Guidestone Fundraiser Set for April 11 at the Boathouse Cantina in Salida

Spring is coming out and so is Guidestone! Come learn who Guidestone is and what we are doing to ensure the future of agriculture in this valley. You can help us continue this vital work!!

Join us for a celebration and fundraiser on Sunday, April 11, from 5 till 8 pm at the Boathouse Cantina in Salida next to the F Street Bridge. A 5 dollar bill will get you in and buy you a chance at some tempting raffle prizes and to hear some foot stompin’ music by “Local Honey”. Tickets available at the door.

Special guests will include Commissioner Frank Holman, who is participating in a new Guidestone initiative called Land-Link, a unique partnership between landowners and new farmers.

Guidestone will also roll out its plans for this year’s Farmhands education program, a popular hands-on interactive program to introduce children and their families to the total farm experience. An additional Farmhands teaching location will be announced at this event!!

A healthy local food economy equals healthy, happy people….be a part of Guidestone’s efforts to promote and support a sustainable future for the Upper Arkansas River Valley.

Guidestone would like to thank the following businesses for their support in making this event possible. Our sponsors include, Alternative Choices, Antero Hot Springs, Colorado Grown, Colorado Local Market, Natural Habitats, Ploughboy, South Main, Foresight Multimedia and more. Raffle items are being donated by massage therapist Denise Ackert, Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery, Eliza’s Bed, artist Jimmy “Rocketman” Descant, Mount Princeton Hot Springs, Free the Monkey Consignment, and more.

Hope to see you there!

3rd Annual Pumpkin Patch Festival: October 17 & 18 and October 24 & 25, 2009

Autumn is a time of color and wonder in the Arkansas Valley and there’s no better way to celebrate it than to take part in its seasonal festivities. One such event will be the third annual Pumpkin Patch Festival at Cottonwood Meadows in Buena Vista. The Pumpkin Patch Festival is a two weekend celebration open to the public which offers a variety of activities and amusements for the whole family.

You can join in on a horse-drawn wagon ride pulled by a local team of horses. They’ll pull you out to the patch where you can pick the perfect pumpkin. Bring it back and carve it at the farm. Or, if you’d prefer, you can carve it at home and spend your time running through the hay-bale maze, playing cow-pie bingo, bidding in a silent auction, enjoying a barbecue lunch, sipping hot-apple cider and enjoying homemade pies and cookies, bobbing for apples, visiting and petting the rabbits, horses, calves, ducks, chickens, dogs and more. You can have your face painted, see fire trucks and learn about fire safety with the Chaffee County Fire Department, take a walk through the gardens or back to the beautiful meadows along Cottonwood Creek. Be sure to visit the raw milk dairy and Colorado Grown, a distribution center specializing in locally grown and Colorado-based products.

Admission is five dollars for adults and children three and over. The cost of admission and the barbecue will go to support Farmhands Education, a program of the non-profit Guidestone, which aims to join children with the hands-on experience of small scale, local food production. The Farmhands Pumpkin Patch hours are Saturday, October 17th and 24th from 10am to 4pm and Sunday, October 18th and 25th from 12pm to 4pm. For more information or to schedule education programs for your group schools, contact Andrea at Guidestone 719-395-5814. Special thanks to Cottonwood Meadows, Weathervane Farm, The Dairy at Cottonwood Creek and Guidestone for their support

Guidestone Seeks New Board Members, Advisors, and Volunteers

Buena Vista, Colorado - Guidestone, a local non-profit devoted to supporting a sustainable future for the bioregion of the Upper Arkansas River Valley currently has positions open for new board members. In addition, Guidestone is looking for interested participants to serve as advisors and volunteers as the organization will be expanding the scope of its work in supporting the local food economy, farm based education, and local agricultural resource preservation in the coming months.

More information about Guidestone can be found at www.GuidestoneColorado.org and at www.GuidestoneCO.blogspot.com. Residents of the Upper Arkansas River Valley who are interested in becoming involved with Guidestone in any of these capacities are requested to send an email to guidestoneco[at]gmail[dot]com.

Guidestone Announces Public Meetings Set For Early 2009

Posted by: Allison A.

November 17, 2008 - Guidestone, a non-profit organization that supports local agricultural resource preservation, the local food economy, and farm based education in the Upper Arkansas River Valley is planning two public meetings set for early next year, one in Salida and one in Buena Vista. Recent events in Buena Vista have caused a significant outpouring of support from all reaches of the community, for which we are very grateful. These upcoming meetings are intended to help inform the public as to how they can continue to support the efforts of Guidestone in the valley.

Part of Guidestone’s work is to support local farming businesses by linking land and water resources with qualified farmers. Guidestone’s foundational project is the collection of farms currently located at the Cottonwood Meadows property in Buena Vista. Due to the recent failure of the vote to annex the Meadows property into the Town of Buena Vista, the future of that location as a Guidestone project is now in question. At this point, it is likely that the farm businesses will remain on the property for the next growing season and will continue providing locally grown agricultural products to valley residents for that time.

Despite the failed vote, the farming businesses currently on the Meadows property, Weathervane Farm, Cottonwood Creek Dairy and Colorado Grown, remain dedicated to finding a permanent home in the Upper Arkansas River Valley and Guidestone remains dedicated to these farmers in finding that home. While not eliminating the possibility of a long-term arrangement on the Meadows property, Guidestone is now pursuing properties throughout the valley both as a potential relocation for these businesses and for other farming businesses.

Guidestone and the Farmers recognize and appreciate the tremendous support of local citizens. We look forward to continuing to involve the community in building and sustaining a vibrant local food economy.

For additional information, please visit www.guidestonecolorado.org.