Archive for the 'Event' Category

Faces of Haiti, Through the Eyes of Children: A Unique Photo Exhibit, March 20-22, Casa Feliz

We have a really exciting photography exhibit coming up this month.  One that is particularly near and dear to my heart.  The photos in this unique exhibition were taken in 2009 by ten young  middle-school children from St. Isidore that we work with in Haiti.

HaitiMarketingNone of these uninhibited children had ever held a camera, nor had they ever had their own image captured through the eye of a lens. Yet, with only their natural eye and their pure imagination, they have magically captured the world around them as they know and see it.

The vibrant colors, the joy of childhood, the pain of poverty and the strength of Faith of the people of Haiti are all captured here in the faces of the photographers’ fellow school children, and families. Poor in possessions but rich in spirit, the people portrayed in this moving collection of images will speak to every viewer. Haiti as seen in these photos, through the eyes of its own children, speaks directly to our hearts.

For three days only, see Faces of Haiti, Through the Eyes of Children exclusively at Casa Feliz,  656 Park Avenue North, Winter Park, March 20-22. All photographs displayed are for sale, and all monies received—100% —will be given directly to the schools of St. Isidore Parish, Haiti through the outreach mission support of St Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Winter Park.

For more information hit me up on through the contact form.

John Mayer Concert Review: My Guest Post on The Central Florida Top5

MayerPostCFLTop5After the last Orlando Tweet-up I started following the excellent locally focused work of Central Florida Top 5.  Through their tweets and timely content Kam and I have been able to catch some truly unique events around town. Their editor, Bess, has done a great job keeping the wheels spinning over there pumping out great content.  To “share the love” I posted a review of our recent trip down to Tampa for the John Mayer concert.  Pop on over to Top 5’s blog page to catch the full story.  Cheers.

Wendell Berry is speaking at Stetson Monday Feb 1

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

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).

OtroniconA 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!

Winter Park Community Garden Workday at DePugh: Volunteers Needed

CommunityGardenVerticleFor 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.

Our friends in Haiti survived!

We finally heard from our friends at the St. Isidore parish in Haiti. As many of you know I have been very involved with Saint Margaret Mary’s mission to Haiti this past year. I was there in August shooting video for a documentary about our work with these incredible people. Anyhow we had a team heading down Wednesday morning that were diverted due to the earthquake.

For the last few days we have been unable to get any calls through to Pere Elicio, St. Isidore’s the head priest, or Baba, the young man that runs the livestock and Peace Program. Well today, finally, Baba was able to get a short call into us and below are Ken’s notes on the call. I’ve also provided Beth’s photo-stream so you can see the faces of the wonderful people we work with down there and who we are so fervently praying for.

Click here to read the account from Haiti


Continue reading ‘Our friends in Haiti survived!’

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

HighlandsGames

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?

Tossing the Caber

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.

Eat Local Week January 25th – 31st – A Slow Food Orlando Event

SFLogoIf you follow me on Twitter or have checked into any of my blogs over the last few years you would undoubtedly have heard me championing the work of Slow Food Orlando.  Back in 2007 when I filmed a documentary about the burgeoning Local Food movement in Central Florida, I had the good fortune to cross pas with Slow Food Orlando’s Vice President Rebecca Reise-Miller.  You can catch her segment of the documentary at the 20 minute mark.

FruitsSince meeting Rebecca, Kamrin and I have made an effort to both attend Slow Food events as well as incorporate many of its tenants into our family’s food practices.  We now have a 300 Sft vegetable garden where we grow our own produce organically and with heirloom varieties.  We also have made an effort to buy from artisan and locally sourced food producers like Big Wheel Provisions, Olde Hearth Bakery, Wild Ocean Seafood, Lake Meadow Naturals, Winter Park Dairy, Winter Park Honey and others.

EggsEating locally is more than just buying food that is at the peak of freshness and not shipped cross country from California, more importantly it is about supporting our local food economy, its community and its unique culture.  By doing so it becomes normal to know your producers, to build relationship with the local farmers who supply your free-range eggs and organically grown produce and to know that you are getting the highest quality food for your food dollar. By supporting the “local” farmer’s markets like Audubon Park Community Market you are strengthening the bonds that connect each of us to the land from which our food comes and to the caring hands that provided these food stuffs for our consumption.

EatLocalWeekLogoSlow Food in an effort to champion this vital connection is sponsoring an Eat Local Week January 25th – 31st.  Below is an excerpt from their promotional materials for this event.  You can be sure Kamrin and I will be fully supporting this week long event and you can expect to see a few write ups and videos on our site about it.  So take a look at the excerpt below and let us know in the comments what you are doing to participate in Eat Local Week.  Following an excerpt is a video of the mother of America’s Slow Food movement Alice Waters to give you a bit more insight into what Slow Food is all about.

EAT LOCAL WEEK -  January 25th – 31st

Participate in a week-long celebration promoting connection, community, culture and cuisine in Central Florida.  Grab your family, friends and neighbors and head to participating dining establishments during the last week of January, 2010
Continue reading ‘Eat Local Week January 25th – 31st – A Slow Food Orlando Event’

Grandma Party Today at Stardust Video, Winter Park, FL

Details:  Sunday, December 20, 2009, 10am-7pm at stardust video and coffee (1842 E. Winter Park Rd).

Ryan Price of Florida Creatives has been telling me to get out to the Grandma Party since it began.  Well this year we are finally going to make it.  Ryan has posted some videos over at Orlando Scene if you want to see what you’ve been missing today and what you can still enjoy if you get off the couch and get going.  Below is just one of the interesting videos Ryan shot at the last Grandma Party.

For the uninitiated this is what you can expect.

Over 40 local arts and crafters, musicians and independent businesses will transform the parking lot in front of Stardust Video and Coffee into a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) extravaganza at the Grandma Party Bazaar. The event will feature work from local fashion designers, bookbinders, painters, knitters, silversmiths, vintage dealers, bakers and print makers, as well as live art, custom songs written and recorded while you wait and more! WPRK 91.5 FM presents live music throughout the day. Local artist Doug Rhodehamel will create something magically spectacular for the event, while Justin Luper will create a large scale sheet-fort installation indoors for tarot readings and a special surprise after dark.

The Orbbies winners – The best blogs in Orlando

feed-icon_orange-300pxJust subscribed to the blogs that were awarded top honors in their respective niches at the recent Tweet Up at the Enzian.  Had followed a few prior to the Orlando TweetUp but was pleased to fine a fair few that I had never even heard of.  That’s what happens when poopy diapers become the most pressing issue in your day.  Anyhow I’m eager to get acquainted with the wonderful blogs and I’d encourage you to check them our and honor them by subscribing.

Continue reading ‘The Orbbies winners – The best blogs in Orlando’