Annual Mustard Garlic Picking Event

Once again Spring is in the air and it is time to think about the Villain of the Valley - that nasty invasive plant called Garlic Mustard! We need your help to take a BITE OUT of Garlic Mustard. The Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway need you to help raise awareness of "invasive plants" and the importance of trying to maintain the a proper balance in nature. Environmental education is one of the main goals of the Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway and our 9th Annual Garlic Mustard Challenge does a great job but it can do a better job with your help.

We invite you to support the 9th Annual Garlic Mustard Challenge, to be held on
May 4, 2008 from 1PM to 5Pm in the Glen Artney Area of the Patapsco Valley State Park.

We are recruiting teams of volunteers to pull garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata. Immigrants brought this plant here for culinary and medicinal purposes. Now it is crowding out native wildflowers. In past years we have picked as much as a ton of garlic mustard in one afternoon! We also sponsor a Cook’s Challenge in which amateur chef’s create tasty dishes using the weed. We also have games for the kids and a Poster Contest run through neighboring schools with a $100 Savings bond as a prize for first place. Prizes for every one.

We offer several opportunities for you to help:

1. Three levels of ads in our Garlic Mustard Almanac

a. Full page ad 41/2" w x 71/4" h cost $200
b. Half page ad 41/2" w x 31/2" h cost $100
c. Business card (1/3 page 41/2" h x 25/16 h cost $25

2. There are 4 categories of "Major Sponsors":

a. Cascade Donor $100
b. Tiber Hudson Donor $500
c. Patapsco Partner $1,000
d. Chesapeake Sponsor $5,000

We offer several publicity opportunities for the Chesapeake and Patapsco Partner levels of sponsorship including (but not limited to) Press Releases, Poster, Fliers and our famous Almanac. In the past this event has gained national attention from the Travel Industry Association of America, and coverage in the Baltimore sun, the Washington Post, the Business Monthly and on WBFF TV.

3. Join the picking challenge. See how much Garlic Mustard you can pick in two hours. Win a prize. Challenge and beat your competition. Raise morale in your company. Help the environment.

4. Join in the Chefs challenge. All are welcome. Bring your entry and go up against the best in the region. It takes a Master Chef to turn wild garlic Mustard into a culinary masterpiece.

5. Donate prizes. We need prizes to reward our great pickers, chefs and winners. Toys, candy, hats, etc. Something with your name and logo is even better.

So cook up a tasty dish to enter in the Cook’s Challenge, come pull weeds on May 4th and/or simply contribute to our efforts to enhance the Patapsco Valley! Find out more about The Friends by visiting our WEB site: www.patapscoheritagegreenway.org.

We are delighted to present this opportunity for you to lend your name and support to this most worthwhile environmental effort to help restore the natural ecosystem of the Patapsco Valley in a fun and educational way.