Volunteer Newsletter, November 5, 2006

It's that time of year for those beautiful, festive fruit, the persimmon!  There's nothing more beautiful with the sunset colors of the leaves and fruit.  With a chill in the air, you know that we're fully into Fall.  The persimmons have become very popular at the agencies that we're serving (now 5 a week!).  We have a lot of homeowners who have called in and with your help we can harvest more this year than ever before. 

Saturday, November 11th, Palo Alto (w/ Valley of Heart's Delight)
8:30am - Meet at Conexions, 209 Corporation Way, Palo Alto to carpool.
Backyard harvest in Palo Alto/Menlo Park/Mt. View, returning around 12:30pm.
We need the most help on this day, please join in if you can!

Tuesday, November 14th, San Jose
8:30am - Meet at Salvation Army, 359 N. 4th Street, San Jose to carpool.
Backyard persimmon harvest, returning around 12:30pm

Sunday, November 19th, SkyRanch (w/ AACO)
8:30am - Meet at Mt. View CSA, 204 Stierlin Road, Mountain View to carpool.
9:30am - Meet at Skyranch.  Please RSVP for instructions.
light lunch provided.  Expected to be done around 2:00pm.

Tuesday, November 21st, San Jose
8:30am - Meet at Salvation Army, 359 N. 4th Street, San Jose to carpool.
Backyard persimmon harvest just in time for Thanksgiving.
Returning around 12:30pm

Tuesday, November 28th, San Jose
8:30am - Meet at Salvation Army, 359 N. 4th Street, San Jose to carpool.
Backyard persimmon harvest, returning around 12:30pm

RSVP to joni@villageharvest.org if you plan on joining in.

Instructions for harvesting volunteers:

• Dress in layers for a cool morning and warming during the day.  Come with sun protection, and insect repellant in mind.
• Wear comfortable, covered shoes.
• Come prepared to carpool.  Please let us know if you have a truck or SUV to help carry fruit.
• Bring a small box or bag to share in the harvest. Tree ripened fruit from Santa Clara Valley... it doesn't get any better than this!
• Children high school age and over are welcome but please see our Volunteer FAQ's for more information.

Village Harvest and a number of our partners are teaming together to make it easy and fun to enjoy a holiday season that also supports local charities, farmers, and artists. 

Thursday, November 16, Palo Alto.  7pm - 9pm, the Valley of Heart’s Delight project is presenting a 100-Mile Thanksgiving Tasting. We will offer a festive evening of food, fun, and discussion while we taste various Thanksgiving dishes made with local, seasonal, and organic food. We’ll provide the food samples, recipes, and a forum for discussing the issues involved in preparing and eating a Thanksgiving dinner with food grown from within 100 miles of Palo Alto.  Including products from Village Harvest.  $20 for Conexion members/$25 for non-members.

Saturday and Sunday December 2nd & 3rd, San Jose.  History San Jose along with Village Harvest is hosting a Holiday Sale in the Historic Pacific Hotel at the Historic Park in Kelley Park. The sale will feature local artists, books celebrating the history of our valley, and local foods such as delicious jams made by Village Harvest, honey from History San Jose’s own hives and local olive oil. Volunteers needed to help with samples.

Saturday, December 8th, Morgan Hill.  10am -5pm, Andy’s Orchard and Village Harvest are teaming together to have a Holiday Celebration at Andy’s Orchard, 1615 Half Road in Morgan Hill. Andy’s Orchard is an artisan grower of over 350 types of fruit. There will be an orchard tour, persimmon display and talk, samples and music. Volunteers needed Friday afernoon for setup and Saturday for the sale.

Saturday and Sunday, December 16th & 17th, Sunnyvale.  10am-4pm, Mother Earth Clay Art Center, 790 Lucerne Drive in Sunnyvale, and Village Harvest will be hosting a $35 and under sale, with last minute gifts ideas from local clay artists and products made from locally grown fruit including Andy's Orchard.  Volunteers needed Friday afternoon for setup and to help with the sale on the weekend.