Vicarious Travelers Series Continues this Saturday

From email announcement:

Hi All,
This Saturday, March 16, at 3PM at the Richmond Public Library (RPL) downtown, the Richmond Hostel Committee will be presenting a special program: Seeing the World, WWOOFing – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. The event is free with refreshments, hosted by the Richmond Hostel Committee.

And other events this Spring that you will want to check out!
April 6 Sat – 2nd Annual Richmond Hostel Sidewalk Sale (same day as Emancipation Day activities downtown and Friends of Richmond Library Book Sale)
April 13 Sat – evening – Richmond Hostel Benefit Show – local bands – live! $5
May 11 Sat – day Cap-2-Cap Rides 2013 – Rockett’s Landing is base of Richmond to Williamsburg bicycle rides

Sarah Weisiger
Richmond Hostel Committee, Chair

Food-Coop Holds Community Forum At WBCH On Monday

From email announcement:

The Richmond Food Co-op will be holding its monthly Community Forum on Monday, March 18th at the William Byrd House from 6:00pm -7:00pm (224 S Cherry St Richmond, VA 23220). Prospective members are welcome to come learn about the Richmond Food Co-op’s structure and vision.

The Richmond Food Co-op will be a member-owned full service grocery store providing affordable, local, sustainable and healthy food options.
The Co-op is expected to open in the fall of 2013, following a vigorous membership drive. The membership base is the foundation of the business, and all members of the Co-op will have an equal ownership.

The Co-op is grounded on four key principles:
Provide healthy and delicious food from local suppliers that use environmentally and socially responsible practices.
Improve access to organic and local crops by offering often lower prices for equal or better quality products than those available in local markets.
Employ a democratic process structured around community decision-making and benefits.
Drive community education on nutrition and healthy eating.

The membership investment is $125 per adult member of a household; a $25 non-refundable joining fee per household also applies. People on government assistance will pay a discounted rate for membership:a $10 investment plus a $5 joining fee.

More information on the Richmond Food Co-op and membership is available at www.richmondfoodcoop.com.

GRTC Task Force Meeting Rescheduled For Next Thursday

From City announcement:

All residents are invited and encouraged to attend

WHAT (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) — The Richmond City Council GRTC and Transit Study Task Force will hold a meeting. The purpose of the Task Force is to make recommendations to Richmond City Council with regard to enhancing mass transit in the Metro-Richmond area and the efficiency and effectiveness of the GRTC Transit System. The meeting is free and open to the public and all residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

WHEN Thursday, March 14, 2013
4:00-6:00 p.m.

WHERE Richmond Department of Economic Development
Richmond Main Street Train Station – 3rd Floor Conference Room
1500 East Main Street; Richmond, Virginia 23219

Continue reading

5 CAT Meeting Friday

According to FaceBook page:

(‎5th District Community Action Team) 5 CAT will hold it’s regular monthly meeting on Friday 3/8/13, 7:00p.m. at the Randolph Community Center.

One of the agenda items will be holding a Jane’s Walk to allow residents to get to know other parts of the district, and invite residents to increase their awareness of their physical surroundings.
More information on Jane’s Walk can be found by clicking here.

Brown’s Island Explosion Anniversary

It was mentioned here 2 years ago, but this Saturday is the 150th anniversary of the worst wartime disaster in Richmond. The Times Dispatch has a nice article on this as the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar prepares for it. You can learn more Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Center, by taking a tour or trying one of the jobs related to making the material of war.

2nd Annual Oregon Hill Memorial Day Invitational Announced

Another soccer tourney from Manny. From the FaceBook event page:

Fund raiser for the William Byrd Community center foundation
$5 per player. All proceeds will be donated to the foundation.
7 v 7 coed invitational on an irregular field…
We are now accepting 6 teams with a minimum roster of 8 players. First come first served.
no more than 5 guys on field at any time per team
mail $20 deposit along with roster and team name/jersey colors to: 614 China St. richmond VA 23220 or email oregonhillnumina at yahoo.com.

Defending champs:

Really Really Free Market/Spaghetti Dinner with Bread and Circus Saturday

This Saturday from noon to 3 pm in Monroe Park is the Really Really Free Market.

The RVA Really Really Free Markets provide people with a chance to share the excess that they possess, to prevent the landfills from filling with stuff that will never decompose and is nowhere near the end of its usefulness, and to offer the community a chance to come together for a day of free fun in the sun!

