A Local Folkus » Culture

Central Florida Sustainable Food Project and Guide

John — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:30:30 +0000

Last night at Stardust Cafe I attended a meeting of the “local food” pioneers behind an exciting Local Food Map project. Chief among these pioneers were: Tia Meer (Simple Living Institute), Andrew Landis (CFL Regional Planning Council) and Lance Turner (AeonBlu/Ourlando). These leaders are at the helm of a truly exciting initiative for our local food system.

Their vision is for the continued development of the Central Florida Sustainable Food Project which includes a detailed database of the area’s farmers and producers as well as the retailers, restaurateurs and the general consumers of our locally produced meats, veggies and goods.

Their hope is to launch a print version of the Local Food Guide and an online search able database format by early spring next year. The may be able to do a soft launch of the web application as soon as this fall. Perhaps we can have a little launch ceremony / ribbon cutting at the Nov 20th Winter Park Harvest Festival. There a ton of way to get involved with this exciting project. Please stop by the Facebook page and become a fan of the project and you can stay abreast of the latest on the Simply Living Institute’s website as well.

I hope to see you at the next meeting.

Slow Money National Gathering

John — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:53:47 +0000

If you read any of the “green” leaning blogs in Central Florida chances are good you’ve heard about the book and movement Slow Money. Well this summer from June 9th – 11th I’ll be up at the Slow Money’s National Gathering in Vermont to brush shoulders with and learn from some of our nation’s most progressive thinkers.

“Slow money is a new way of connecting investors to local food systems. A new way of connecting money, culture and the soil. A new kind of social investing and philanthropy for the 21st century.”

There are so many things already happening in Central Florida that are a model of the Slow Money ethos and how it stimulates local economies, food systems and entrepreneurship. We are doing a great job investing our social and economic capital in sustainable and thoughtful ventures that provide quality products and services to our local community.

Speaking of which, Dandelion Communitea Cafe and Homegrown Co-op both ranked in the top 10 in the recent Slow Money Business contest. Kudos to Julie and Emily for these recognitions as well as giving so much more of yourselves and your businesses than profit alone would dictate.

It is my hope that other Central Floridians will make the trek to the national gathering so that we can draw strength and encouragement from like minded Americans and bring back new insights for our burgeoning Slow Money movement.

Please let me know if you’re going and likewise for those of you who can’t I will be sure to blog all about it. Please click on the image above or on this link to get more information about the Gathering.

100 Trucks for Haiti: Walker’s vision a reality!

John — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:04:28 +0000

During Eat Local Week Kam and I shared a meal with Walker and Emma Starling at Luma on Park Ave. The food was delicious and the conversation, as always, was rich and varied. We spent a fair amount of the time talking about my filming in Haiti and the work I’ve been involved with down there and what effects the earthquake is having on our villages. One of the chief problems our friends face is getting access to aid now that the roadways are not capable of supporting the heavy trucks that usually ship goods throughout the country. While light-weight trucks can make the trip, they are in too short of supply to handle the mountain of aid waiting to be distributed.

Walker mentioned that he was thinking of donating a light-weight truck from his dealership to help solve this bottleneck. He had been Inspired by the Twitter buzz following Bill Clinton’s call for Haiti aid at the World Economic Forum where he mentioned that they needed 100 light-weight trucks ASAP to distribute aid. Unfortunately Walker was finding it far more complicated to get a truck to Haiti then one might imagine.

And here is the reason I’m writing this post. Most people when faced with a similar situation would say “Well my intentions were good” would pat themselves on the back and say “I tried”. I think a lot of this mentality is what keeps people in our community from realizing their vision and expressing their creative ideas. At the Wendell Berry talk I attended he said that he didn’t see the change our country needed coming from the leadership at the top.

Rather, leadership is coming from the people at the bottom. It’s the folks who are organizing farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture farms, small local conservation efforts, those types of things, that’s the start. It’s going on with the consumers, with the urban agrarians, organizing to bring good, local food to city markets, those things are happening. They are going to be happening a long time before the leadership at the top even notices it. The people who are leading from the bottom are going forward without permission or grants or instruction from the top. They are just doing it. That’s what I’m putting my faith in.

This is a concept that really resonates with me. Julie Norris, of Dandelion Communitea Cafe, and I have often spoken about the need for more people to just “Do It” in our community. There are so many folks with outstanding ideas that are waiting for some kind of divine intervention before striking out and making their dream a reality. Those of us already out there developing community aren’t special, we’re no different from those who attend our events, the only difference is that we actively engage and participate and think “What the hell, let’s try it”.

That is what Walker did. He kept making phone calls to fellow dealers, to the NADA, to a Clinton Foundation representative, to anyone who would listen. He created a website to inform and rally the troops. Within two weeks he had commitments from General Motors, the NADA and car dealers throughout the South East for over 80 trucks. With the Clinton Foundation’s help those trucks are going to be in Haiti next week and Walker is confident that 100 or more trucks will be on the boat.

I love stories like this. It embodies the rock star lifestyle Greg Rollet espouses “The Quest to Surf on Tuesdays and Save the World on Fridays.” Our generation has access to unparalleled tools for communication in social media and the Internet. It is inspiring to see young people using them to change the world for the better. I can only hope that this post will inspire you to bring your creative ideas to life in our community, share your talent and let the obstacles be damned.

Wendell Berry is speaking at Stetson Monday Feb 1

John — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:23:20 +0000

What what what ….. Wendell Berry is in Florida?

