Green Fair 2009, Saturday, September 26, Elizabeth IL

“Going Green is Mainstream” Green Fair 2009 in Northwest Illinois, provides opportunities for people of all ages. The Green Fair offers over 50 vendors exhibiting ‘green’ products, services and information, dozens of presentations on sustainability throughout the day, wine tastings from local wineries, local art displays, cooking demonstration using local foods, kids activities and more. This years theme is Going Green is Mainstream. Please join us in September:

The 2nd Annual Green Fair will be on September 26, 2009.

Location: Highland Community College West in Elizabeth, IL

Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 26.

Admission: $5.00 adult (18 years and older)

*Electronics & Appliance Recycling from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

For more information see the website at http://nwil-greenfair.com/

“Stirring the Pot” Community Picnic Offers Free Cooking Demonstrations Local Chefs Share their Secrets on Wed. June 17

Monroe, WI – Looking for tips on cooking with fresher, seasonal local produce this summer? Do you have a passion for gardening, home cooking and supporting the Monroe Farmers’ Market? Mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 17 and the first “Stirring the Pot: Dialogue, Discussion and Dinner in the Dairyland” picnic series which will kick-off at 5:30 pm with free culinary demonstrations by area chefs.

“Come learn new tips and ideas for cooking at home with the amazing bounty of local produce grown here in Green County,” shares Cara Carper, Green County UW Extension Educator who initiated this picnic series through a Wisconsin Humanities Council grant. “This unique event will bring together and celebrate our area’s rich agriculture and culinary heritage with a focus on stimulating new perspectives and ideas that we can take home directly to our own kitchen and gardens.”
The full “Stirring the Pot” event, including the chef demos and recipe cards, is free and open to the public. Please bring your own picnic and blanket or lawn chairs and help reduce waste at this event by bringing reusable dishware.

The first picnic is Wednesday, June 17 will feature a spring theme, “Roots and Seeds of Spring.” After the chef demonstrations, the “Community Commons” area will open on the MAC parking lot area, complete with music by area bluegrass band Moo Grass and various activities to prompt discussion about food, focusing on how our food experiences and memories shape our attitudes today.

The second “Stirring the Pot” picnic will take place on Wednesday, July 15 with a “Summer Abundance” theme and the final picnic takes place on August 19 and turns to fall harvest perspectives. To help encourage discussion, national humanities experts Dr. Steve Stevenson and Kathy Ruf will be on hand to share their perspectives working in the areas of preserving family farms and encouraging local food systems. Shakespeare on the Edge will organize a kids’ activity area.

Other local partners in “Stirring the Pot” include Blackhawk Technical College, Monroe Arts Center, Monroe Farmers’ Market, Monroe Main Street, Green County Spotlight, Green County Development Corporation, Future Forward! Green County, the Monroe Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Local Fare. Minhas Craft Brewery donated locally made Blumer’s Soda for the events.

“’Stirring the Pot’ celebrates our community’s long-standing culinary and agricultural heritage, with an eye toward how we can green and sustain things so that future generations can enjoy the high quality of life we have today.”

For those with disabilities who need table seating, call Cara Carper, UW-Extension (608-328-9441, e-mail: cara.carper@ces.uwex.edu). No reservation is needed. The event will be held inside the Monroe Arts Center in case of rain. Any questions or if you would like to volunteer and help with these events, please contact Cara Carper.

The Smithsonian Comes to Green County!

The Wisconsin Humanities Council (WHC) congratulates Lea Brookman, of the Brodhead Chamber of Commerce in Brodhead. The Chamber’s application to host Key Ingredients: America by Food was selected and Brodhead will be one of six stops the Smithsonian exhibition will make in Wisconsin. The WHC, Brodhead Chamber and Green County community organizations will work together over the next year to plan community discussions, school projects, and public events to explore the many dimensions of food culture in Wisconsin.