There are a wide variety of things that can be shared. There have been workshops led by community members and musical performances. Community members have brought games to play with each other at the market. Vegan cookies have also been known to make an appearance.

So the last Saturday of every month, dig through your closets, take the extra from your work, ask your parents and friends and neighbors to come to bring stuff and come to get stuff. Bring clothes, furniture, food, tapes, cds, office supplies, kitchen stuff, knick knacks & paddy whacks! Bring your music, your skills, your stuff, your food, and your friends and family, and help us prove that there is enough stuff in the world for everybody!

***PLEASE bring any and all warm weather clothing that you’re not using this year! We especially have a need for X-Large and up sizes!!***

And, Saturday evening…

All the Saints Theater Company, the folks who organize Oregon Hill’s Halloween Parade, are holding a spaghetti dinner at a Westover Hills church. Special guests are the famous Bread and Puppet Theater from Vermont, on tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They will be performing the Circus of the Possiblitarians:

The Circus of the Possibilitarians is a satirical horse and butterfly circus, addressing pertinent national and international issues in a clownish fashion, including rotten ideas, a wild dancing horse and some mellow lions, a solemn salute to the world’s casualties and much more! The Dire Circumstance Jubilation Ensemble provides a little bit of brass and a lot of noise. Please take note that if some of the circus acts are politically puzzling to adults, accompanying children can usually explain them.

Dinner starts at 7, show at 8. More details on the FaceBook event page.

Also, don’t forget the Main Street Library’s Knitting Sale Extravaganza on Saturday.

Byrd House Market News

From the email announcement:

“Pleasant, savory taste”
Some of you fabulous foodies might already know this, but the hazy, soft sound of “umami” just came clear for me with an issue of Martin’s Healthy Ideas magazine (page 37). Umami is a Japanese word that means (yes) “pleasant, savory taste” and represents the 5th essential taste (which apparently emerged with the foodie movement in the 1980s?) our human tongues recognize. The original four are sweet, salty, sour and bitter. I, 4 one, am pleased that SAVORY has been recognized because as opposed to some, I have a SAVORY TOOTH, but try explaining that to people who only seem to recognize sweet or salt. That’s my beef – lack of a peer group!! or so I thought. Do any of you recall that back in the 80s you could buy an herb called “Savory”; it came in Winter and Sweet varieties. Wonderful with beef stew… When I couldn’t find it anymore I started using Juniper berries and peanut butter… yummy. byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com

It is so good to know our vendors are there for us!
Drop by, shop a little or a lot. Soups and stews awaiting those grass-fed meats and free-range eggs. Quick stir-fry or slow saute those winter greens that pump anti-oxidants and all manner of superfood goodness into our cold, wet souls…

Upcoming
March 4: ALL vendors applications due for 2013 Byrd House Market season
March 19: 2013 Market Vendor Orientation, 1-2 pm
April 27: Byrd House Bash – William Byrd Community House’s 90th Birthday Party!!

YES! WBCH is 90 This Year!
Stay tuned for stories, activities, celebrations, pledges for the next 90 years, reflections… The first installment of our story is on our website. The big event, of course, is the Byrd House Bash! April 27…details coming soon!

What’s the oldest story YOU have about William Byrd Community House?
Post it on our Facebook page! We would love to help you share your history (or that of someone you know) as part of the first Nurse’s Settlement House, serving all of Richmond’s populations.

Peace and Good Food to You All.

_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org
/ 804.643.2717 ext.306

Peace Essay Contest

From announcement:

The annual Peace Essay contest sponsored by the Richmond Peace Education Center is now open for entries. The theme for this year?s contest is ?Learning to live in peace.? The writing prompt asks students to think and write about the roles their families or other care-givers play in teaching them about peace. They are further asked to write about how this teaching affects their actions in the community and the world; and to support their ideas with examples from their personal lives and from history and current events.

The contest is open to any elementary, middle, or high school student in Virginia. It offers a top prize of $100 in each of four grade divisions: K-3, 4-5, middle, and high school. Seven additonal cash prizes are also awarded in each division.

The deadline for entries is April 22, 2013. Entry forms, along with contest rules and a conplete description of the writing prompt are available at www.rpec.org, or by emailing rpec at rpec.org.

Paul Fleisher
Asst. to the Director,
Richmond Peace Education Center