Nov 13, 2020 | Other Events
Update as of Monday, November 16: The market is definitely not going forward. First Presbyterian refused to allow permission to use their parking lot. Please share this information with your neighbors and friends. I don’t want people to show up and be disappointed because there is no market. I did everything I could to make this market happen, but without a location, there can be no market.
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Bad news for all farmers market enthusiasts today. After two weeks of repeated expressions of enthusiasm from church staff, permission has been withdrawn abruptly to hold a farmers market next Saturday at the First Presbyterian parking lot. Barring a miracle over the weekend, the market has to be cancelled.
I’d like to make clear that the City of Evanston Health Department has been very supportive all along. They are impressive, thoughtful, and helpful. If you live in Evanston, be sure to thank them for all their work. They are not responsible for the cancellation.
Farmers still need your support. Some of the farmers who were to participate in this market will still come to Evanston to sell their products on the 21st. You can get more information by contacting them directly:
If you happen to have a spare miracle in your back pocket that you don’t need, would you send it my way? No?? Me, neither. See you at the markets in the spring.
Nov 8, 2020 | Other Events
I was talking a lot in late summer about food preservation. Now, I want to talk about where my food comes from, because there’s an upcoming farmers market you should know about.
For about two decades here in Evanston, there has been a farmers market the Saturday before Thanksgiving, organized by Chris Djuric and the Immanuel Lutheran Church. About two weeks ago, we learned that the local health department denied a permit for the event, because much of it was planned to be indoors, and even the outdoor space available is too small for a market of that size.
This was devastating news for me, personally, as I always buy about 200 pounds of root vegetables at that market and store them for the winter. But it was even worse for the farmers. At the next Saturday market, I talked to a few farmers, and there was a certain sense of desperation in their eyes and in their voices at the idea of losing a market they had been counting on.
It has been a tough year for a lot of small farmers already. Those who grow primarily for the restaurant trade lost most of their business in the early part of the summer. For others, the weather (a late freeze, flood, drought, and various other plagues) reduced their sales at various times during the year.
I talked to one turkey farmer, and they had no idea what they were going to do with no Thanksgiving market. They had been raising turkeys all summer, as usual. The birds were slaughtered and already in the freezer. If they brought them to the city early, their customers wouldn’t have room in their freezers for a purchase of that size. They needed a market before Thanksgiving so people could buy the frozen turkeys and thaw them in their refrigerators before cooking them on Thursday. If people didn’t buy their turkeys, they lost their entire investment.
Well, I heard all these stories, and I knew I had to put my professional skills at the service of my friends the farmers who keep me fed all year. I could see a way to make a market happen–but there wasn’t very much time. Fortunately, the good people of the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston saw the need as clearly as I did and offered their enormous parking lot for an outdoor market. After an avalanche of citizen support for the idea, the City of Evanston finally agreed to give us a permit.
So, mark your calendars for Saturday, November 21 and come out to support your local farmers! The market will be at the First Presbyterian Church’s parking lot at the corner of Chicago Ave. and Greenwood St. in Evanston. (The church’s address is 1427 Chicago Ave., which is the corner of Chicago and Lake. Just go south from the church to get to the parking lot.) The market starts at 8:00 a.m. sharp (no early shopping, please!) and ends at 1:00 p.m.
Farmers confirmed for this market are: Adam’s Acres, Henry’s Farm, Lake Breeze Organics, Mint Creek Farm, Organic Pastures, River Valley Ranch, and J2K Capraio (cheese). Others will be announced once details are finalized.
Pandemic precautions will, of course, be observed for this market. Face coverings will be required and social gathering strongly discouraged. Capacity limits will also be enforced, so dress warmly if the weather is as usual for the end of November, as there may be a wait to get in.
I hope to see you there for one last chance to buy local food before farmers markets shut down for the season!
Feb 11, 2019 | Other Events
I got photos from J. Hollander Photography from the bar mitzvah I worked on in December. I want to share some of the fun with you!
This was a family who described themselves as not being very fancy. For their son’s bar mitzvah, they decided against an upscale Saturday night party in favor of a casual, laid-back, sports-themed party, with lots of fun stuff for the kids and a good time for the adults. This one was not at all about how it looked; it was all about the experience for everyone.
In keeping with the low-key theme, they rented out the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center in Evanston, a family-centric location with a community room and adjoining gym.
The community room was where people gathered and had dinner. But the real attraction was in the next room where Playground Games had set up their inflatable games, along with attractive lighting and fun music.
We mustn’t forget dinner, though! Marcello’s did their usual fine job with the pizza buffet (and plenty of other food, too).
Their dessert buffet was a big hit, too.
In the community room, there were plenty of fun things to do. There was a selfie-station with lots and lots of sports-themed props, a large Connect Four game, and a cornhole game.
But the center of the party really was in the gym. The kids played the games, the adults watched, and, sometimes, the adults joined in the fun.
I’m not quite sure what this person is doing, but I think they were having fun:
And finally, a few photos of the details. First, centerpieces that the father of the bar mitzvah boy designed and created. He even designed a logo!
And the “guest book.”
And the party favors–perfect for a winter event!
