Desert Harvesters Events |
Desert Harvesters typically hosts a full calendar year of events and activities, including free native desert foods and desert living demos at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, free Delicious Desert presentations at local library branches, trainings, festivals, guided harvest walks, hands-on workshops, and cooking classes. Please contact us if you would like to collaborate or invite Desert Harvesters to participate in your event on unscheduled dates in 2024! (see Upcoming Events at right). Desert Harvesters is not currently offering community mesquite millings, but consulting services are available to community millers for best harvest and safety practices (see Store: Services). For mesquite milling opportunities, check events at Las Milpitas Farm, where they hold educational workshops and a milling event in November (https://www.communityfoodbank.org/locations/las-milpitas-community-farm/) If you would like to share your mesquite milling event, please let us know and we will add it to our Events calendar. | Upcoming events2025 EVENTS 1/29- Pima County Public Library (PCPL) Delicious Desert presentation @Kirk/Bear Canyon Library, 2-2:45pm. Learn about native plants and foods and their seasons of harvest, and how to re-wild urban spaces to provide shade, cooling, resilience, nutritious foods, and habitat for other native species. Display table, slide show, discussion. 1/30- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. APOLOGIES- WE HAD TO POSTPONE THIS DEMO 2/27- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. 3/20- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. 3/29- Bugs, Bats, & Bebidas @Las Milpitas Farm, 5:30-9pm. DH will be tabling with cookbooks and other items for sale. 4/24- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. 5/22- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 4:30-7:30pm (new summer hours) at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English, and free samples of seasonal native foods recipes!. 5/29- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 4:30-7:30pm (new summer hours) at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, and free samples of seasonal native foods recipes!. 6/5 (tentatively scheduled)- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 4:30-7:30pm (new summer hours) at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, and free samples of seasonal native foods recipes! SUMMER HIATUS 10/16- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. 11/20- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. 12/11- Desert Harvesters at Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, 3-6pm at MSA Annex, Tucson. Display table, Eat Mesquite and More cookbooks and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale, Native Food Guides in Spanish and English. 2024 EVENTS/ACTIVITIES: Delicious Desert Demos @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market, at new location @MSA Annex, 276 S Avenida del Convento, Tucson AZ) February 8- Delicious Desert Demo: Early Spring! Sonoran Desert plants and foods (chia, wild greens, berries, etc), 3-6pm February 22- Delicious Desert/Place-Based Living Skills: Food Preservation- learn to ferment, pickle, salt-cure, dry, and smoke desert and other foods, 3-6pm March 7- Delicious Desert Demo: Spring Equinox Bounty (desert greens and herbs, flowers), 3-6pm March 21- Delicious Desert/Place-Based Living Skills Demo: Make Your Own Self-Care Medicinals (tincture, salve, tea, scrub, fire cider), 3-6pm April 4- Delicious Desert Demo: Spring Flowers (palo verde, ironwood, desert willow), agave, nopal, cholla buds, 3-6pm April 22-Delicious Desert/Place-Based Living Skills Demo: Desert Gardening, Sonoran Desert Food Forests, 3-6pm May 2- Delicious Desert Demo: Bean Trees! (mesquite, ironwood, palo verde), 4-7pm May 4- Pima County Public Library presentation: Samples and Stories from the Delicious Desert @Miller/Golf Links Library, 10:30-11:30 May 16- Delicious Desert/Place-Based Living Skills Demo: Solar Energy (cooking, electricity, sun prints, sun dials, etc), 4-7pm May 31- ReWilding Taste Buds & Neighborhoods Video Series viewing and native foods sampling @EXO Roast/Crisol Bar, 6-9pm June 6- Delicious Desert Demo: Bean Trees, Mesquite (grind into flour, simmer into broth), 4-7pm June 13- Delicious Desert Demo: Saguaro! (tentative, depends on heat), 4-7pm-POSTPONED DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT! SUMMER HEAT HIATUS, NO DEMOS--July, August, early September August 10- Arcosanti: Mesquite Harvesting and Desert Foods Tasting Party, time TBD. For more info, contact linn@arcosanti.org September 25- Pima County Public Library Presentation: Samples and Stories from the Delicious Desert @Dewhirst-Catalina branch, 11am-12 September 27- Pima County Public Library Presentation: Samples and Stories from the Delicious Desert @Oro Valley branch, 11am-12 October 10- Delicious Desert Demo @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/MSA Annex, (276 S Avenida del Convento, Tucson AZ): Prickly Pear Fruit, 3-6pm October 19- Pima County Public Library Presentation: Samples and Stories from the Delicious Desert @Arivaca-Caviglia branch, 10:30 and 12 presentations October 24- Delicious Desert Demo @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/MSA Annex: Seasonal plant/food samples, ReWilding, Sonoran Desert Food Forests, Rainwater