Desert Harvesters Events 

2025 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, 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.

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)

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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