Nearly 70 locavores enjoyed beautiful weather, great music, and delicious food at The Eat Local Challenge Potluck last Saturday at Centennial Park. The potluck was a local food smorgasbord with spaghetti sauce samples from local vendor My Neighbor Steve and gluten free biscotti & pie crust samples from Hilary Kass of Ancient Grains. The Merc prepared black bean burgers from Hilary's Eat Well and provided Free State Beer and fresh lemonade. The Vera, Chuck and Dave Quintet provided music.

A new addition to this year's event was The People's Choice Contest with the prize of a $25 Merc gift card to the winner in each category. The winner of the Savory Category was Homegrown Pesto made by Lynate Pettengill (pictured on the right). The winner in the Sweet Category was Honey Yogurt Fruit Tarts made by Barbara Meidinger (pictured on the left). Congratulations to these two and thank you to everyone who attended for making this a great event.