Harvesting, 3-6pm October 24- BASA (Baja AZ Sustainable Agriculture) Mesquite Milling @Sierra Vista Farmers Market ~10am-2pm. basamesquite.org November 2- Mesquite Milling and Fiesta @Las Milpitas Farm, 2405 S Cottonwood Lane, Tucson, 9am-12noon. bring your own clean, dry pods for milling! Desert Harvesters will be tabling with cookbooks, posters, and Delicious Desert Bandanas for sale!! SEE YOU THERE November 2- Prickly Pear Fest hosted by Desert Awareness Committee (DAC) @Holland Center, Scottsdale AZ. Art, demonstrations, tastings, live music, 9am-1pm November 7- Delicious Desert Demo @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/MSA Annex: Bean Trees and Seasonal native plants, 4-7pm November 9- BASA (Baja AZ Sustainable Agriculture) Mesquite Milling @Bisbee Farmers Market- ~9am-1pm. basamesquite.org November 9- Mesquite Milling and Potluck at The Commons, 501 E 13th, Silver City NM ~9am-1pm, contact Emily Pollom basamesquite.org November 21- Delicious Desert Demo @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/MSA Annex: Berries, Chiltepin, Stored Foods, 4-7pm December 5- Delicious Desert Demo @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/MSA Annex: Barrel Cactus Fruit and Seeds, 4-7pm December 12- Delicious Desert Demo @Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/MSA Annex: Buy or Make Desert-Based Holiday Gifts, 4-7pm -------------PAST EVENTS--------------------------------------- DESERT HARVESTERS EVENTS CALENDAR 2023 (SANTA CRUZ RIVER FARMERS MARKET/SCRFM is located at 221 South Avenida del Convento, Tucson, AZ) March 23: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm March 29: Green Valley Library- Stories from the Delicious Desert presentation,2-3:30pm April 3: Southwest Library- Stories from the Delicious Desert presentation, 3-4:30pm April 6: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm April 15: Boyce-Thompson Arboretum- Flavor of Arizona, 10am-3pm (NEW cookbook sales) (not a Desert Harvesters event) April 20: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) May 9: Sounds of the Sonoran Desert, an Immersive Audio Event by Thomas Weiwandt, 6-9pm @Fox Theater, tickets @ https://foxtucson.com/event/sounds-of-the-desert (not a Desert Harvesters event) May 10: Sam Lena Library- Stories from the Delicious Desert, 3:00-4:30pm May 23: NEW COOKBOOK RELEASE PARTY @La Cocina!, 5-8pm, specialty cocktails, book sales, excellent food, fundraiser! June 3: Las Milpitas Farm- Mesquite Tree Workshop Series- Mesquite: Ethnobotany and Medicine(not a Desert Harvesters event) June 9: Murphy-Wilmot Library- Stories from the Delicious Desert, 2-3:30pm June 10:Las Milpitas Farm- Mesquite Tree Workshop Series- Mesquite: Pod Harvest, 10-11am (not a Desert Harvesters event) June 16: Eckstrom-Columbus Library- Stories from the Delicious Desert, 2-3:30pm June 22: Wheeler-Taft Abbot Library- Stories from the Delicious Desert, 2:30-4pm June 24:Las Milpitas Farm- Mesquite Tree Workshop Series- Mesquite: Art and Food, 11am-12pm(not a Desert Harvesters event) June 24:Scottsdale Farmers Market- Mesquite Milling by Sonoran Desert Scavengers, mesquite pancake breakfast, 7-10am(not a Desert Harvesters event)
July 1: Mission Garden, 946 W Mission Lane Tucson AZ- Mesquite Milling, 7-11am (not a Desert Harvesters event) July 8:Roadrunner Farmers Market, 3502 E Cactus Rd Phoenix AZ- Mesquite Milling by Sonoran Desert Scavengers, 7-10am (not a Desert Harvesters event) July 15: Bisbee Farmers Market, BASA (Baja AZ Sustainable Agriculture) offers info and answers questions on mesquite harvesting and more! 9am-noon (not a Desert Harvesters event) ---------SUMMER HIATUS: July, August, September--------- October 5: Santa Cruz River Farmers Market at (SCRFM)- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) October 19: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales)and PCPL Delicious Desert presentation @Woods Library, 10:30-11:30. November 2: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) November 2: Prickly Pear Fest hosted by the Desert Awareness Committee (DAC) at the Holland Center, Scottsdale AZ (34250 N 60th St). Art, demonstrations, tastings, live music, 9am-1pm November 4: Mesquite Milling @Las Milpitas Farm, 8-11am @2405 S Cottowood Ln Tucson. Bring 5-15 gallons of clean pods to be milled, sliding scale fee for milling, event is free to attend. Vendors, food and beverages, music, education and more!(not a Desert Harvesters event) November 12: Mesquite Milling & Potluck in Silver City NM @The Commons Center for Food Security and Sustainability, 9am-1pm. Free mesquite pancakes and coffee, plus a garden and native plants exchange. (not a Desert Harvesters event) Novenmber 16: Santa Cruz River Farmers Market/SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) November 30: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) December 7: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) December 14: SCRFM- Delicious Desert Seasonal Foods & Living Demo, 3-6pm (NEW cookbook sales) ------------- BASA (Baja Arizona Sustainable Agriculture) offers mesquite milling and other educational events in south/east AZ: September 21 (or October 12th) - Mesquite Milling @Sierra Vista Farmers Market, 10am-2pm October 7 (or 21st)- Mesquite Milling @Bisbee Farmers Market- 9am-1pm October TBD- Patagonia- Borderlands Restoration Network's Mesquite Pod Milling & Food-Safe Processing - 9am-2pm |