THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL BEST OF MISSOURI MARKET

By Scanews staff

 The Eleventh Annual BEST OF MISSOURI MARKET will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Saturday and Sunday, October 5 & 6, 2002, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. featuring over 100 Missouri food producers and artisans.

   Visitors will find this to be the perfect venue to begin their holiday shopping.  They can browse through country stands filled with fruit, vegetables, flowers, plants, herbs, nuts, candies, meats, mushrooms and baked goods from Missouri food producers and farmers.   Artisans will offer items such as hand-thrown pottery, willow furniture, carved wooden birds, quilts, dried flowers and wreaths, decorative ironwork, soaps, handmade pottery, baskets, decorated gourds, custom jewelry, wooden toys and garden ornaments.

   Entertainment will include musical performances as well as a special KIDS KORNER featuring a milk-a-cow booth, Mizzou Barnyard and decorate-a-pumpkin activities.  Special demonstrations at the Market include cooking demonstrations presented by master chefs.   All entertainment is FREE.

   Admission to the Best of Missouri Market is $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for visitors 65 and older, and $2.00 for Garden members.  Children 12 and under are FREE.  Admission prices cover both general Garden and Market admission including a copy of the BEST OF MISSOURI SOUVENIR PROGRAM.

   The Missouri Botanical Garden, located at 4344 Shaw Blvd., will present the Market on October 5 & 6, 2002, rain or shine (it's under tents!).  Additional free parking will be in Tower Grove Park with continuous free shuttles to the Garden.   For more convenient parking arrange a carpool or use MetroLink and ride the new Garden Express from the Central West End to the Garden.  For directions or more details call 314.577.9400 or 1.800.642.8842.  Or visit www.mobot.org.

   The Missouri Botanical Garden's mission is to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life.  Today, more than 140 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for research, education and horticultural display.