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6c. Attachment E Workshops for Home Owners and Residents – Summer 2015 – Spring 2016 Summer 2015 Tuesday, August 25 – 10 – 10:30 am • “Cooking with Fresh Produce at the Farmers Market!” Attendance: 20 Laurie McCann Crowell, owner of the Golden Fig Fine Foods, presented a live cooking demonstration with produce purchased the morning of the event from the farmers selling at the market. Laurie, a veteran presenter who does cooking demonstrations for Twin Cities Live TV (KSTP, Channel 5), prepared two delicious summer salads – a fresh corn salad and a caprese salad. Each took about 10 minutes to prepare and samples were distributed at the end of the presentation. Recipes for each dish were also distributed. Attendees really enjoyed Laurie as a presenter, as she easily answered questions as she peeled, diced, and chopped. They also LOVED tasting each of the salads! The workshop was held at the Farmers’ Market site at 2131 Fairview (Corpus Christi Church parking lot) on the lawn just north of the parking lot. The event was coordinated through the manager of the St. Paul Farmers’ Market. Fall 2015 Saturday, September 26 - 10:30 to noon • “Stocking up for Winter: Canning and Preserving” Attendance: 25 Presented by Emily Leuer Brehm, Volunteer Master Food Preserver, St. Croix County, this workshop helped people learn why old recipes may not be safe any longer because methods for canning and preserving have changed over time. Participants learned which foods need pressure canning, why tomato products need acid, and why experimenting with salsa recipes can be harmful. Workshop participants left with the confidence to preserve their own produce! Saturday, October 3 - 10:30 to noon • “The Flavors of Fall” Attendance: 15 Presented by Eleanor Swenson, local cook and gardener with over 45 years of experience Elen showed everyone how to create full-bodied, flavored oil, honey, and vinegar. Elen spoke casually (she didn’t use a PowerPoint) with attendees interrupting often. The questions were all very relevant and Elen provided a good deal of depth in her responses. After Elen presented all the information she invited participants to taste several honeys and sauces, which were all very good. People LOVED the tasting and stayed for a while visiting and testing the samples. Unlike other workshops, we had several calls and emails before the workshop from people who couldn’t attend but wanted the information provided. Saturday, October 31 - 10:00 am - 1:00 pm • “Fix-It Clinic” Attendance: 60+ Ramsey County put on the event and people LOVED it! Even if they didn’t get their item fixed, they were pleased with what they learned and had confidence that it couldn’t be fixed so felt less guilty of getting rid of it. This event was initiated by the Library staff and we just did some light promotion. Spring 2016 Wed., March 2 • 7 - 8 pm & Wed., March 9 • 7 - 8 pm• “Solar Power Hour” Attendance: March 2 – 7; March 9 - 35 Presented by Dathan Lythgoe, Solar Program Coordinator for the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) This one-hour seminar gave an overview of how PV systems work, outlined the financial benefits, described the solar installation process, and identified available financing options. This program was co-sponsored by the MREA, the City of Roseville, and the Ramsey County Library. • “Ask the Expert” Sat., April 16 • 10:30 am – 12:30 pm & Wed., April 27 • 6:00 – 8:00 pm Attendance: April 16 – 20; April 27 - 12 Modeled after the Ask the Expert sessions at the Home and Garden Fair, this mini resource fair brought together experts from 5 areas (gardening, home improvement, first-time home buyer, home environment health hazards, and senior resources) who provided resources and responded to attendees’ specific questions. As part of the event, we also invited several organizations to provide information for a resource table. Both the experts and attendees found the event worthwhile, however, the exhibitors would have preferred being part of a larger event with more foot traffic.