Friday Forecast: Trashy Sun Earth

[Charles] Hey it's Earth Day! Snuck up on ya right?! No worries - here's your cribsheet for the weekend - plenty of green to go around.

Friday night you've got the Trashy Fashion show in Largo at the Largo Cultural Center. This is, I think, the third year in a row they've done this and it really looks like fun. Designers get challenged with making their clothes from at least 75% recycled and reused material. Maybe its a little kitschy but it also gets you thinking about what you could reuse for something else. Also, get there early because they invite great green vendors out to share with the community as well. They setup the vendors from 5-7 and the runway show starts at 7 pm.

After that, you'll be heading back over the bridge but it might be a little early to turn in. Hopefully if you stop by Ella's Folk Art Cafe you'll be able to catch most of the set from my favorite young local band The Sun Society! I don't think they've played Ella's yet but I mentioned them a while ago and finally they are here. They are a super talented group of young players and the two leads are sisters which make for some amazing harmonies. The music is modern indie pop sort along the lines of Regina Spektor and Feist but really good. Don't miss out on seeing them and pick up their album or just head over to Bandcamp and download it.

Saturday is the big Earth Day Tampa Bay event at USF. It is a co-sponsored event by the Office of Sustainability and the Sierra Club out at the Botanical Gardens on campus. For the last few years the Sierra Club event at Lowry Park has been a little of the same thing over so I'm really hoping by tying it with the university that can infuse it with some excitement. The event at USF was great and I think it makes a lot of sense to put them together. Also, the Botanical Gardens are easy so hopefully that will help push the attendance up. I checked out the vendor list and there are tons of new vendors I've never even heard of so I'm really excited to see what they get this year. It sounds like they are going to have bands out there too although I couldn't find the specific times and dates on their site. Check it out and see the beautiful Botanical Gardens and help support a new era for Greens in Tampa.

Have fun out there!

Maker Monday: Make A Difference for Earth Day

Photo from Trees for the Future on Flickr

[Charles] April 22nd is Earth Day - but I haven't heard much on the news this year? We're kind of growing numb to Earth Day as a society and it seems snarky negativism rules the airwaves. Why save the environment when the economy is in the toilet and all of the big companies just spew oil into the ocean, melt down their nukes, and turn Earth Day into a PR bonanza where they sell us some widget that is going to save the planet.

For me, I am completely frustrated with the current political state of our country and state and find it so hard to get excited about making a difference. I guess though, if I just lay down and stop fighting then they really do win.

So, instead of encouraging people to compost, or recycle, or to turn up your thermostat because I believe that most of us already are doing a lot, I want to encourage us to take a little bit of money and spin it into something positive. I'm advocating for what I believe is a very worthy environmental organization - one of the biggest groups involved in Earth Day - The Earth Day Network. They are doing really great work and I want people to get behind their call for A Billion Acts of Green, but especially their initiative called The Canopy Project.

Trees are really what got me into environmentalism as a kid. I remember seeing clearcut forests in my East Texas countryside and watching the trees get bulldozed and burned to make room for gas wells and sprawling pasture land. This project is planting trees in places that really can benefit from them and working with local groups to get it done. Places like Haiti, Brazil, and Mexico are all going to have plantings that will be tailored to the needs of the local communities. The group in Haiti is called Trees for the Future and they are planting beneficial trees on an island that has seen much of its good soil eroded through poor management of land and trees for generations. Take a few minutes to check them out or just get in there and drop $10 in their tank. These folks are making a difference and can use the support of all us that can't leave our under water mortgages and crappy commutes to join the fight in person.

Earth Day Party at Tampa Street Market

Earth Day is Thursday the 22nd and that gives us an excuse to have a little get-together at the Market. We'll be on the lookout for some organic wines and beer and some snacks for everyone. Also, in the spirit of community, we encourage anyone to BYOOB (bring your own organic bottle) to share with friends and neighbors.

We want to encourage all of the people that haven't been able to check us out yet to take a few minutes and stop by. We'll be open late - until 9:00 - to give everyone a chance to celebrate Earth Day with friends - new and old. We love meeting neighbors and just hanging out at our second home (we practically live there anyway!) We will work on some cool raffle prizes and will definitely spin some excellent tunes for after work relaxation.

To show our thanks for three and a half years of amazing support, we will be offering 20% anything in the store as a way to say thank you for spending part of your Earth Day with us (with the usual exclusions of local consigned art).

We are also extending a special invitation to all of the members of the Seminole Heights Community Garden to help celebrate their first year of community based organic gardening! Come by and talk to Garden members if you've always been curious about urban gardening or throw a couple of bucks their way and get a bumper sticker for the Garden to show your support! We are happy to give the folks at the Garden a place to congregate that doesn't involve sweating in the sun for a few hours...

Charles and Amy

Tampa Street Market

Celebrate Earth Day with Recycled Art from New Local Artists!

We've met some really great artists this week and added their unique offerings to ours. Come by and see what a three string guitar made from scrap wood and a cigar box looks like or take a look at mirrors decorated with soda cans to a staggeringly beautiful effect. Celebrate recycled art this Earth Day!