No One Asked Me But… (November 2, 2022)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… It’s fall in Moapa Valley and it is a time to get out the warmer clothes as the summer heat abandons the valley. It is time for high school football, volleyball, and cross country meets.

It is also time for the Moapa Valley Art Guild’s Pomegranate Festival. The annual Pomegranate Festival will be held at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale, Nevada on November 4 and 5, 2022. Friday the hours for the Fair are from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. On Saturday the hours are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The festival has a multitude of vendors each offering homemade arts and crafts. Last year over 100 booths were set up with a great variety of homemade items available for purchase. There will be a variety of food booths. There are art projects for children to patriciate in, so bring the whole family.

What is a pomegranate? It is the armadillo of the fruit world. Inside a rock like covering is a succulent collection of berries that makes it well worthwhile to crack. The fruit is native to the Holy Land area of Israel where pomegranates thrived in a desert climate similar to what we in Moapa Valley experience. It is a fruit mention numerous times in the Bible in reference to decorations in the Temple as well as on the robes of the Priest of the Old Testament.

Moapa Valley has a large number of pomegranate orchards. These are prolific trees with beautiful fruit full of gemlike seeds. The festival celebrates this handsome red fruit that ripens from September to early December. Health studies accord accolades to the fruit for being a rich source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and niacin.

While not native to the American southwest, the pomegranate thrives in our climate. It makes a deliciously refreshing juice, as well as excellent jams and jellies, but may also be eaten fresh in salads, and incorporated in a number of recipes. At the Pomegranate Art Festival there will be pomegranates galore! Ripe pomegranates as well as pomegranate jelly to tempt your palate.

However, this year we will miss the pomegranate ribs from Sugars. Also, note cards, recipe books. and works of art featuring the pomegranate will be available. From a small beginning the festival has grown into a first-class arts event and a much-loved tradition in the valley. The festival attracts Las Vegas residents, our Mesquite family and friends, tourists, as well as some of the population of southern Utah.

The Festival was conceived to celebrate the area’s fine arts and crafts and the harvest season of pomegranates grown in the Moapa Valley. Much of the art work displayed feature a Southwest theme, or that of the pomegranate. Artists and crafters from Moapa Valley and all over the region will be there to exhibit and sell their creations. All of the fine art and crafts displayed and for sale are hand-made. Many of the items are unique and one-of-a-kind.

The entertainment is on-going and is all locally supplied. Singers, dancers, fiddlers, an orchestra and other entertainers keep the place lively during both days of the festival, and all the entertainment is free! Numerous original fine art and craft items, plus great prizes donated by local merchants will be raffled. All proceeds from the raffle go to support the Moapa Valley Art Guild’s Scholarship Fund. Each year several college-bound students receive assistance to further their studies in the arts.

This year in conjunction with the Pomegranate Festival, on the same fairgrounds, there will be a health fair. It is a good opportunity to learn of the health services available to the residents of Clark County in general and for those who inhabit the Moapa Valley and the city of Mesquite specifically.

For those who have not been to the Moapa Valley, here is a brief description of what the area has to offer. As you arrive in the valley, you will find fields where cattle, horses, sheep, and other livestock graze, After imbibing in the festival, if you travel further south in the valley you will find a number of nearby attractions. Located in Logandale on State Highway 169 is the Old Logandale School, a center that caters to the arts and features museum exhibits and information about the early pioneer culture of the Moapa Valley. The Art Guild makes its home at the restored school which displays much of their art.

Six miles down Highway 169, you will pass through Overton, Nevada, and in an additional three or four miles, at the south end of town, you will find The Lost City Museum, an archaeological museum. This is where you can learn about the ancient Native American cultures of the area. After spending time at the museum, you may want to continue south. The route gives you a choice of turning right to visit the Valley of Fire State Park, or continue on the Northshore Road through Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Either route encompasses superlative desert scenery along the way.

In full disclosure, I too will have my traditional booth at the Pomegranate Festival. I share a booth with my friends from Richmond, Utah. After Gregg sets up the booth, Suzanne sells her hand stitched quilts as well as other hand crafts of her origin. What do I sell? I have for the last few years sold my books and I will again this year. This year I will also be selling my granddaughter’s home-made creation of crochet toy characters. Since Christmas is near the Pomegranate Festival, it is a great place for shoppers to find unique and special treasures to meet your needs for Christmas gifts as well as any other occasion.

Thought of the week… “Fun fact #1 about pomegranates: Pomegranates are awesome. Fun fact #2: Pomegranates are like little explosions of awesome in your mouth. Fun fact #3: A lot of people think you’re not supposed to eat the seeds of a pomegranate – but that’s not true, people who tell you that are liars, and they don’t know anything about life, and they should never be trusted.”
― Tahereh Mafi