How to Tell If You're a Boomer

The class description says it all (and, btw, I so want to attend):

If you finished your college degree without ever having taken the penultimate liberal arts class, Basket Weaving, then perhaps the time is now.

Margaret Mathewson.

Kookoolan Farms is honored to have Margaret Mathewson, ethnobotanist and basketry specialist, coming to our farm for a one-day, hands-on seminar in basket weaving. In this class you'll learn how to make a basket that can be used as a cheese mold or artisan bread mold, as a very personal gift, or for any other household purpose.

The style is a 'Shaker' Cheese basket. The class will start at 9 and conclude at 5 pm, and includes a lunch of chicken salad (or all-veggie salad for vegetarians) made of 100% Kookoolan Farms-grown ingredients plus locally-baked bread from Red Fox Bakery prepared and served by Farmer Chrissie. Your class fee of $60 includes full lunch, unlimited homemade iced kombucha tea all day long, and all class materials for you to make your own basket. (For those preferring to bring their own lunch, the class is $48.)

Margaret Mathewson holds a PhD from UC Berkeley, teaches anthropology at OSU in Corvallis, works with museum collections, and teaches basketry at her own rural complex in the Oregon Coast Range. She has studied with California native artisans, and is a consultant to several Indian Nations and museums. She's an excellent instructor, knowledgeable about all kinds of basket materials and many basket-making styles and techniques, and is an expert in fiber and foraging as well.

Her protégées Zak and TJ will be assisting in the class so there will be plenty of hands-on instruction to support all students. A year and a half ago, Zak spent about three weeks living with Chrissie and Koorosh on the farm—he assisted in framing and trussing our barn, and with our very first Thanksgiving butchering.

Details: Make A Shaker Cheese Basket. Sunday, Aug. 23, 9 am-5 pm; $60, lunch included. Reservations required. To register call Chrissie at 503-730-7535 or send her an e-mail. Kookoolan Farms, 15713 Hwy. 47, Yamhill.