The evening summer sun shone brightly on the crowd gathered at the annual La Milpa Planting event, marking the beginning of this year’s La Milpa/Born from Corn program at the Summit Community Gardens + EATS.
The program, which is centered around Mesoamerican culture, is done in partnership with the nonprofit Artes de Mexico en Utah. Three events take part of the program beginning with La Milpa planting and followed by La Milpa Culture, a workshop that discussed the importance of connecting with our food, where it comes from and how to better honor the land.
The final event of the program is La Milpa Harvest, which celebrates the year’s growth in the Milpa garden plots. Community members come together and enjoy the fruits — or vegetables — of their labors.
Key to the program is Maya Elder María Elena Lowe, who travels to Park City for the blessing of both the planting and harvest events. Holding the right to perform the blessing, she shares her ancestral knowledge with all in attendance.
Tuesday’s event held a peaceful feeling. As guests sat in reverence, Lowe began her blessing in her native tongue of Tzeltal.
“Have an open heart, try to feel and not worry so much about understanding the words but understanding the emotions that we’re going to be sharing,” said Vicky Lowe, director of Arte de Mexico en Utah’s Born from Corn program. “This is a circle, and we hold everybody’s energy together right now.”
She invited everyone gathered in the circle at the center of the gardens where the blessing was taking place to listen with an open heart and focus on being present with their emotions.
As the blessing began, a reverent silence gave way for only the sounds of the surrounding nature and Maria Elena’s voice. Gentle winds moved in unison with her words.
When the blessing was complete, it was time to plant. One by one, people took the crops from their place on the colorful tapestries laid at the gardens center and found them a new home in the soil.
“It’s been a very fun experience,” said Charlie Sturm, a first-time guest to the gardens who was there with friends. “I just love seeing other cultures, and here, kind of being embraced in the process and everyone being so open about it, too.”
Excited to return for future programming, the friends said they were happy to have attended the first event and look forward to building on their experience with the next two.
When the planting was complete, guests gathered in the pavilion area of the gardens to chat, connect and enjoy homemade tamales and champurrado.
The next event, Food is Culture, is scheduled for July 17 from 1-2:30 p.m. For more information about scheduled programming visit summitcommunitygardens.org.