Podcast
Palisade is most famous for its peaches, but there’s so much more happening in this little town nestled in the Grand Valley of Colorado!
Join Palisade resident Lisa McNamara as she interviews business owners, scientists, winemakers, historians, artists, and community members twice a month to hear about how they are making Palisade a great place to live and visit.
Each episode will give you a deeper appreciation for this special slice of western Colorado.
Iriana Medina, Executive Director of La Plaza, explains how the H-2A visa program helps provide the seasonal agricultural labor for the valley’s farmers, orchardists, and grape growers. Migrant agricultural workers using the H-2A visa program are here legally. Listen to learn more about the H-2A program, what La Plaza does, and how you can get involved. Transcript.
JoAnn Rasmussen, Chair of the Palisade Historical Society, takes a deep dive into how past generations of farmers and orchardists in Palisade and the Grand Valley met their ever-present need for seasonal agricultural workers.
We might sometimes feel isolated from international and national events here in Palisade, but the seasonal labor sources for this town have always been driven by outside circumstances. Listen to learn about the fascinating range of people who helped bring Palisade’s agricultural products to market. Transcript.
For Julia Coffey, Farm Director at Early Morning Orchard in Palisade, her dream job on a farm isn’t really about farming. Learn what it’s really about – and then go visit the farm! They’re located at 3694 G 4/10 Road in Palisade and at earlymorningorchard.com. Transcript.
March 13th is the podcast’s second birthday! Hear (and see) what we’re giving ourselves as a birthday present and about all the fun things planned for this year. And THANK YOU for listening! Transcript.
Michael Palma, manager of the El Rey Mexican Restaurant and Food Truck, shares the latest on what El Rey is cooking up at their new location at 528 Iowa Avenue. Listen and get inspired by this family operation’s warm approach to hospitality, food, and community. And…is that your stomach I hear growling? Transcript.
I’m going to go ahead and bet that you didn’t know that there is a mushroom farm in Palisade, CO. And no, we’re not talking about magic mushrooms, though as you’ll find out, there’s something magical about every single mushroom, including the kind you serve on your dinner plate. Tune in to learn all about the fascinating world of mushrooms and what they can do for you and the agricultural community of the Grand Valley. Transcript.
Fred Judson and Andrea Judson have had very interesting careers: Andrea worked in biocontrol at the Palisade Insectary and Fred worked with disease resistant bean strains at Colorado State University’s Western Colorado Research Center at Fruita. Geek out with us about sustainable agronomy and entomology in western Colorado! Transcript.
Go deep into a few of the most notorious Grand Valley myths and legends with two of my Palisade pals, LisaMarie Pinder and Corinna Scott. Hear the stories behind the infamous jar of Grand Valley dirt (8:18), the thunderbird on the Mesa (18:51), the vengeful train conductor (26:47), where you can find bits and pieces of historic coal mines (29:58), why Palisade has twin houses (33:50), and where you can find old labor camp cabins around town (37:02). Transcript.
Wake up your wanderlust with this episode featuring Sarah Steele, travel advisor with Find Your Why Travel: Wine Edition. Take a trip around the world with us and get inspired to plan your own adventure this year! Transcript.
Richard and Aly McDonald of Colorado Vintners and Cliff Dweller Wine have a new venture: Grand Valley Enology, an on-site wine lab that provides juice and wine chemistry analysis to grape growers and winemakers in the Grand Valley. Listen to learn more about this new unique service and the science behind winemaking! Transcript.
JoAnn Rasmussen, Chair of the Palisade Historical Society, and I go on a fun journey through Palisade’s past, present, and future. It’s impossible not to catch JoAnn’s contagious love of history in general and Palisade history in particular! Transcript.
Where did ‘Do Palisade Right‘ come from, and what’s it all about? Hilary Lewkowitz from the Colorado Tourism Office joins me to share more about how the campaign originated, what it’s intended to do, and what it might mean to you. Transcript.
