The 2016 Lane County Propagation Fair will take place from 11 am to 4 pm Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, at the old Whiteaker School, now the Whiteaker Head Start Building, 21 N. Grand Street. There will be outdoor workshops on a variety of topics on Sunday, March 27.

This free annual event aims to promote local food security by supporting home orchardists, vegetable gardeners and native plant enthusiasts in and around the southern Willamette Valley.

You are not required to bring anything to participate, but attendees are strongly encouraged to contribute clearly labeled cuttings or divisions of fruit trees and berries to share freely with others at the fair, as well as fresh seed, plants and divisions of all types of food crops and native plants.

This lively educational event is for you — and it depends on your contributions. From the Facebook page: “This is a free volunteer-driven event by interested people like you! Please consider a hands-on role supporting this wholly grassroots effort to identify, collect, share and propagate the finest food germplasm in the West. Your active involvement is crucial not only to the success but survival of this unique, visionary effort.” Contact the volunteer coordinator at (425) 444-7773.

Along with free seed, hundreds of varieties of fruit tree scion (grafting cuttings) for apple, pear, plum, cherry, Asian pear, peach, fig and grape will be on offer. Fruit tree rootstock will be available for $3 each, with professional grafters donating time to graft the fruit variety of your choice to root stock for a custom tree. The focus is on great-tasting fruit varieties with proven performance in our growing region.

A list of speakers and workshops can be found on Facebook. Look for Lane County Propagation Fair.