Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy
On a sunny, fall day, crowds of people from the Mimbres Valley, Silver City and the area around visited San Lorenzo School for the Mimbres Harvest Festival.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
The winning pies, from left, apple pie by Pauline Dempster won first; a cherry double crust pie by Sally Ginet took second; and an apricot pie by Dorothy Gonzales tied for third with Linda Rosson's chocolate pecan pie. Yum all around!
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
David Gurule of La Esperanza Vineyard and Winery had grapes to sample and jellies to buy.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Michael Alexander of Mimbres Farms helps Dayna Griego pick out some apples.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
A box of red apples awaits the buyer.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Danica Valencia, John Lloyd Merino, owner, and his sister, Olivia Bailey, help sell Merino Apple Farm apples.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Aldo Leopold Charter School junior Gabriel Lazzell, at right, helps James Davis, 6, pick out beads for a bracelet for his mother.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Heather Mosher and her daughter Zooey, 7, get help from Gage Madrid, a senior at ALCS.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Josiah Guck, ALCS student, tries his hand at a button and string spinner.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Joseph Palomarez, 10, decorates his button for the spinner.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
The San Lorenzo School garden and greenhouse.Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Zack Law and Rosie, one of the Forest Service pack mules used to take supplies to lookout towers and resupply fire crews.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
The U.S. Forest Service booth featured skulls from various local animals including beavers and skunks.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
A Friesian mare and her colt.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
A curious Clydesdale wanting his nose patted.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
An Upper Mimbres Volunteer Fire Department truck, firefighter equipment and an American flag.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Lynnae McConaha weaves a rayon chenille scarf.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Once a Marine, always a Marine, Staley Adden.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Waiting for a flu shot.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Friends gather under a tree.Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Visitors check out the vendors.
Mimbres Harvest Festival 100116
Smokey Bear and Bobby Farmer walk across the field with vendor tents behind them. Photo Courtesy of Michael Barragree
Mimbres Valley Harvest Festival 2016
Performers play for the crowd during the Mimbres Valley Harvest Festival 2016. Photo Courtesy of Michael Barragree
The apple crop was plentiful, several booths had homemade jellies and jams, Aldo Leopold Charter School had activities for the kids, Forest Service mules and stately Clydesdale and black Friesian horses drew admirers young and old.
Vendors had art, jewelry, wine grapes and jellies, other floors of jams and jellies, breads, fabrics and clothing and plenty of choices of other things to purchase.
The health fair drew people to get a free flu shot provided by Walgreens and administered by Western New Mexico University nursing students, plus other available tests. Plenty of different food vendors had people lining up, and the pie contest always has people waiting to buy and eat a piece of winning pie.