As leaves start to turn and the air gets crisper, the Mancos Public Library will celebrate the changing season with a Harvest Festival this Saturday.
This is the first year of the festival, and it will feature music, storytelling and the official return of seeds borrowed through the library’s seed-lending program.
It’s a potluck, so attendees are invited to bring a dish to share – and a story about the growing season if you have one.
Music will be provided by Jamie & The Dreamers, a local folk duo.
And the festival is also an opportunity for those who took part in the library’s seed-lending program to bring them back so they can be used for the next season.
Midge Kirk, who coordinates adult programming at the library, began the program back in 2011. It allows users to borrow non-GMO, organic and heritage seeds to plant, enjoy and then return to the library after letting the plant go to seed.
“We believe that educating people to grow their own food, even if it is just in containers, is a win-win,” Kirk said in an email to The Journal.
This year, about 70 people participated in the seed-lending program, according to Kirk. They also incorporated seed-lending into the library’s storytime program, allowing youngsters to fill cups with dirt to plant their own bean seed.
Some of this year’s new seeds included miner’s lettuce, deer tongue lettuce, scarlet runner beans, mortgage buster beans and more.
The Harvest Festival will take place at the library from 3 to 6 p.m.
For more information, visit the library website.
ealvero@ the-journal.com