hburgnews.com » FYI

Unity: International Festival To Mesh With Moving Planet Event

Jeremiah Knupp — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:27:07 +0000

One is a Harrisonburg tradition over a decade old. The other is a grassroots movement in its inaugural year. This Saturday two very different events will be taking place in Harrisonburg. But both events share a common goal; bringing members of the community together in a display of unity.

The International Festival, an event that started in 1997, is a well-known mix of international music, dance and food that brings participants and visitors from throughout the Mid-Atlantic. This year’s event, which will continue to build on the theme, ”Celebrating CommUNITY,” will also place special emphasis on marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks and remembering the victims of the Japanese tsunami.

“We want people to think about the fact that every ripple, every wave is felt by us all,” said Vaunda Brown, one of the event’s coordinators.

Also taking place on Saturday is Moving Planet, a world-wide event that seeks to put emphasis on reducing carbon emissions and pursuing alternative sources of energy. The date for Moving Planet was established by 350.org, an organization whose goal is to reduce the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to below 350 parts-per-million, an amount that scientists say is crucial to help slow our climate crisis. Around the world local organizers will tailor the event to their individual communities.

Moving Planet – September 24th, 2011: A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels

Harrisonburg’s Moving Planet will begin at Ralph Sampson Park with several speakers addressing topics from local environmental issues to national concerns, like the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Then participants will move across town in a mass bicycle ride that will end at the International Festival’s location at Hillandale Park, uniting the two events. The local groups represented will man informational booths at the Festival’s Green Village area.

“Our goal is to get the whole community involved,” said Ryan Bowen, a JMU senior and one of the event’s organizers. “Typically there is a divide between JMU students and members of the community and we’re seeking to help unite the community and bring both of those aspects together.”

The International Festival will take place in Hillandale Park from 12 to 6 p.m. For more information and a schedule of events see the Festival’s Web site. Parking at the park will be limited to vehicles carrying four or more people and those with disabilities or special needs. Everyone else is encouraged to walk or bike to the festival or use shuttle services, which leave from the parking lot of Westover Park (305 S. Dogwood) and from JMU’s Memorial Hall (the former Harrisonburg High School).

Those interested in participating in the Moving Planet can meet at Ralph Sampson Park at noon before moving to Hillandale Park by bicycle to join with the International Festival.

Photos by Holly Marcus courtesy of the Harrisonburg International Festival.

Friendly City Grand Opening Set for July 9

Press Release — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:30:02 +0000

Friendly City Food Co-Op, Harrisonburg’s consumer-owned grocery, invites the community to come see its new destination for natural, organic and locally-produced products at the store’s grand opening 11 a.m.-5 p.m. July 9 at 150 East Wolfe Street.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. with Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Matt Lohr, Harrisonburg Mayor Richard Baugh and representatives from Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and Friendly City Food Co-op.

Free demos and food samples include:

● Shenandoah Growers— Free fresh local herbs

● Homestead Creamery— Free locally-made ice cream

● Golden Angels Apiary—Free local honey tasting and live bee hive (enclosed)

● PULP—Free smoothies

● Local Chop & Grill House—Food demo with Chef Ryan Zale

● Equal Exchange— Free fair trade coffee and chocolate

● Dave’s Taverna— Free homemade pizza

● Local massage therapists—Free massages

Children’s activities will include a “chalk-a-thon” and scavenger hunt hosted by Friendly City Food Co-op and CommonPlace Harrisonburg; tote bag tie-dying; fruit and veggie face painting; and photos with Freddie the Friendly Carrot.

Local favorites The Steel Wheels, Dish Dogs, and Olivarez Trio will provide live music.

In addition, raffle tickets win prizes including yoga classes, massages, local restaurant gift certificates, local foods gift baskets and a kids’ swimming pool full of groceries.

Friendly City’s 4,000-square-foot facility is a full-service grocery store where everyone can shop and anyone can join. Friendly City’s membership includes 1,400 households, far surpassing its 1,300 goal by opening, said General Manager Steve Cooke.

