We celebrated Fall and the beauty of Washington County on October 16th for our first annual Harvest Festival; it was a lovely Fall day spent with friends. We enjoyed a variety of warm homemade soups, homestyle dishes, and cozy drinks, and topped it off with fireside s’mores. There were plenty of things to do: We painted pumpkins by the creek, learned how to winter sow, shared the harvests we grew, and swapped seeds for next year! It was a great day spent getting to know fellow community members in the beautiful setting of Mingo Creek County Park. The weather was perfect, the leaves were vibrant, and if you enjoyed the music, you can access it on this Apple Music playlist.
If you missed the in-person demonstration of winter sowing, here is an information sheet that you can print out and a seed starting chart to help you keep track of your winter sowing, along with some helpful QR codes. Winter sowing is a fun way to start your garden in January and February when gardening is usually impractical in our area. Please tag CCJ when sharing your progress with winter sowing on social media over the winter months. We will eagerly await hearing about your experiences with winter sowing at next spring’s Seed Swap!
We wanted to share some of our recipes with you that our team and friends prepared for the Harvest Festival. We would love it if you would also share some of your recipes with us, because we are launching a Community Cookbook that celebrates and records the recipes from our area! Please consider gathering your family recipes for submission. As a person who grew up cooking with a pinch of this and a dash of that, I request that you consider measuring things out and writing them down the next time you cook your favorite dish to help out beginner cooks. Our food is a part of our culture, and recipes can be heirlooms, so please consider submitting your favorite family recipes here.
We really enjoyed gathering at Mingo Creek County Park for our first-ever Harvest Festival. The Center for Coalfield Justice, Protectors of Mingo, and community members like you can all work together to ensure that Mingo is protected from the impacts of mining and fracking so that we can enjoy it for future Harvest Festivals, family reunions, spots for gorgeous senior pictures, and just a nice place to walk your dog and spend time with family and friends in nature. Please become a member today to help us preserve our important and green gathering spaces for generations to come!
This was our last in-person event for the year, and as CCJ’s new Event Planner, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who attended the Harvest Festival, Halloween Family Movie Night, our Greene County Open House, and our Public Meeting at Canonsburg Town Park. Our members and the places we love are why we do the work we do, and CCJ appreciates every single one of you!
Thank you for your support!
Allison & the CCJ staff
