The Weblog
The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:
Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!
We Are Gonna Be Friends
I can tell that we are gonna be friends…
Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends…
(We’re Going To Be Friends- White Stripes)
So many nights, after we close the Thursday portion of the market, I like to kick back, have a nice glass of wine, listen to tunes, and gather my thoughts about the upcoming weekend, the upcoming week, and this market. I always have tunes in the background, wine glass, some sort of dinner groovin’, and many times catching up with friends via Facebook.
Tonight, I got in a bit late, poured a glass of wine, put on some acoustic tunes, and this one popped up. I love the original version of this, I Love when Jack White performs it as a bluegrass, funky acoustic.
Anyway, the story of the lyrics about knowing that the duo with sweet Suzy Lee are going to become the best of friends, makes me think of this little local market of love, the underlying meaning of friendship, of a love for each other, of a lifelong dedication to all that is local. Of a support system of market, vendors, customers, managers, the YMCA…we all come together to bring you such a bond of friendship, of love, that once we all become one with the market, and each other, we cannot let it go.
It’s not just a market. It’s not just about being local. It’s not just about the vendors or the products. It’s a bigger picture. The reason we are all so dedicated, in one way or another.
The trust, the bond, the simplistic lovely friendship of it all. We all share this bond. We are all in this little local market of love…
We are entering into or fourth season. We have grown, we continue to grow, we have no plans on stopping or slowing.
I can tell that we all are gonna be friends. It’s what this market does. It brings us all so close that we are gonna be friends.
I am opening the market, once again, for the upcoming week. Get those orders in! Show us your love, your bond, your friendship…because I can tell that we are gonna be friends…
Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam