By Cody Slinn
As the days once again get longer and warmer, my thoughts turn to my garden, and all the tantalizing possibilities of what I should plant this year.
If you’re like me, itching to get a start on your garden, then Williams Lake’s fifth annual Seedy Saturday event is the place to be Saturday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Community Corner mall at the corner of Third Avenue and Oliver Street.
You can come to buy your seeds and seedlings, get advice from gardeners or to enjoy the birthday celebration as well as the many informational booths, food vendors, music and free kids activities-including seed planting.
Although the first Seedy Saturday in Williams Lake took place in 2009, Seedy Saturdays in B.C. have a slightly longer history.
The first Seedy Saturday event in B.C. took place in 1990 in Vancouver.
It was created by Sharon Rempel, an agronomist who had been working on a project in the southern Okanagan.
Sharon had been attempting to source heritage seeds to plant in the garden of the historic Keremeos Grist Mill. When she discovered that her choices for Canadian-sourced seed were extremely limited, she decided it was time to start the momentum of saving seeds in B.C.
She organized a Seedy Saturday event at the VanDusen garden in Vancouver that spring, and the rest is history.
The event is a joint collaboration of the Williams Lake Food Policy Council, the Community Corners partnership, and local producers. This April marks the third anniversary of the Community Corners Partnership and the Cariboo Growers Co-op.
For more information contact Erica Nitchie (purple_toaster@hotmail.com), or Cody Slinn (foodpolicycouncil@hotmail.com).
Cody Slinn is the food action co-ordinator for the Williams Lake Food Policy Council, a not-for-profit organization concerned with food-security in the Cariboo.
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