Spice up your life with herbs

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This article was published 01/05/2002 (8821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG gardeners can learn how to add flavour and serenity to their lives through a series of workshops offered this spring and summer by Sage Garden Herbs.

With more Winnipeggers growing herbs in their gardens or using them in the kitchen, the herb farm, at 3410 St. Mary’s Road, is bringing in a growing number of herbal experts to teach customers about the fragrant greenery.

“Last year we probably had 10 to 12 different workshops,” says owner Dave Hanson. “This year we have more than 30.”

Workshops range from Herb Breads and Spreads and Salad Gardening to Chinese Herbalism and Garden Meditations. Workshops are grouped into theme areas of Creative Herb Gardening; Using Your Herbs; Mind, Body and Spirit; and Just for Kids. In addition to the workshops, Sage Garden is offering a Lavender Festival June 30, with entertainment, activities, treats and sessions on growing and using the fragrant herb, associated with the south of France.

Sage Garden sells fresh and dried herbs and this year is launching an herbal U-pick operation for cooks who love to experiment with different herbs in sauces, soups and other dishes.

Many gardeners are surprised to find how well herbs grow in Manitoba’s climate, says Hanson. Sage Garden even grows tropical herbs and spices in its greenhouse.

“We have a wonderful herb-growing climate because we get so much sunlight,” says Hanson. “Some herbs you can start indoors in the window and then it’s amazing how they grow once you take them outside.”

For more information, call 257-2715.

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A midway and community fair at the River Park Village Shopping Centre in St. Vital May 3 to 5 will generate funds for the Children’s Hospital and the Movement Centre of Manitoba.

Attractions for the seventh-annual weekend fair include the Canuck Amusements midway all three days and a day of events on the Saturday. A pancake breakfast, auction, barbecue, fireworks and prize draws are on tap for May 4, says Jocelin Krzyszczyk, owner of the South Winnipeg Eye Centre.

Businesses at the mall, located at Dakota and Warde, provide prizes and volunteers and last year raised about $900 for each of the beneficiary organizations. The Movement Centre of Manitoba provides physiotherapy and equipment for people with cerebral palsy.

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Blank paper, loose clothing and an adventurous spirit are the requirements for a women’s writing workshop scheduled for May 4 at the Fort Garry Women’s Resource Centre.

The workshop, entitled Playing with Fire: Poetics for the New Millennium, is for women who are beginning or practicing poets. Manitoba poet Di Brandt will lead the discussion of the role and function of poetry in an age of terror.

To register for the event, call 477-1123.

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The Manitoba artists and craftspeople who formerly showed and sold their wares at the Crafters’ Marketplace store on Pembina Highway have found a new home which they hope will give them access to a larger market.

More than 60 of the crafters who sold their goods at the former location have banded together to form Crafters Co-op, located on the mezzanine of the Bay Downtown.

“We thought it would be an asset to downtown,” says Sunny Shier, a member of the publicity committee for the co-op. With painters, jewellery- and stained-glass makers, woodworkers, soap and candle makers, Crafters’ Co-op has a variety of unique gift and souvenir items that will appeal to corporate gift buyers and to tourists looking for a memorable Manitoba product.

The co-op was formed after the Pembina Highway store — owned by a Eastern firm — went bankrupt, leaving local producers with no place to sell their goods.

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Members of the St. Vital Historical Society will take former students from the neighbourhood on a scholastic trip down memory lane with their May 4 open house. The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m., at Faith Lutheran Church on Dakota.

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Know of something or someone interesting in your neighbourhood? Give reporter Bob Armstrong a call at 275-5018 or send a fax to 697-7370.

PHOTO LINDA VERMETTE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Carla Dave checks out the herbs at Sage Garden Herbs.