What did the Colorado riverfront used to look like in the Grand Valley? What are the One Riverfront Commission and the Grand Valley River Corridor Initiative why do they matter to Palisade residents? When will Palisade finally get that riverfront trail connection? Joel Sholtes joins me to talk about all this and lots more fun river facts. Transcript.
Lu Frederick is leading the charge to develop the Palisade Community Garden in downtown Palisade, along with Lehl Chase-Nason. Lu joins me to talk about the history of the garden, what’s been built so far, what’s next, and how you can get involved. Transcript.
Kristen Seymour owns Harlow and The Merc in downtown Palisade and she also happens to be one of my favorite people ever for the generosity and joy she brings to every minute. Join us for a fun chat about her businesses and everything we love about Palisade. Transcript.
Learn all about Palisade High School’s unique fish hatchery program, the fish they raise, and how they are released from members of the hatchery team. It’s a fishy good time! Transcript.
March marks the one year anniversary of the Postcards from Palisade Podcast! Listen to find out what’s ahead for year two, to celebrate past guests’ favorite things about Palisade, and to hear the debut of the podcast’s new intro music, created by a local Palisadian! Music credit: Riverbend by Geoff Roper. Transcript.
Last September, a fire broke out at Mark Williams’ and Sarah Schaeffer’s Palisade home. Their garage, filled with all the implements of Mark’s pedicab business, quickly burnt to the ground, while their house and neighboring structures were damaged. What followed was an incredible outpouring of support from the Palisade community. Transcript.
Have you visited The Milky Way (@themilkywaypalisade)? As of Wednesday, 2/28, Kathy and Scott Gilbert are serving up sweet treats, savory snacks, and tasty drinks from their new shop at 330 Main Street in Palisade! Hear all about the fun treats they have in store for Palisade. Transcript.
Rondo Buecheler, co-owner of Palisade Cycle and Shuttle, shares his favorite bike trails and stories from decades of living, peddling, and paddling in Palisade and the Grand Valley. Transcript.
Jessica Burford, President & CEO of the Palisade Chamber of Commerce, is one of the biggest boosters of Palisade businesses – and not just because it’s her job. Find out what drives her passion for encouraging thoughtful growth in our small town. Transcript.
We already have one national monument nearby…what if we had another? Bella Harris of the Colorado Wildlands Project explains why her organization is advocating for the creation of a National Monument for the Dolores River Canyon Country. Transcript.
What’s a mafia princess doing running a winery in Western Colorado? The name might have started as an inside joke between friends, but the wine is serious business. Transcript.
If you live in the Palisade area, Tammy Craig of Fruit & Wine Real Estate and The Craig Gallery probably knows what the inside of your house looks like. Transcript.
Two of Palisade’s top wine pourers, Amy DiMarzio and Michael Martin of Blue Beryl Winery and Mesa Park Vineyards, share what really happens behind the scenes at your favorite tasting rooms.
Scott and Jessica Washkowiak own Field to Fork Farm in Palisade, where they’ve been growing organic and biodynamic crops and raising pigs and chickens for eleven years. We talk about lots of interesting farming and ecological issues and also…what kind of vegetables we are. Transcript.
Laura and Brandon Black were happily settling into life in Denver when they took a trip to Palisade that ended up changing their lives forever. Transcript.
Find out where Mesa Park Fruit Company’s fruit is available at mesaparkfruit.com, instagram.com/mesaparkfruit, and facebook.com/mesaparkfruit.
Wendy Videlock was just named the Western Slope Poet Laureate by the Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds program. Why doesn’t she like to tell people she’s a poet when she first meets them, then? Transcript.
To contact Wendy to arrange a reading, you can email her at coloradawendy@gmail.com. To find some of Wendy’s poems, check out the Poetry Foundation: poetryfoundation.org/poets/wendy-videlock and Wendy’s website: wendy-videlock.constantcontactsites.com
How do a cannabis company’s operations differ from other businesses? Why did the Palisade location of The Happy Camper Cannabis Company relocate across town earlier this year? How are they feeling about new competition in Grand Junction?