Friendly City recently became the newest member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), a business services cooperative serving 120 consumer-owned food co-ops nationwide.

Cally’s To Become Capital Ale House

Brent Finnegan — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:32:59 +0000

Capital Ale House announced last week that the Richmond-based restaurant chain will take possession of the space currently occupied by Cally’s Restaurant and Brewery in downtown Harrisonburg.

Bill Freehling reported on fredericksburg.com:

Capital Ale President Matt Simmons said the success of the Fredericksburg location [currently one of four in Virginia] affected the decision to expand the business, which also has three Richmond-area restaurants and bars. He said Capital Ale didn’t ask for or receive any incentives to go to Harrisonburg.

Harrisonburg City Councilmember Kai Degner remarked on his blog that “[this] marks the only non-locally owned chain restaurant in downtown Harrisonburg since (I think) the Daily Grind had a coffee shop on Court Square.”

Capital Ale House plans to begin renovations on July 12, with a projected opening in October 2011.

UPDATE 6/21

The Daily News Record reported today that Cally’s partner and brewery manager Eric Plowman is closing the restaurant to focus on making beer. Doug Manners reported:

The languishing economy didn’t factor much into closing Cally’s, according to Plowman, who added that business was on the upswing this year. “The biggest concern was the fact that we were running out of space for the brewery,” he said. “I decided to go ahead and focus 100 percent of my efforts on beer and beer production.”

Plowman is scouting locations for a “substantially bigger” brewery, but hasn’t found a new home for the brewing business yet.

Friendly City Becomes Member of National Cooperative Grocers Association

Press Release — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:08:52 +0000

HARRISONBURG, VA — Friendly City Food Co-op, slated to open this month in Harrisonburg, Va., has become the newest member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA), a business services cooperative serving 120 consumer-owned food co-ops nationwide. NCGA helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere. By Friendly City becoming a member of NCGA, Harrisonburg area shoppers will enjoy more favorable prices at the co-op’s check out lanes when it opens this month.

NCGA, founded in 1999, is a business services cooperative for retail food co-ops nationwide. The association’s 120 members and associate co-ops operate more than 150 storefronts in 33 states, with combined annual sales over $1.3 billion.

Friendly City’s 4,000-square-foot facility on East Wolfe Street is slated to open in early June. A grand opening will take place July 9. Friendly City’s membership includes more than 1,220 households, a number expected to grow in the weeks and months ahead, said General Manager Steve Cooke.

Friendly City, a consumer-owned grocer co-op, integrates local and sustainable food systems, cooperative business values and environmental stewardship into a lively community marketplace, said Cooke. “Area residents committed to sourcing healthy foods, quality goods, and local products have been developing the Friendly City Food Co-op for nearly 6 years,” Cooke noted. “We’re thrilled to become a member of the National Cooperative Grocers Association. As members of NCGA, we will have access to national support, tools, data and competitive pricing for our members and customers.”

Cooke previously served as general manger at Atlanta-based Sevananda Natural Foods Market, one of the Southeast’s largest food co-ops, before joining Friendly City.

NCGA is a winner of the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence in recognition of the application of cooperative values and principles to drive cooperative and business success. “Co-ops born out of community demand for local, organic and healthy foods—like Friendly City Food Co-op—not only provide shoppers with delicious food but also help influence the way we eat and produce food in this country,” said Robynn Shrader, CEO for NCGA.

Last Glimpse of Food Co-op Before Official Opening

Jeremiah Knupp — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:33:04 +0000

It was a strange scene for a Saturday morning at a grocery store. The shelves were bare and there were no aisles for the small crowd to mill through. No one was being rung up at a cash register. But the Friendly City Food Co-op, which opened its doors to showcase its progress to the community, hopes that this will be one of the last quiet Saturdays at its location on the corner of the Wolfe and Mason Streets before the store officially opens for business in June.