Key Ingredients: America by Food is an exhibition designed by the Smithsonian Institution, and brought to the state by the Wisconsin Humanities Council, specifically for small, rural communities. The exhibition explores how the food on our tables, in our gardens, and at our celebrations all has cultural and geographic roots. Programs will connect the stories, traditions, and interests of people in Brodhead to those around the state and the country.

“Everyone eats,” said Jessica Becker, Director of Public Programs at the Wisconsin Humanities Council and coordinator for the Key Ingredients tour. “so we all get excited about food. But I was really impressed by the ways that these communities connected the themes of the exhibition with the unique “key ingredients” of their region. With these six partners, the WHC sees the opportunity to celebrate both the history and future of eating in Wisconsin.”

The Key Ingredients tour:

• October 20- December 3, 2010 in Reedsburg. The Wormfarm Institute will display the exhibition at the Woolen Mill Gallery downtown.

• December 10, 2010 – January 21, 2011 in Rhinelander. The Rhinelander District Library will display the exhibition in a downtown location.

• January 28-March 11, 2011 in River Falls. The River Falls Public Library will display the exhibition in the library gallery.

• March 18 – April 29, 2011 in Westfield. The Marquette County Historical Society will display the exhibition in the Kerst Exhibit Building.

• May 6 – June 17, 2011 in Brodhead. The Brodhead Chamber of Commerce will display the exhibition at the Brodhead Library.

• June 24 – August 5, 2011 in Osseo. The Heartbeat Center for Writing, Literacy and the Arts, Inc. will display the exhibition at the Osseo-Fairchild High School.

To get connected with local efforts as part of the Key Ingredients tour, contact Lea Brookman at lea@offthepath.com or 608-897-9027.

More information about Key Ingredients and the Wisconsin Humanities Council can be found at http://www.wisconsinhumanities.org/KeyIng.html.

Capitola Review Saturday, June 20th @ 2pm

Poetry and fiction reading to be held at the Driftless Market on Saturday, June 20th @ 2:00 pm, with Open Mic to follow. For information please contact the Driftless Market 95 W. Main St., Platteville, WI 608.348.2696

Volunteer opportunity for Moving Wall

The Vietnam Moving Wall will be in Platteville July 9-12, 2009. The Platteville Chamber is currently looking for volunteers to help during that time. Please contact the Chamber if you are interested at 348-8888.

The Vietnam Moving Wall All Volunteer Meeting

There will be an "All Volunteer" meeting on Wednesday, June 17th at the Armory at 6:30PM for all those that will be helping while the Vietnam Moving Wall is here in Platteville and for those that are interested in helping. Please join us for this wonderful meeting filled with all kinds of information you will need to know while the Moving Wall is here.

Thank you.

June 16, Upcoming Focus on Sustainability Classes (Prairie du Chien)

Community Organizing for Sustainability Class will be held on June 16, 2009, 11:30 - 12:30 P.M. This class will ask the questions, where does a community start if it is interested in organizing for sustainability? Who takes the lead? What are the roles of local governments, local businesses, and local organizations? Do we need a “fire soul” to lead the effort? Why do some communities seem to move forward while others don’t? Is it easier to pursue sustainability in urban versus rural areas? Presenter: Mary Rehwald, Community Educator and Local Community Organizer in Ashland, Wisconsin, will explore these questions and offer examples that include study circles, early adopter projects, comprehensive planning, and local sustainability alliances. Register in advance for this class held at the Crawford County Extension Office in Prairie du Chien at 326-0223 or visit
http://crawford.uwex.edu/cnred/index.html

Barn Preservation Program Releases New Book

UW-Extension's Barn Preservation Program recently celebrated its 15th anniversary with the release of a new book titled “Wisconsin Barns,” by Nancy Schumm-Burgess. The book is available online at http://www.saveabarn.com, where $5 of each purchase will go to support barn preservation activities in Wisconsin. The book includes photographs of barns as important and scenic icons of Wisconsin’s agricultural past and present.

