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!
After The Gold Rush
Look at Mother Nature on the run…
(Neil Young)
Well, market lovelies…here we are, on the cusp of another month. This time, we begin the slow movement into September.
September is the month that is still summer while the shadows, the sun, the air, the breeze all change. September then erupts, in the end, to blaze into the colorful, technicolor month of October.
I spent a lot of time, outside, yesterday, doing nothing in particular other than watching the beautiful day, basking in the sun, and bidding the lovely August a final farewell for the year.
I’ve picked Neil Young, this morning, because to me, Neil is fall. His voice is the voice that I remember grooving to in my growing up, running wild where I grew up, with all of my West End pals, Neil blasting from all of our houses, stereos, car windows. We took his music with us on hiking adventures, and midnight hikes to a waterfall area, and parties in parks.
Growing up in those times, in that area, as I have described before, were magical. I feel lucky, and forever grateful that I had a place in the West End, with the predominately boy neighbors, all of us, a gang, a tribe, learning about life, and carrying all that we learned, with us into adulthood.
Some of my best mates, pals, now, are still those guys. We still stay in touch, are close, and I love that we built those life long bonds, all those years ago. We have all mourned the loss of parents, of pals, gone too soon. We have cheered successes, and hugged out failures. I love that all those years ago, all of those guys let a girl into their circle. I am rich in many ways, because of that.
So, today is September 1. It will be our first market of September, and let me tell you…it’s a crazy exploding one!!! The love that you show us…my gosh, it’s heart warming.
And, like my love of the West End, and my gratefulness to my guy pals who always let me tag along, this market has taken a place in my heart, just as deep. You, the customers, warm my heart, each and every week…
This is your last reminder that the market will close, this evening, at 8pm, for the week.
I am off to make Neil the backdrop music of my day, and get the market ready to greet you on Thursday…
XOXO,
Cosmic Pam