¡Pollinate! 2016 Events + Programs

¡Pollinate!

Collaborate – Create – Celebrate

¡Pollinate! Education Programs + Community Events

Sat. March 26: “Can You Dig This” Community Film Screening, OCHO Art + Event Space    5:30 Potluck + 6:30 pm film; $5 Suggested Donation – Kids + Teens FREE
How much can a garden change our world? The new acclaimed film, “CAN YOU DIG THIS” may help us answer this question. The film follows the inspirational journeys of four unlikely “gangster gardeners”, in South Los Angeles discovering what happens when they put their hands in the soil. This is the first “Northern Taos County Growers + Makers Market” community event inviting farmers, growers, and makers in Questa to join forces this growing season.

February 29 – April 18: ¡Pollinate!  Banners, Art + Science Workshops
Hands-on pollination science workshops will lead 220 students from Questa Alta Vista Elementary and Intermediate School, Rio Costilla Southwest Learning Academy and Roots & Wings Community School into banner painting and art workshops facilitated by LEAP. The banners will be displayed at the community Earth Day Event in downtown Questa and then in the public, blue bus stop structures in Questa and the surrounding communities.

April 18 – October 30: ¡Pollinate! Youth Art Exhibitions in Questa
Two and three dimensional youth artworks developed (and related information) around the ¡Pollinate! theme will be installed in local public venues (Questa Library, Clinic + Village Offices) to be enjoyed by the public throughout the duration of the themed event and educational series.

April 21: Earth Day Trash Collection + Seeding for Pollinators
To celebrate Earth Day and engender a caring attitude for Questa, a community trash collection and clean-up day will take place the morning before Earth Day. High School students and community volunteers will be invited to join together to beautify the village by picking up trash and simultaneously scattering seeds to support local pollinators along the major roadways in Questa. This effort is a collaboration with the Questa Schools, BLM, Forest Service and Village of Questa.

April 22, 12 noon – 3 pm: “¡Pollinate!” Earth Day Celebration, downtown Questa
A free, midday, community Earth Day party, showcasing the ¡Pollinate!” banners by local students and celebrating the pollination theme. The event will include a free community lunch, face painting, beekeeping demonstrations, a seed swap and informational booths related to bees and pollination.

April 29: Installing Banners in local bus stops + Creating Mini Pollinator Gardens
The ¡Pollinate!” banners will be installed in local bus stop structures and remain there for the duration of the event series, bringing an on-going visual presence of the “Pollination” theme to communities. In Addition, mini pollinator gardens adjacent to the bus stops will be planned and planted on this day in celebration of national planting day.

May 1 – October 30: Pollination-Themed Youth + Family Field Trips
¡Pollinate! Field trips will take local students and families on journeys to discover both wild and cultivated pollination in the Rio Grande del Norte and perhaps Columbine Hondo Wilderness Area as well as Cerro Vista Farm be provided for Questa students and families. The field trips will include a guided hike and innovative, hands-on ¡Pollinate! ecology/environmental Science + Art workshops. FREE

June 20 – 26: National Pollinator Week
A collaborative week of focused educational events, walks and efforts to support pollinators in our community. We will collaborate with local Questa businesses and residents to increase the number of pollinator-specific gardens and planters, take observational guided pollinator walks and work on pollinator habitat restoration on local public lands. Information on how to support pollinators will also be distributed this week; a collaboration with local businesses, residents, BLM and Forest Service. FREE

July – September: Northern Taos County Growers + Makers Market
Local growers, makers and artists will congregate to sell their produce and value-added food products and handmade items in a weekly outdoor market in downtown Questa. We hope to strengthen the local food network through this effort.

Questa’s 2016 ¡Pollinate! Summer Event Series

July 9, 4 – 9:30 pm: “¡Pollinate! Plein Air Paint Out + Story Slam + More” Wild Rivers Visitor Center, Amphitheater and Adjacent Trails, Rio Grande del Norte Nat. Monument
A multi-facted afternoon and evening event: plein air painting demos, a pollination-theme guided walk, the ¡Pollinate! Tedx-Style Salon, and the featured evening ¡Pollinate! StorySlam. $12/ticket + food available for purchase on site. *As well as providing a platform for local and regional artists and storytellers, this year’s big Wild Rivers Event event will continue to build on the success of last year’s event to promote the ‘stay-cation’ in Questa.

August 6 – September 25: “¡Pollinate! Art Show”, OCHO Art + Event Space

Sat. August 13, 5 – 8 pm: Opening Reception
An open exhibition of small works by local, regional, traditional and experimental artists exploring the meaning, imagery, processes and outcomes of “Pollination.” The exhibition will also include the educational “Pollination Sensorium” exploring the processes and players in pollination. Open Fridays – Sundays, 11 – 5 pm and by appointment. The August 13, reception will kick-off the new exhibition with live music, refreshments + event surprises. FREE

September 17: NeoRio 2015: Pollinators, Montoso Campground, Wild Rivers, RGdN
NeoRio this year features pollination + pollinator inspired artworks and artist-lecture by the 2016 NeoRio Featured Artist along side an art-filled, pollination-themed evening celebration and community feast on the rim of the gorge. Guests will enjoy a locally-sourced, traditional northern New Mexican feast as well as music and campfire, all reflecting the ¡Pollinate! theme. FREE