With Mother’s Day just around the corner and a too-long winter finally receding from our landscape at a glacial pace, it’s time for the second annual Blossom Festival taking place Mother’s Day on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Assiniboine Food Forest, aka. AFFI.

On a recent day, Dave Barnes, a founding member of AFFI, was in the sugar shack boiling syrup and shared a couple of sweet memories from the inaugural Blossom Festival that took place a year ago.

“People were excited. People were very happy, you know, to get a Mother’s Day flower, and Mother’s Day sweet treats on the house in the beautiful forest setting. It was a very nice day for sure,” Barnes said.

The first Blossom Festival drew 40 or so people, happy to be in the fresh air on the second Sunday in May, when the weather can be unpredictable. But Barnes said it was a beautiful time to be there.

“It was quite something. I mean, it was a lovely day. Everything was lovely, you know? How could we have predicted it? We could not. Good grief!

“And flowering is never something that you can set your clock by, but the flowers peaked in the orchard that day. The plum and the apple and the cherry flowers were just givin‘er,” he said.

“I think it was a pretty peaceful and wonderful time for mothers. I think mothers found themselves bathed in forest beauty with their families, nearby — and that’s what I would add — it’s a beautiful forest. It wants to welcome mothers out here, especially when the flowers are breaking open.”

And the organizers couldn’t have asked for a better day for the planned commemoration.

“We had a dedication of our orchard to our late board member, Keay Dobson-Golletz. It was so nice to see many family and friends and former students of hers coming out to take part that day,” Barnes said.

Dobson-Golletz was a founding member of the food forest. She is also remembered with affection as a French immersion teacher at École secondaire Neelin High School through the ‘90s and 2000s. One of her former students, Jason Gobeil (currently serving as outreach co-ordinator for the Western Regional Cabinet Office), delivered an address.

“One anecdote from the event is outstanding,” Barnes recalled.

“It’s just almost unbelievable. We asked Jason Gobeil to make a speech because he was Keay’s student and felt very close to her, as so many of her students did.

“He’s a powerful speaker. He really is. And we did this in the orchard, looking at the dedication stone that Keay’s husband Rick Golletz had given us and the audience was very enraptured in his story.”

Then … serendipity.

“No sooner was he done than a bald eagle circled overhead,” Barnes said.

“The hair rises on my neck thinking about it now. It was amazing.”

This year will see the unveiling of a sign to go with the commemorative stone marker. And once again, the day will be devoted to the moms.

Guests at the forest will be treated to free refreshments, including tea, coffee and soft drinks.

“Oh my goodness! We’re going to serve pies made by Gwen Rowe and her mother Irene Ginter. You will not believe how good their pies are!” Barnes said.

“Gwen will also be making a big lavender lemon cake that is so good! Cupcakes are coming from Courtney’s Cake Creations,” he said.

Each mom will also receive a cut flower. Anyone who wants to get their hands in the dirt can help out planting grapevines in the orchard. For the kids there will be a scavenger hunt.

“The kids who take part will have a chance to win … drum roll, please … stickers!” said Barnes laughing.

“They’re actually Assiniboine Food Forest stickers.”

The scavenger hunt has a fun nature theme and the kids will have assignments to seek out items of various colours or flowers or twigs or leaves while exploring the forest.

Parking for the event will be available at The Green Spot and Crow’s General Store. Signage will be out to direct people. Dress for the weather and you are welcome to bring a lawn chair.

“At our Bonfire Circle where we’re serving the food, we will have bonfire seating. We have big old benches and straw bales and there is lots of seating that we provide in that way. But if someone is looking for a real comfortable chair, they could bring their own, absolutely,” he said.

Entry to the event is free of charge. A table will be set up where guests can purchase memberships to AFFI and make charitable donations ($20 or more gets a receipt). Wildflower seed bombs will be for sale as a fundraiser as well.

Barnes also hopes to have some of that syrup he’s been boiling bottled and ready for sale.

“I’m cooking syrup now. The trick is getting it into bottles. It is not always easy on a short timeline. So by May 10, I don’t know how much I’ll get into bottles,” he said.

But not to worry — he’ll take some orders as well. And syrup is always a sweet gift for mom.

For further details on the Assiniboine Food Forest Blossom Festival on Mother’s Day, May 10, go to Facebook or assiniboinefoodforest.com

» wendyjbking@gmail.com