Plans to establish a “consumer owned, democratically run” (according to the FCFC mission statement) food store in Harrisonburg have been nearly five years in the making. Currently 1,199 people have signed up for $200 memberships, which give them part ownership in the store and a voice in how things are run. The store, which is in the same location that formerly housed Mick-or-Mack grocery, will feature fresh and frozen foods, natural health and cleaning products, many sourced locally, which will be open to both members and non-members. The plans are for the FCFC store to open the first weekend of June with a grand opening on July 9.

Harrisonburg Recognized as a Bike Friendly Community

Press Release — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:00:04 +0000

May 2: Harrisonburg was honored when the League of American Bicyclists announced the
latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations over the weekend to kick off May as
National Bike Month.

Out of the 45 new applicants that the program received, 21 communities received awards. Harrisonburg
was given a bronze‐level Bicycle Friendly Community designation. This designation comes after
Harrisonburg had been recognized with an honorable mention in 2010.

To date, the League of American Bicyclists has received 452 applications and designated 179 Bicycle
Friendly Communities in 44 states. The BFC program recognizes communities that promote bicycling and
provides technical assistance in the form of a roadmap to help cities build great communities for
bicycling. The League has identified projects, policies, programs and plans that most effectively improve
cycling conditions and make up the foundation of a bicycle‐friendly community.

“The City of Harrisonburg has made great strides in becoming more bicycle friendly,” said Pubic Works
Planner Thanh Dang. “The fact that we moved from an honorable mention to a bronze level designation
speaks to the commitment not only of the city, but of many members of our community who are part of
making Harrisonburg a truly bicycle friendly place to live.”

The Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly
University programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One
World, Two Wheels Campaign. To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visit

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works
through advocacy and education for a bicycle‐friendly America. The League represents the interests of
America’s 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to
support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org.

For more information about the City of Harrisonburg’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, visit
www.HarrisonburgVA.gov/bikeped.

Harrisonburg Gardening 101: Composting & Other Garden Tips

Renee — Fri, 06 May 2011 13:12:42 +0000

This is the 3rd post in our local gardening mini-series. Previous posts can be found at this link. I’ll reiterate that I’m no expert! I just do a lot of reading about gardens online and I started my own small plot here in Harrisonburg for the first time last year.

For this installment in the mini-series, I’ll just cover some tips that I’ve learned and found online. If you have more tips, please share them in the comments!

Composting

Composting is easy, and it helps reduce your contributions to the landfill while it also helps your garden grow! I started composting last year and got a good batch to add to my garden this spring instead of buying fertilizer at the store. Here’s how you do it:

Create a compost bin. Some people use open piles contained with fencing or wood pallets, and some use raised bins that can be easily spun to mix the compost, or specialized barrels like the ones sold recently by the city and county. Another method (and the one that I use) is to drill holes in an old garbage can like this and roll it around the yard every once in a while to thoroughly mix the contents. The holes are a necessity for proper air flow and drainage.

Save kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and coffee grounds instead of throwing them in the trash can or garbage disposal. (A list of compostable items can be found at this link.) In the winter when it’s cold outside, I keep fresh fruit and vegetable scraps in a plastic coffee container with holes poked in the lid and layer the vegetable matter with used coffee grounds until I am able to empty the container outside every few days. I have never noticed a smell while the container is closed. There are also special cans you can buy for storing compost materials temporarily in your kitchen, and even indoor composters.
In your compost bin, layer the kitchen scraps with yard waste like grass clippings and any other compostable materials. I use newspaper-based pelleted litter for my rabbit and empty that into the bin occasionally, too. There is a formula for mixing “green” and “brown” materials, described here, but you don’t have to follow it to the letter to get good compost, just provide your pile with a variety of materials.
Keep your compost sponge-damp. You don’t want it to be too soggy or it will create swamp-like conditions (and smell), but it does need some moistness for the beneficial organisms to survive and break down your compost. When it’s breaking down, it will have a sweet earthy smell.
Over time, you will notice your compost breaking down into dark, fertile soil. You can keep two separate piles to ensure the materials have completely broken down in one before it’s time to add it to your garden, or you can just empty the contents of the bin into your garden about a month before you plan to plant anything and start a new batch in your bin.
Another way to add compost to your soil is to make “compost tea”. This is basically compost soaked in water to create a liquid fertilizer. For “high end” compost tea, you can add fish emulsion or molasses and apply with a sprayer as explained in this video.

