Amphitheater gets new coat of stain

A Steve Nelson Enterprises crew applies a new coat of stain this week on the structure at the amphitheater in King Jack Park.

Mariachi Joya Azteca

Hispanic heritage celebration Saturday at the farmers market

The Webb City Farmers Market will be filled with Latino sounds, flavors and fun this Saturday.

The main attraction will be the best mariachi band in the region – Mariachi Joya Azteca, of northwest Arkansas.

The market breakfast will be breakfast burritos, with all proceeds supporting the market’s music program.

Many vendors will feature flavors from south of the border like Mexican hot chocolate and a spicy cider at Easy Peasy, cinnamon and chocolate pastry at Farmhouse Bakery, hot peppers at Lee Family Farm and the Yang Family Farm, pepper sauces at Pepper Ridge Farm, pupusas from the Granadeno Family, and chili roasting at the Oakwoods Farm table.

At the craft table, children can make paper flowers and get an Hispanic themed temporary tattoo. At 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., a pinata will be on the north side of the pavilion. Each participating child will be blind folded, spun around, and have three swings. When the pinata breaks all the children can make a dash for the Mexican candy inside.

All that is in addition to the market’s regular offerings of fresh local produce, meats, eggs, baked goods, coffee, honey, mum plants, cut flowers and more.

It’s also the third Saturday of the month, which means Streetcar No. 60 will be taking riders around King Jack Park for free from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

On those short trips, Friends of the Webb City Library volunteers will be reading “Tomas and the Library Lady.” Each bench will have a book so children can follow along with this true story about Tomas, a child of migrant farm workers, who is befriended by a librarian and discovers the joy of reading and learning. He went on to become the first minority chancellor in the University of California system.

The market is sponsoring the Hispanic heritage celebration in partnership with the Missouri Humanities and with support from the Missouri Humanities Trust Fund.

The Webb City Farmers Market is open year-round from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Through fall it is also open from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.

The Southwest Missouri Electric Railway Association, brings Streetcar No. 60 out of its barn to give free rides on the first and third Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

The Friends of the Library Clickity Clack We’re Reading Round the Track program is on the third Saturday.

 

Lykou Lee will provide Hmong translation for the workshop, as well as farmer insight.

Farmers and hobbyists welcome at fruit workshop

A free on-farm workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday, Sept. 18, at the Webb City Farmers Market’s Fruit Education Site on the Lykou Lee Farm,15392 Ibex Road, Neosho, Missouri.

Patrick Byers with University of Missouri Extension and Angela Brattin will lead hands-on discussions of:

– Managing strawberries in a high tunnel – bed preparation, planting, fertilizer schedule, weed control, and irrigation.

Field strawberries will also be covered.

The workshop is for both commercial and hobbyist growers, as well as consumers interested in learning how their food is grown. It is part of a series of workshops at the site focused on growing blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and elderberries and is funded through a Missouri Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant. The workshop will be conducted in English with Hmong translation available.

The workshop is free and open to the public. While pre-registration is not required, interested persons may do so at https://extension.missouri.edu/events/fruit-production-learning-farm-field-day, where other information such as directions to the farm may be found.

For more information on the workshop or the Fruit Education Site, call or text Angela Brattin at (417) 439-3704.

Red Cross to hold local blood drive Friday

A Red Cross blood drive will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday at Mt. Hope Church of Christ, 2830 Mt. Hope Road.

Schedule an appointment by calling (800) 733-2767 or by visiting RedCrossBlood.org.

The American Red Cross is reporting a national blood shortage.