Celebrating 35 years of Community Ownership

By Jim Nelson, General Manager

Join us late July and early August as Open Harvest celebrates 35 years of history and serving our member-owners and our customers. From the early beginnings on Randolph Street, to the new expanded space on South Street, many stories have unfolded and many tales have been told. Friends have been made and interesting shopping experiences continue. It is always an adventure. So what are we going to do to celebrate? We will jumpstart the festivities July 13-27 beginning with a storewide Local Foods Sale. Our plans include a wide array of sampling from all departments with many of our local suppliers here at the store offering their foods and products on the weekend of July 24-25.

We are planning an Anniversary Celebration Weekend July 31 and August 1 with live music, prizes, and drawings for free prizes. Mayor Chris Beutler is scheduled to be here on July 31 from 1:30-2 pm to help us celebrate and meet and greet customers. We will have chair massages with Barb Frank at the store. Our Anniversary Sale runs July 21 through August 3. You will find extra advertising in the Journal Star as well as other media. Come in and register to win a free bag of groceries and other prizes including rain barrels, gift cards, a picnic table, Open Harvest Anniversary T-shirts and mugs. Look for grab-bags of goodies and free samples throughout the store.

On July 23, KFOR's "Judy A la Carte" broadcasts live from Open Harvest, from 10 to 11 am. That evening, we release Open Harvest Cooks, our 35th Anniversary cookbook at a launch party 6 to 8 pm. The book features carefully selected member-owner recipes, and we will be serving tasty sample recipes. As our plans continue to develop, we will be hosting many other activities and events for this wonderful celebration. Look for more information on our website, on Facebook and Twitter. We hope to see you all during our anniversary celebration.