Yes my friends it is true. Wendell Berry one of my favorite authors is speaking at Stetson University in a free lecture series Monday night the 1st of February. I’m heading up to attend the lecture and I can’t even express how excited I am. Berry’s non-fiction writing has played a pivotal role in developing many of my beliefs. Through his writing I’ve come to appreciate the importance of nurturing of our local community, that the good life is more than consuming and that working with the earth, even in the middle of a modern city, is vitally important to the health and well-being of my family.

The lecture is sponsored by the university’s Values Council. His talk, “Simple Solutions and Package Deals,” is based on the council’s theme for the year, “How Shall We Live?”. Berry will be discussing the impact of economic globalization on the way we live and it’s sure to be lecture chock-full of thought provoking ideas.

According to Berry, the good life includes sustainable agriculture, appropriate technologies, healthy rural communities, connection to place, the pleasures of good food, husbandry, good work, local economics, the miracle of life, fidelity, frugality, reverence, and the interconnectedness of life (via wiki).

Here are the details of the lecture: Stetson University at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, in the Lee Chapel of Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Hope to see you there.

Otronicon – Orlando’s Interactive Media / Video Game / Simulation Mash-up event

John — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:06:23 +0000

FYI – Besides the Central Florida Scottish Highland Games the Rife family is going to try to slip by Otronicon at the Orlando Science Center this weekend. Here is a blurb and a video about the event if your interested in all things interactive and geeky (like we are).

A four day event, Otronicon is a celebration of interactive technology using video games to demonstrate the future of how we live, learn, work and play. The event focuses on a few key areas:

Larger than life video game experiences
State of the art medical and military simulators
Game design workshops taught by industry pros

Whether you’re a video game fan or just wondered what it is you’re kids are doing in front of that computer, there’s something for everyone at Otronicon, Orlando’s biggest interactive technology expo!

Grandma Party Today at Stardust Video, Winter Park, FL

Winter Park Community Garden Workday at DePugh: Volunteers Needed

John — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:30:22 +0000

For those of you who didn’t know, the Winter Park Health Foundation has awarded a grant for several community gardens to be constructed in our city. The first garden was installed behind Winter Park Presbyterian on Lakemont Ave and now a second garden site is being prepared.

Volunteers are needed tomorrow Saturday January 16th from 8-10 am to help clear the area where the Spring garden will be planted behind the DePugh Center in Winter Park.

Anyone can participate and you are encouraged to bring any work tools you may have as well as bringing your own gloves and water. We may be clearing away an old chain link fence as well so please bring any tools specific to that job.

The Center is located at 550 West Morse Blvd, Winter Park.
If you have any questions about the garden or if you would like to donate a monetary contribution or donate material items for the building of the garden, please contact Denise Riccio at 407-246-2212. Any assistance is greatly appreciated! You can also get more info at Our Whole Community’s website.

I’m a Scot and proud of it! Central Florida Scottish Highland Games

John — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:40:03 +0000

I am a proud member of the MacGregor clan and an avid attendee of Central Florida’s Scottish Highland Games (CFSHG) festival each year. If you have never been to a highland games you are missing quite a spectacle. Great food, Excellent brew, superb music, top notch athletic competition, high stepping highland dancing and medieval weaponry demonstrations – I ask you – Who could ask for more?

We’re heading out to the festival this weekend to partake in our annual Scottish pilgrimage. If you were following our Twitter feed this summer you would have noticed that we were up in Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the longest running North American Scottish Highland games. It is only fair to say that as “authentic” as that Antigonish festival is the Central Florida Scottish Highland Games is far more enjoyable. It is hard to peg exactly why but we love that CFSHG serves meat pies, has instruments and clan gear for sale, brings in world class Celtic rock bands like Enter the Haggis to rock the center stage and with Dunedin Brewing in house pouring the best ales it is just hard to compete with no matter how un-authentic a “highland games” may seem amidst the flatland of Florida.

Click here for details and hope to see you there. I’ll be in my McGregor kilt with a baby girl strapped to my chest.

I’m a Cracker and proud of it!

John — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:41:03 +0000

Having been born and raised in Florida and being married to a 5th generation Floridian I’ve always been fascinated with Cracker Culture. I’m not talking about the pejorative term Cracker, but the nickname given to the pioneering families that settled Central Florida. On Sunday the Sentinel published a story titled ”Central Florida’s Towns that Time Forgot” full of images and short narratives about Central Florida’s unique history.

The stories and images reminded me of the growing up years I spent on the Deseret Ranch hunting and fishing along the Econlockhatchee river in east Orange Country with my Father. Walking through the pastures and wetlands of this area I often saw the remnants and traces of the bygone Cracker era. Dilapidated turpentine stills and Cypress mills with their rusted artifacts proved an imagination stirring site for me.

With these haunting memories still a stir I had the good fortune of discovering the Florida Historical Society’s website and their weekly radio magazine Florida Frontiers. A visit to their show’s website offered an archive of truly fascinating Florida history. The show airs on our local public radio station 90.7 WMFE on Thursday’s at 6:30 and you can subscribe to their podcast as well.

I’m seriously excited about exploring their archive and catching the show each week. I hope it continues to stoke my desire to explore Central Florida’s unique history. I’m sure you’ll be seeing other posts about Cracker Culture here in the future. I never thought about A Local Folkus might also showcase the folks of Florida’s past but heck they’re pretty interesting too!

No related posts.