From the looks, and aromas of it, Saturday’s Pepperfest at the Westside Farmers Market was a big, colorful success. Every farm booth was overflowing with red, orange and green peppers of every size and variety. Gorgeous!
Orin Martin, of the UCSC Chadwick Garden, was on hand to deliver a few choice tidbits on peppers, their colorful history and their growing habits. Mateo Maderos was on hand with his hand-cranked pepper roaster to provide delicious samples from many of the rare varieties of pepper available.
The Rangells played their irresistible folkloric music and the market grounds were packed with neighbors who seemed to linger just a bit longer than usual at this ancient new world gathering concept.
The farmers market tradition here in Santa Cruz just gets better every year. Kudos to Nesh and company for all of their creative work!
