signed by the parents. I hope that this stipulation is ok."

You can reply at the Vernon meetup group
http://www.meetup.com/North-Okanagan-Homeschoolers-Vernon/events/37347342/

Armstrong Museum and Art Gallery

Friday, October 28 at 10:00AM we're doing a tour of the Armstrong Museum and Art
Gallery. The tour will be three fold: 1. Museum (very cool artifacts from the
Armstrong area), 2. Art Gallery (currently featuring the art work of Roxi Sim
Hermsen), 3. Archives (hands-on, including old Sears catalogues). The children
will be split into three groups and will accompany Museum and Art Gallery
volunteers to each of the three parts of the tour. Fee is by donation and
length will be one to one and a half hours.

They have room for around 25 learners and you can sign up at the Vernon Meetup group:
http://www.meetup.com/North-Okanagan-Homeschoolers-Vernon/events/37342112/

The link to the Armstrong Museum and Art Gallery is http://www.asmas.ca/.

Gortz Gouda tour

Marcie has booked a Gortz Gouda tour for next Thursday, October 13 at 11:00AM.
Please arrive by 10:50.

We have room for 30 people so let us know right away if you would like to join us. Please email Marcie at marcie.crozier@gmail.com

Here is the summary:

There will be a tour of the cheese plant showing how gouda is made. Then, there is butter making and a visit to the calf barn. To finish, we will sample the cheese and butter. The tour takes one to one and a half hours, depending on how many questions there are, and the tour is free. (For those who haven't been to Gortz, their organic products, including cheese, milk, yogurt, quark, and beef can all be purchased at their on-site store.)

DeMilles farm is close by, so especially those with younger children might be interested in visiting as they have miniature goats, a giant pig, llamas, cows, horses, rabbits, ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys and peacocks.