About Pueblo County, CO

Pueblo will be experiencing unusually cold and dreary weather this weekend. Here are some suggestions for things to do:

***Visit the Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library to view entertainer Cheech Marin's "The Chicano Collection" exhibition of works that depict urban life and the Chicano experience today. The exhibit is free and open to the public starting Saturday October 10 through Sunday November 22, 2009, Monday-Thursday, 9am to 9pm; Friday and Saturday, 9am to 6pm; and Sunday, 1pm to 5pm.

***Visit the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center to see the following exhibitions:

White Gallery - "Representing the West" Art Exhibition and Sale

King Gallery - International Watermedia XVI: Pikes Peak Watercolor Society

Hoag Gallery - Faces & Places: Selections from the Francis King Collection of Western Art

Regional Gallery - Gene Kloss Print Collection

3 rd Floor Foyer Gallery - Peter Marchand Photography

Boardroom - Susan Askey: Four Corners, Four Seasons, Four Directions

Hours: Tue-Sat , 11am to 4pm. Admission to the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center and Buell Children's Museum is $4 for adults and $3 for children. Members of the military and their families receive a $1 discount off of the admission price with a military ID. A discount of $5 off of a family membership is also available to military members. Members of the Arts Center to include Studio 210 members are admitted free. Free adjacent parking.

***Read a book, specifically join other Puebloans in reading "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros and "Sun, Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories" as part of The Big Read: All Pueblo Reads. Kick-off events at Rawlings Public Library begin on Saturday, October 10 and include a Neighborhood Craft Project, contributing/learning about the Community Offrenda, hearing mystery writer Manuel Ramos speak at 12:30 p.m., participating in Art for Everyone: A Family Mexican Mural Workshop at 1:30 p.m. Many more events are scheduled between October 10 and November 13. Visit www.pueblolibrary.org or call 562-5600 for more information.

*** Take a walk, a GHOST walk! The 5th annual Ghost Walk through the Historic Union Avenue District finishes up October 9 th and 10th. Walking tours leave every 15 minutes from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. starting at La Placita of El Pueblo History Museum. In case of bad weather, the event will move indoors. The stories for this year's Ghost Walk are: Christmas Day Massacre Fort El Pueblo, Charles Goodnight, James Beckwourth, Theatre in the Old West, Pueblo's Hanging Tree, Cathay Williams - Buffalo Soldier, Dad's Flood Story, Telephone Operators' Heroics in the 1921 Flood, Baxter Bridge Shoot-Out, and La Llorona. Proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the Hospitality Networks' support of homeless families, and the Domestic Violence Task Force's efforts to provide training for those who work with victims, and for anti-violence advertising in the community. The cost for tickets is $7 in advance and $8 at the event. Children ages five and younger are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Y.W.C.A., 801 N. Santa Fe Ave., and at El Pueblo History Museum.

Deb

I received the first freeze warning for Pueblo West, effective Midnight tonight through the morning of October 2^nd. Here are some things you might want to do:

1. Bring in or cover outside potted plants.
2. Harvest any vegetables you may still have in your garden. Green tomatoes will ripen inside or use green tomatoes in a multitude of yummy recipes you can find online or use my hearty chili recipe below. Alternatively, you can cover your garden plants.
3. Disconnect your garden hoses from the spigot.
4. Turnoff and drain your sprinkler system.
5. If you own a vacant house, you should check to make sure your heating system has been turned on or take steps to winterize the plumbing system.

Green Tomato Chili

1 lb ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
1 medium-sized green bell pepper, chopped (or some roasted chile peppers picked up at last weeks Chile & Frijole Festival!)
3 medium-size green tomatoes (1 lb), chopped
1 tsp chili powder, or to taste
½ tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
½ tsp garlic salt
1 can (16 oz) red kidney beans
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans
1 can (15 oz) black beans
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (6 oz) water

Crumble beef into a large pot and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Recipe is easily doubled.

This weekend (September 25-27, 2009) is the 15th Annual Loaf ‘N Jug Chile & Frijoles Festival!

The Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce created the festival to celebrate the harvest of the Mira Sol Chile (otherwise known as the Pueblo Chile) and to promote our area's agriculture, especially its home-grown chilies and pinto beans, as well as to display the works of many talented artisans and crafts people. The festival will take place in downtown Pueblo, at the Union Avenue Historic District, on Union Avenue between 1st and "B" Streets. Festival hours are Friday, 3pm-11pm; Saturday, 10am-11pm; Sunday, 10am-6pm. For more information on scheduled entertainment, the Chile and Salsa showdown, El Pueblo History Museum 1840 Mercado, Farmer's Market, Sunday's Hot 2 Trot 5K Run & 2 Mile Fun Walk, or the Jalapeno-Eating Contest call the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce at 719-542-1704 or visit www.pueblochamber.org.

I can't wait to smell the delicious aroma of roasting chile peppers and stock up on bags of roasted chiles for later use during the cold winter months. This weekend promises to be much warmer than the unseasonal temperatures we've experienced this week, so get out and enjoy one of the premier events in Pueblo ! See you there!

Deb

For Immediate release:

Dena Stevens

719 369-9087 direct

719 546-3700 fax
dena@coloradowesternland.com

Dena Stevens, Realtor at Colorado Western Real Estate, llc in Pueblo Colorado has recently earned her Brokerage Administration license from Kaplan Professional Schools. This course is 24 credit hours, counts as continuing education and changes her license status. Dena Stevens has been with Colorado Western Real Estate since February of 2007 and can be reached at 719 369-9087 or email dena@coloradowesternland.com

For more information:

Dena Stevens

719 369-9087 direct

719 546-3700 office

dena@coloradowesternland.com