Mar 26, 2018 | Eco-Friendly Events, Other Events
Here’s what we had on the tables on Saturday night. Photo by Darren Day Photography.
One of the things I do with my skills is volunteer my time to the Rogers Park Food Co-op. I’m currently the chair of the Events Committee for this start-up business. In case you don’t know how food co-ops work, here’s a short summary:
A co-op is a community-owned business. The backing for it comes not from a corporation or from billionaire investors but from individual share sales to members of the community. As you can imagine, this is hard work. In order to make it work, it is necessary for hundreds or thousands of people to come together, raise money, and make it all happen. And it is all powered by volunteers.
Once a year, we have our Annual Owner Celebration, a gathering for everyone who has bought a share in the business. It is a time to make sure everyone knows what is going on and to energize everyone to work toward our goals. And my small committee plans everything.
It’s a big deal event: rental venue, catering, photography, decor, speakers, meeting activities, tons of stuff to be transported, dozens of volunteers, and so on. We were expecting 130 people to show up at 6:00 at the Levy Center in Evanston. Set-up started at 4:00.
But, at 2:30, my phone rang, a call from an Evanston Park District manager with some very bad news. Levy Center was closed for the rest of the day because of a MAJOR sewer back-up that affected the entire building. The bathrooms were unusable; the kitchen was unusable; the entire building (reportedly) smelled of sewage. Plumbers were on the job but they would not be finished any time soon–and then the place had to be cleaned up.
It was the exact script of the event planner’s nightmare. That’s how it always goes in bad dreams. Only, in the actual nightmare, no one will help you, there is no equipment, and you flail about trying to salvage an impossible situation. Reality was actually much better.
The saving grace was that they were able to offer the use of another park district facility at the other end of town. The room is not as nice; the sound system is not great (and one of the reasons I wanted to use the Levy Center was their excellent sound system); and there’s no real kitchen. But at least it was a room that could accommodate our needs.
City staff hauled the tables from Levy to Chandler, brought in the sound system, and were generally very helpful. We just had the enormous task of making sure all 130 people knew about the change in plans!
Five or six of us from the committee and the board got on a conference call and worked out an emergency communications and transportation plan in about half an hour. I was texting and emailing volunteers all during that time, too. I notified catering and photographer (almost forgot the photographer!), scrambled my stuff together, and got there in time to re-do the ground plan on the fly and start wrangling volunteers.
And then, after all that, we had our event. No, no, I’m not tired at all. Why do you ask?
Mar 28, 2016 | Other Events
I mentioned before that I volunteer my time in my community with the Rogers Park Food Co-op, a community-owned grocery store in formation. I head the Events committee.
Everyone who volunteers with the Co-op just finished work on our first Annual Meeting. Naturally, I was very much involved in putting together this event. It was an all-volunteer, low-budget event, which presented any number of challenges. It turned out absolutely terrifically.
Many of the neighborhood restaurants very generously donated food for dinner, giving us a gorgeous ethnic buffet. We were lucky enough to also have donations of photo and video services, so I can share with you some of the fun.
We had a paper theme: In this case, it was the co-op’s logo stamped on butcher paper to cover the tables. Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
Volunteers made paper flowers to decorate the tables. Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
Collective Resource helped us in our goal to a zero-waste event. (We threw out only four paper bags of garbage, and one of them wasn’t even full!) Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
First order of business was the presentation by the board. Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
Then, we opened the fabulous buffet! Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
A dozen restaurants donated food, beverages, and dessert. (Yes, that’s me, trying the vegetarian food.) Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
There was also a raffle of gifts from other generous neighborhood businesses. Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
A good time was had by all! Photo by Perfect Light Photos.
Feb 1, 2016 | About me, Other Events, Parties and Special Events
I plan and manage weddings all year, but in my free time, I also volunteer my time with a terrific group of people who are founding a food co-op in Rogers Park. I always like to have at least one volunteer project in my life, and I have an undying passion for local food and the politics of food issues. (And, I really like food!) So, this group is a great fit for me, especially because I get to plan events to help the co-op grow.
The first major event I planned (with many other volunteers and Heartland staff) was last October: Heartland Cafe’s Harvest Dinner and Barn Dance. Heartland put on the event; I did a bunch of the planning for it; everyone had a great time; and Heartland made a sizable donation to the food co-op.
The event was a harvest dinner on the patio of the restaurant followed by a barn dance at the Red Line Tap around the corner (which is also part of the Heartland empire in central Rogers Park). Wade Chandler, a photographer who lives in Rogers Park, very kindly donated his services for the event. (Check out his Facebook page for more information.) Here are a few glimpses of this terrific evening.
The Heartland Cafe patio was all decked out for the Harvest Dinner.
Tom Rosenfeld, one of the Heartland’s owners, welcomes the guests–and tells them how important food co-ops are.
The Heartland’s kitchen served up a luscious buffet of seasonal dishes.
The guests enjoyed the food and the company.
The Co-op had its brand new t-shirts ready!
Volunteers at the pumpkin carving station improved on the decor.
After dinner, the dance started at the Red Line Tap.
Caller Jo Mortland and the band kept the dancers moving.
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