11th Annual Mesquite Milling, Pancake Brunch, & Fiesta

Location: Dunbar/Spring Community Garden, Orchard, & Mini Nature Park, NW corner of 11th Avenue and University Blvd.

Mesquite Pancake Brunch (brought to you by Watershed Management Group): 11 am to 2 pm.

Bicycle and Walking Tours of neighborhood to view strategies reclaiming public space for life: 2 pm to 3 pm.

Mesquite-pod Milling: 11 am to 5 pm

Porch Fest (music, food, and more): 3 pm to 5 pm

Native/Local Food Swap (MUST register to participate in swap): 3 pm to 5 pm

FREE to enter, FEES for mesquite milling, pancakes, and other goodies.

See websites below for more on the event’s workshops, demonstrations, food-swap registration, puppet shows, other native foods, harvest calendars, live music, info tables, and tours of community strategies reclaiming public space for life (water harvesting, food production, green infrastructure, and story-telling art).

Desert Harvesters is seeking VOLUNTEERS: millers, mesquite-pod sorters, and other helpers. Contact chaff@desertharvesters.org with your name, phone, areas of volunteering interest, and times you are available that day—thanks!

About the Milling: Bring Your Own Pods! Pods for milling must be clean, snap-test dry, and free of mold/fungus, stones, dirt, leaves, and other debris. Full details here.

Cost: $3/gallon of whole pods, with a minimum of $10 (a bargain considering that the flour usually sells for $14–$20/lb). Note: This is an increase from years past, and is necessary to cover the costs of insurance (new this year), mill maintenance, and other operating costs, to keep us financially sustainable. THANK YOU for your continued support!

After inspection AND prepayment, pods may be left in sealed food-grade containers (preferably 5-gallon plastic buckets with lids) marked with owner’s name and phone number. Flour will be ready within a week and must be picked up. No refunds.