The Courier
NEWS
Fall Festival at Gooding Community Garden
Located just across the Little Wood River from North Valley Academy (820 Main Street), the Gooding Community Garden will host their Fall Festival this Saturday with lots of fun activities, good food, and live music. Activities: Gooding HS Students are converting their corn plot to a Corn Maze; Floral Avenue Garden will be providing train rides; and Traveling Tails will have a petting zoo. Other fun includes a fairy garden booth, face painting, keepsakes, raffle prizes, and a costume contest. Food vendors will include tacos, pancakes/crapes, and desserts. The Community Garden was founded just over ten years ago by the Gooding Soil Conservation District with the help of the NRCS and a multitude of community members. In the last three years, the garden has received two grants from the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) to revitalize the garden and help pay part-time staff during the summer. The grant monies also helped start the Neighborhood Community Garden in Shoshone. While the garden provides space for 8-10 private plots, the big goal is to provide fresh vegetables to soup kitchens, senior centers, Helping Hands & Hearts, and other food pantries in the Gooding, Wendell and Hagerman Valley areas. Over the last several years, the garden has delivered around 6500 to 7200 pounds of fresh vegetables per year to these organizations. The garden is also a place to showcase conservation practices with cover crops, drought-tolerant grasses, pollinator habitat, fruit trees, and composting. Students from elementary and high schools have attended educational tours, helped with plantings, and worked on community projects for the state Envirothon contest. Dacia Yoder took over the management of the garden from Polly Huggins three years ago, and started the Fall Festival as a fun way of promoting the garden. Saddly, Polly passed away last year. "Polly was a great inspiration and a wealth of information about gardening." Come and enjoy the festival and check out all the wonderful things growing at the Gooding Community Garden.
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
October 9, 2024
Vol 48 Num 41
El Tap Café in Wendell
The El Tapatio Restaurant in Wendell is a favorite place for many of us to enjoy Mexican food. Jaime and Beatriz Ponce started the restaurant in 1998, and not only do they serve great food, but the service always has the feel of being an old friend. Last Thursday, their daughter, Michelle, started a new venture right next to the restaurant on A Avenue West - El Tap Café. The idea began in 2019 and planning began to take shape. Then came Covid, and the world came to a screeching halt. But great ideas never die, they are just postponed, and earlier this year construction started on the little building. Inspired by the coffee houses in Mexico, Michelle is serving regular coffee (brew of the day), espresso, and a selection of specialty lattes: Dulce De Leche, Latte Bombón, Java Jalisco, and lots more. Along with Mexican pastries, she has ice cream and ice cream treats (shakes, floats & sundaes). And... since it is fall, she has two seasonal Pumpkin Spice drinks: Que Pasa Calabasa and Mexican Mocha. El Tap Café is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Stop by or call in your order: 208-944-0538.