Many New Mexican residents have their very own pecan trees in their backyard. Collecting the nuts for pecan pie or simply eating them straight from the shell can become a tradition for families in the area. These singular trees have inspired locals to grow acres, making Doña Ana County the leading pecan producer in the U.S.
The second annual Las Cruces Pecan Festival took place over the weekend of April 12 and 13 at Young Park to celebrate the victories of many pecan farmers. Organizers invited locals and visitors alike to discover the elaborate and rich details of pecans and enjoy the area.
This two-day festival provided an array of activities. Depending on the time of day, each event gave a unique and interactive experience. Both days consisted of similar itineraries: a 9 a.m. yoga session led by Soul Studio and drumming-inspired workouts by POUND held in the meadow. The next hour, the gates for the full festival opened to the public. Other aspects of the festival included enjoying food trucks and local craft booths, trying various pecans, and grooving to live music from local artists.
Despite this only being the second year it was held, this event has been in the works for years. The president of the festival and owner of Worthington Farms, Kristen Worthington, along with her sister Sarah Bigler, met with their friend Samantha Belletete to bring this dream to life.
“I’m like, ‘Wait a second, we’re right in the middle of all these pecans. Why are we not seeing more pecans?’” Worthington said. “So, this is just a way to kind of highlight and elevate the pecan a little bit and kind of get it more forefront in people’s mind.”
After buying Worthington Farms in 2017, she was inspired by other farmers to give them a space to sell their products and allow the local community to indulge in fresh pecans. Worthington said she has seen pecans go bad too many times, and since New Mexico is a hotspot for the nut, she wanted to change that issue through this festival.
“We just started talking, and we’re like, ‘Why doesn’t a festival like this exist? Why aren’t we celebrating this and giving the community something to come out and enjoy together?’” Belletete shared. “We’re all surrounded by pecans. So, we just were like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna start looking for people to help us grow this.’”
Worthington shared that pecans can be used in various ways. Aside from the delectable sweets they can be candied in, pecans are one of the healthiest nuts. They can be made into cooking oil, lotion, soap, milk, and more. Her sister, Bigler, who scouted the vendors for the event, expressed how even in her work as an esthetician, pecan byproducts are used often because of their various health benefits. Worthington elaborated on the nut’s versatility factor.
“In fact, somebody just told me that there’s somebody from Mexico who used to use pecan leaves for tea,” Worthington shared. “I have no idea how that works, but I sure want to try.”
With pecans being the only native nut to North America, the three women expressed how they hope to educate the community about the importance of supporting local farmers and businesses while showcasing the significance of pecans to the area.
“Showing people the diversity and the health benefits and all the great things pecans do for us is really, really important to us,” Bigler said. “Supporting our small farmers, supporting even our big farmers … and getting the best things on our plates and in our bodies and on our bodies is really the most important thing.”
In addition to supporting pecan farmers and local businesses, the event is also held in support of the Wee Warriors Project. Proceeds from the Pecan Festival go toward supporting the work of the project — a nonprofit that helps hospitals receive proper equipment to successfully aid medically fragile babies.
Camille Plante, founder and CEO of Wee Warriors, began this nonprofit after her son was born. She gave birth to him only 23 weeks into her pregnancy and realized the deficiency of resources for premature babies in smaller hospitals.
Growing up with a pecan farm, Plante was more than happy to partner with the Las Cruces Pecan Festival to shed light on both the festival’s cause and on the Wee Warriors. The festival served as a way to bring the community together and spread awareness over various topics.
Maria Martinez, who was working a booth owned by the New Mexican Pecan Company, said this was the company’s first time attending the festival. She mentioned that on both days, they experienced an exciting and eventful presence from locals, performers, and other booths.
“For us, it means a lot, because a lot of people don’t know that we’re here. It’s just a little hole in the wall shop somewhere, right?” Martinez said. “So, every time we come out and do these events, it brings us more customers that, you know, they lived here their whole life, and they don’t even know we’re here. So, it’s good to bring people to locally owned businesses.”
Celebrating New Mexico’s leading role in producing North America’s only native major tree nut, the Las Cruces Pecan Festival brought people from all over the county to reignite the love in Young Park. This festival commemorated and highlighted local farmers and workers who make New Mexico’s pecan farms thrive.
