By Bella Scholz & Jennene Gludovatz
We are members of Incredible Edible Penticton (IEP) and maintain the Hastings Street garden located at the Good Samaritan Society, Village by the Station (VBTS), Residential Care Home.
We share the produce from the garden with the neighbours and residents by putting out the produce in a cooler for people passing by or coming into the garden, to take as they need.
The goal of our event was to spread the word to the neighbours on Hastings Avenue about our garden, Incredible Edible Penticton and our goals. We want to see the neighbourhood involved in the planning, care and maintenance of the garden. We also wanted to have the neighbours meet each other and the people who reside at VBTS, have all generations of the community celebrate the fall harvest. The funding and organizing of the IEP Harvest Party was a wonderful way to build bridges among our neighbours, seniors and families. Approximately 75 people attended residents, single people and families of all ages.
We gathered a cross generational group of diverse people from the Hastings Street neighbourhood. They were entertained by the music and song of Left Fork whose toe tapping tunes highlighted our event. Attendees enjoyed meeting each other, learning more about our garden and watching demos from our members Alice and Leda. They learned ways to process foods (basil and spinach pesto with walnuts ,drying teas, making lactobacillus pickles and food drying covered veggie and fruits including kale & zucchini chips and making kombucha tea. They really enjoyed tasting the results and samples.
The participants enjoyed hotdogs with fried onions, fruit, Tim bits, David’s Tea’s, Tim Horton Coffee and hot chocolate & juice to warm their tummys on the brisk afternoon.
The children especially enjoyed the door prizes, including a fairy garden, gardening book, a large framed photograph, gift card, puzzles and craft kits.
We gained a few new members, strengthened relationships and really enjoyed sharing the afternoon with the seniors that joined us. Good laughs and warmed hearts!
We could not have done the party without the huge support of the City of Penticton and the Community Foundation for providing the small grant funds. It was wonderful to meet and have Kim English attend our event on behalf of the Community Foundation.
Jean Kearney, programs coordinator with Good Samaritan Village by the Station generously lent IEP the use of their pavilion venue, BBQ equipment, chairs, tables and kitchen!
A big thank you to Tim Horton’s on Westminster Avenue, who donated the Tim Bits and a huge carafe of coffee & cups.
Thank you to Kaytlyn from David’s Teas who withstood the wind gusts all afternoon, serving us, tummy warming teas and complimentary tea cards.
A secret donation of the hot dog buns was greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Regina Parker from Village By the Station for frying the onions for the hot dogs. As she said what is a hot dog without fried onions!
Thank you to our members for some of the door prizes – Alice for donating a fairy house , Jennene for a vase arrangement and Bella for a Vegetable Gardening in BC book.
Thanks goes to the following members of Incredible Edible Penticton for their hard work organizing, advertising, seeking donations, decorating, purchases and prep, photography & holding our successful event. Jennene Gludovatz, Alice Strohmaier, Leda Cedar, Chandra Wong, Carlla Soehn and Bella Scholz.
We plan to hold further events and get togethers in the New Year as we expand and develop the garden and strengthen the neighbourhood.
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