Aky Karamli Barat has been hard at work harvesting this year’s crop of goji berries.
Karamli Barat, who has lived in Canada for 20 years, picks the fruit from the boulevard trees in front of Sapperton residences each year in late summer and early fall. She first became acquainted with the berries in Iran.
“In my country we have a lot of these trees,” she said. “That’s why I know these trees.”
Unfamiliar with the so-called super fruit, many passersby are surprised to learn the berries are edible and tasty. The key, she says, is picking the berries when they are fully ripened.
“Now is good. Two weeks ago it was good,” she told the Record on Sept. 15. “Before that, the taste is not good. Sour and very bad.”
Karamli Barat will use some of the berries to make jam, while others will be soaked in vinegar and salt for a couple of weeks before being eaten. In addition to being tasty, she said the berries are a very good antioxidant.
Fall press
Royal City residents are invited to celebrate the arrival of fall at the second annual New West Apple Press Fest.
Will Mah and Mark Gifford have once again joined forces to host the festival, which gives kids and families a chance to come together to wash, chop, squeeze and press more than 1,000 pounds of apples into hot apple cider. The event, which is supported by a Vancouver Foundation neighbourhood small grant and Buy-Low Foods, takes place on Sunday, Oct. 1 from noon to 4 p.m. at Lord Kelvin Elementary School, 1010 Hamilton St.
Attendees will be able to play with several heritage apple presses and enjoy some live music from John Gonzalez and Breaking Boundaries. The New West Apple Press Fest is free, but people must bring a jar to take home some fresh apple cider (it’s a BYOJ event) and everyone is invited to bring apples for sharing if they have them (not mandatory, as organizers have rounded up plenty of apples).
Beautifying New West – one place at a time
The West End fire hall is sporting a new mural courtesy of Paint New West Beautiful.
Led by Coun. Mary Trentadue and New West resident Nadine Nakagawa, more than 100 community members helped beautify the West End fire hall by painting artwork designed by local artist Cliff Blank on the side of the building at 820 13th St. It’s the third time the duo has organized a Paint New West Beautiful event, with prior projects taking place in Moody Park and Columbia Street.
“I just wanted to put out a big thank you to the community that came out and painted the fire hall in the West End. It was a great day, very successful,” Trentadue said. “We have a brand new, amazingly colourful wall on the fire hall.”
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