The Palisade Peach Festival featured an array of peach-themed foods and activities, from a “peach cuisine throwdown” to a peach-eating contest.

According to Mesa County Libraries, the celebration once known as Peach Day started in 1887 . For the first time, in more than 100 years of festivities, the event featured the very people responsible for planting, growing and picking those peaches.

At the festival’s entrance, attendees were welcomed by the Faces of The Harvest Exhibit: a collection of 150 photographs of local migrant farm workers, accompanied by an overview of the community’s experiences.

According to La Plaza Executive Director Iriana Medina Leo, the display was a much-needed recognition of the people who make Palisade agriculture possible.

“They were saying things like, ‘I

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