Plans are also underway for a tour of area barns to be held in concert with a seminar coming up this fall coordinated by UW-Extension and Citizens for a Scenic Wisconsin, Inc. Read more at www.uwex.edu/lgc/barns

To learn more about the tour and other events, visit the Wisconsin Barn Preservation Program website at: www.uwex.edu/lgc/barns

Free Business Counseling Through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Counseling is provided by Gary M. Smith, Director and Business Counselor for the Southwest SBDC. Contact Gary at 608-342-1038 to schedule an appointment. Gary is already scheduled to offer counseling at the following locations:

• 6/9 Fennimore, Southwest Tech
• 6/10 Prairie du Chien, UW-Extension Office 225 N. Beaumont Rd.
• 6/16 Fennimore, Southwest Tech
• 6/17 Richland Center,Richland Co. Economic Development Office, 1140 Sextonville
• 6/23 Fennimore, Southwest Tech
• 6/30 Fennimore, Southwest Tech

Contact the SBDC for dates in July

June 10, Crawford & Vernon Counties Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club Meeting (Viroqua)

This month’s topic “Turning a Product into a Business” with Peter Weber, co-founder/owner/operator of Potter’s Crackers of Madison. Wednesday June 10, 6:30 pm at Western Technical College, Viroqua, WI. The club now meets the second Wednesday of every month. The following meeting will be Wednesday July 8. Contact Laura Brown for more information, 608-326-0223.

June Shake Rag School for the Arts Classes (Mineral Point)

6/13 Planning Your Web Site, Cheryl Smeja 9AM-Noon

6/20 Spinning From Sheep to Skein: An Intro to the Basics, Kriss Marion 9AM-4PM

6/20 Hammer & Tongs: Intro to Blacksmithing, Greg Winz 9AM-4PM

6/20 COUNTRY GARDEN TOUR, 5 country home gardens, 2 in- town home gardens, a nursery display, folk art site & Shake Rag Gardens, 9AM-4PM, Self-Guided Tour Tickets $12 or a 4-Hour Bus Tour of gardens with Wisconsin Gardener Shelley Ryan $35 9AM-1PM

6/21 Paint a Gourd Birdhouse, Dan Soman, 1-4PM

6/21 Growing & Cooking With Herbs, Diane Bober 1:30-3:30 PM

6/21 Herbal Lotions & Salt Scrubs, Shelley Ryan 9AM-Noon

If you are interested in a class at Shake Rag School for the Arts, you can call 608.987.3292 to register, stop in at 18 Shake Rag Street, or enroll online at www.shakeragalley.com

Mazomanie Farmer's Market Needs Vendors

Attention all producers, do you have extra goods to sell? Then the Mazomanie Farmer's Market wants you!!

Vendors of all sorts are welcome to join us every Saturday from May – October, 8:00 – 12:00 a.m. Located on the sidewalks along Brodhead and Hudson Streets.

If you are interested or know someone who is, please contact Brenda Walter at Walter's General Store - 608-795-4455 or waltersstore@yahoo.com.

We currently have flowers, seasonal produce, bakery, cheese, plus some of the downtown shops are open early.

Stirring the Pot: Dialogue, Discussion and Dinner in the Dairyland (Monroe)Dates: Wed. 6/17/09, Wed. 7/15/09, Wed. 8/19/09

This event follows Monroe Farmers’ Market 5:30 pm cooking demonstration; 6:00 pm picnic; 7:00 pm discussion. Location: Monroe Arts Center, 1315 11th Street, Monroe

Thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council, this three-part community picnic series celebrates our agricultural roots and cultivates fresh perspectives for a more sustainable future. Blending education, conversation and connections, this family-friendly community event uniquely brings together area farmers, chefs, educators and anyone who appreciates our area’s rich food and agriculture traditions. In addition to your picnic food and supplies, participants are asked to bring their own picnic blankets or lawn chairs. Presenters include national local foods leaders, Dr. Steve Stevenson and Kathy Ruhf. Save the dates; more details to follow. Please let Cara Carper know if you are interested to help organize or contribute toward this project. 608-328-9441,cara.carper@ces.uwex.edu)