LAKE COUNTY – Lake County Community Co-Op has made incredible strides over the last several months. Since the first meeting in January of this year, this vibrant group of volunteers have co-sponsored a farmers’ market in Clearlake, started a buying club and plan to break ground on their first community garden by spring of 2009.

The Friday Night Farmers’ Market, located adjacent to Austin Park in Clearlake, offers local farm-fresh produce, crafters, vendors, live music and prepared foods. The market is a California Certified Farmers’ Market and runs from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. every Friday night through Oct. 17.

On Aug. 22, the featured music act will be Dan Meyer and the Misdemeanors of Jazz. The winner of the co-op’s logo contest will be announced at 7 p.m., with the winner receiving a box of local organic produce every week for four weeks. Help the co-op celebrate all of its successes at this special event. Please check out the logo submissions on the co-op wikisite – http://lakecountycommunityco-op.wikispaces.com/ – and cast your vote by midnight on Aug. 20.

The Co-op Buying Club boasts two different boxes of organic produce: the “Purist Box” combines local produce with produce from River Dog Farm in Capay Valley; the “Fruit and Veggie Box” comes from an organic supplier that supports a wider range of produce. Local organic pears are available from Yoxagoi Farms in Kelseyville. Produce orders can be picked up from 5:50 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays in Clearlake. To place an order for produce boxes, call Ann Breen at 995-0696 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Volunteer coordinator Barbara Christwitz reminds buying club members, “We can only be successful if the community steps forward to sustain the buying club through volunteering.”

Anyone wanting to volunteer for the buying club or any of the co-op’s projects or committees can call her at 995-0490.

For more information about Lake County Community Co-Op, or any of their projects, stop by the co-op information booth at the Friday Night Market. Or, you can link from the Web site http://lakeco-op.org to the co-op’s wikisite.

Another great way to find out about the co-op is to drop in at a general meeting. The meetings are held the second Saturday of each month at the Hot Spot Youth Center, 4750 Golf Ave. in Clearlake from 10 a.m. until noon.

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