Whether you’re a regular or occasional consumer or you’ve never touched the stuff, there’s something for everyone (21+) in this episode. We go behind the scenes of a successful cannabis business with The Happy Camper Cannabis Company’s Partner and Senior VP of Marketing and Sales, Colleen Scanlon-Maynard. Transcript.
Why does Palisade have a lavender festival? How exactly does one celebrate lavender? Why does lavender grow so well here? Learn everything you ever wanted to know about lavender and the upcoming Colorado Lavender Festival from Festival Director Olivia Coe and Lavender Association of Colorado Treasurer and lavender farmer Lee Ann Nielsen of Nielsen Village! Transcript.
Kathy and Scott Gilbert have a lot in progress right now: besides the Cygnus Coffee bus that we all know and love, they’re also working on the new Sempre Caffe [later renamed to The Milky Way] in downtown Palisade, a yet to-be-named ice cream truck [now known as Betty], longer-term projects at their G Road location by the high school, and one surprise thing. Grab your favorite beverage and hear all about it. Transcript.
Mark Williams is the owner of Palisade Pedicab and the driving force behind Bike Palisade, which organizes regular community cruiser rides and bike nights to get locals out and about on bikes in Palisade.
Mark and I chat about how he got into pedicabbing, lessons he’s learned along the way, what an ideal bike-friendly Palisade would look like, and lots more. We also hear from a few locals about what the weekly community rides mean to them. Transcript.
Christine Moore is a yoga and dance teacher and yoga therapist based in Palisade. Transcript.
Lisa “Moose” Kral of Dancing In My Head Photography loves the color purple and she loves taking photos. Which one does she love more? Transcript.
Jody Corey and Jeff Snook own the Spoke & Vine Motel and Fidel’s, a cocina and bar in central Palisade. Neither of which were necessarily planned purchases! Find out how Jeff and Jody relied on each other and the community as they built their businesses and made Palisade their new home. Transcript.
Cody Butters Lewis and Mike Lewis own The Homestead, the newest motel in Palisade. Cody and Mike bought the property in 2021 and spent the next 14 months renovating it. What surprises did they find along the way? Transcript.
Nelly Garcia, the Executive Director of La Plaza (formerly known as Child & Migrant Services or The Hospitality Center) talks about what La Plaza does and why it is so important to her to be a part of it. Transcript.
Cassidee Shull is the Executive Director of the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology, aka CAVE, the organization that puts on the Colorado Mountain Winefest. We talk all things Palisade and wine alongside a special guest, Jilly the puppy! Transcript.
Danny Tebbenkamp is the owner of Paddleboard Adventure Company. [Since this episode was published, PAC and The Sneak Line have decided to close their Palisade brick and mortar. I’m keeping this episode out there because Danny and his businesses played such a big role in the Palisade community and they’ve left a bit of a hole where the community events they hosted used to be.] Transcript.
Hello from Palisade! Learn a little more about the town of Palisade, your host, Lisa McNamara, and what you can expect from future episodes. Transcript.
Hi! I’m your host, Lisa McNamara. I started the Postcards From Palisade podcast in March, 2023 to share my love of Palisade with podcast fans everywhere. Each episode, I interview a local resident about the things they do that help make Palisade a great place to live and visit.
Are you interested in being a guest on the podcast? I’d love to talk with anyone who lives in, owns a business in, or has an interesting story to tell about Palisade, CO. I want to focus on the things that bring us together. You can reach me at lisa(at)postcardsfrompalisade.com, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
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Want even more Palisade? I also publish a weekly event listing for everything (that I can find) that’s happening in town each week, updates on new business openings, and more. You can find that over on Substack!
And finally, my friend Corinna Scott and I recently launched a pedicab business in Palisade, CO. Welcome to Peachy Pedicab! We offer wine tours, history tours, and on-call rides. Check out our website for more info.
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