February 13, 2020
Haewai Feast-ival, Sunday 22 March, 4 – 7 pm
Planning is well underway for our Haewai Feast-ival. This event is a partnership between the local community and the Seeds to Feeds project. You are invited to come along and enjoy a Mexican themed vegetarian meal cooked by chef Sukie of Southgate Road, featuring fresh, organic, locally grown fruit, vegetables, edible flowers and weeds sourced from Houghton Valley Community gardens, Te Kawakawa Commons, local residents and our very own back-door wild larder. The meal will be supplemented by other organic produce grown, processed or made close to Wellington City. The event is BYO, just make sure what you bring is as local as possible! Don’t forget we have our very own Meadery, which is open on the weekends from 11 am.
The Seeds to Feeds organisers have sent us an early invite to make sure everyone in Houghton Valley gets first dibs to come. There will be only 65 tickets available so get in early before the invite is made public. The event has a ticketing system, but payment is by Koha, whatever you can afford. Proceeds from the event will go to the HVPA towards looking after hall.
Introducing our fringe feast-ival …
Make your own dish cloths, 23 February 1 – 3 pm
As part of the lead up to the Feast-ival, Te Kawakawa Commons Community Garden is hosting a dish cloth knitting and crocheting get together.
Come and learn how to create sustainable cloths you can use again and again while enjoying the quiet and beauty of the garden (and admiring your growing meal!) If you can’t knit or crochet someone will help get you started. Bring one ball of pure cotton (Countdown, New World and Kilbirnie Sewing Shop all have it.) Size 8 / 4mm needles and a crochet hook if you want to crochet. There will be spare needles and hooks to borrow too.
Te Kawakawa Commons is in Hornsey Road, Melrose (next to the closest bus stop to Houghton Valley on the uphill side). If wet, it will be at the Houghton Valley Community Hall, 80 Houghton Bay Road. The get-together is free but you will need to register. Contact Aileen.
Foraging walk and lunch, 15 March 10.30 am
Come and see what foraging opportunities there are in Houghton Valley! We will start at Grant’s in-the-teeth-of-the-Northerly vegetable garden in Hungerford Road, then scramble up to the Te Raekaihau headland looking for edible weeds as we go. Kae Miller, who lived in the Alice Krebs lodge up on the headland was well known for foraging and we will continue her tradition of finding and eating edible weeds. Afterwards we will head back to Grant’s place to prepare and eat a wild salad.
The event is limited to 10 people. The walk is fairly rugged, so bring sturdy shoes, something to carry your wild provender in, and a Koha towards the extras to supplement the wild salad lunch.
Other hall events
The Houghton Valley Progressive Association will be holding its next quarterly meeting on February 23 at 4 pm in the community hall. You are welcome to come along and see what else is happening locally.
The next Koha coffee at the hall is Saturday March 7, 10.30 am.
Meal in progress …
Te Kawakawa Commons is growing vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Grant from Hungerford Road has a great set up for growing vegetables, some of which will make their way into the Feast-ival dishes.
More sites featured next time!
(141 recipients, 96 opens)