Growing Upwards

Both small and large gardens can benefit by growing vegetables up posts and trellises vertically. This can allow you to plant more plants per square foot, but also creates shady spots, so plan carefully so you don’t overshade plants that don’t climb and need full sun. “Indeterminate” tomatoes can grow long vines and can be tied to tall stakes or tied to strings from above to encourage vertical growth, and other plants like climbing beans and peas naturally grow up fences and trellises.

For a natural look, you can create low fences or tall “teepees” out of sticks for your vegetables to climb. Another popular method is the “three sisters” garden, which has corn planted in the center, surrounded by pole beans which vine up the stem of the corn, and squash, which shade the ground to keep the moisture in. Below is a photo of a “three sisters” garden.

The most extreme example of vertical gardening I’ve seen is YouTube user John from “Growing Your Greens” who has converted his suburban California lawn into a raised-bed garden with many vertical gardening features (skip to 2:20 for the garden tour):

Finding Gardening Information Online

The web is a treasure trove of gardening information, (both good and bad – so if you hear something that sounds crazy, try to find verification to make sure it’s not bad advice)! YouTube is a great resource for instructional videos. I enjoy watching videos by Christian from “The Produce Garden” in the winter because he’s in Australia where they are in the opposite seasons and I can get ideas ahead of time to implement in the summer! Patti Moreno, “The Garden Girl“, has a lot of good ideas and how-to videos, too. If you’re planting a certain variety of vegetable and want specific tips, search for it on YouTube and you’ll find plenty of people willing to share their tips with you!

Another thing I enjoy doing is reading gardening blogs. If you find a few with similar planting zones to our area, you will get especially useful information. Bloggers in Florida and California have a much longer growing season, so I enjoy reading Northern US blogs such as Chiot’s Run and Annie’s Kitchen Garden to get more usable advice.

Have a garden question? Just “Google it”! If you find information that’s especially helpful to people in the Harrisonburg area, please share it in the comments!

Photos by Flickr Users knittingbrow, found_drama, inkandpen, and philcalvert under the Creative Commons license (hover over photos for links and attributions).

Traffic Advisory: JMU Commencement May 7

Press Release — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:44:11 +0000

The Harrisonburg Police Department would like to inform the public of areas that will be congested on Saturday, May 7 for James Madison University’s annual Commencement Ceremonies.

The following streets and intersections will be crowded with traffic and pedestrians:

900 block of South Main Street
Intersection of Cantrell Avenue and Paul Street
Intersection of Cantrell Avenue and Mason Street
Intersection of Reservoir Street and Evelyn Byrd Avenue
Port Republic Road and I-81 Interchange
Neff Avenue from Reservoir Street to Port Republic Road
University Boulevard.

Motorists should expect delays and heavy traffic throughout Harrisonburg. Please use caution and be vigilant for pedestrians along the road and crossing streets.
Shuttle buses will also be transporting people from local hotels to the various ceremonies. Bus riders are encouraged to board the bus as early as possible.
During the commencement ceremonies permit parking WILL NOT be enforced.

Traffic information and updates will be broadcast on 1610 AM. Additional traffic and transportation information can be found at http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/general/news/general11623.shtml.

On behalf of HPD, congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2011!

Friday Clementine Art Show: Valley Art Project

Press Release — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:01:21 +0000

Local Artist Pam Tittle will exhibit her artwork May 6 – 28 at the Clementine Café in downtown Harrisonburg. This is in conjunction with Harrisonburg’s First Fridays Event. An Artist reception will be held Friday, May 6th, 5:00 – 7:00pm.

Pam writes:

The idea for the Valley Art Project started over a year ago. I wanted to draw a landscape every week for 52 weeks. By keeping the scenes local and of the area, I hope to shine a light on the beauty right here at home. The goal is to show the extraordinary scenery you can find in your own backyard.

Drawing: Week 8 by Pam Tittle