A community garden is like a little shared oasis, a special spot where folks from all walks of life come together to grow delicious veggies, fragrant herbs, and beautiful flowers. It becomes a green sanctuary, where members roll up their sleeves, dig in the dirt, and let nature work its magic. Often organic, community gardens help promote soil health and community connection as much as they do delicious, locally grown food.
Posts filed under Around town
Holler Fest: A Happy, Hoppin' Place
Ann Arbor does summer well. This town comes alive with outdoor music from June to September, but each summer the local musicians and music lovers know that to wind-up the summer, Holler Fest is the place to be.
Spiedo with Love
Brad Greenhill bought a vertical rotisserie on a whim. As the owner of the James Beard nominated “Best New Restaurant” Detroit’s Takoi, Greenhill wanted to experiment with spit roasting meats. He had the notion that once a new location became available, he might branch out. Last October, along with his team, executive chef Michael Goldberg and General Manager Matthew Ferreira, Greenhil did just that.
Rhythm: Good for What Ails You
Can you recall a moment with a group of people having the time of your life? What memory pops up first? Is it a sports event when you were all cheering, or dancing at a wedding, or maybe in a club when your favorite tune played? Did your experience include some kind of rhythm, or let’s name it “pulse,” that was pulling you all together? Most likely you weren’t even aware something else might be happening. You just thought you were having fun. If you think you don’t have rhythm, spoiler alert, you do!
Sustainable Health-- Take a Mindful Hike
Are you looking for easy ways to unwind and relax even the middle of your busy days? Do you find yourself feeling worried about yet another disheartening news cycle or overwhelmed with work or personal stress, and yet uncertain about how you will find the peace and calm you long for?
Intervulnerability: Practicing Love at the University of Michigan Art Museum
Humidity weighted the autumn air as I walked across the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus. Vermilion ivy coated the walls of the buildings while orange trees stood like flames amid the evergreen shrubs lining the sidewalk. In the distance, I heard chants of a protest on State Street as I sauntered through the prismatic glass entrance of the art museum.
Kindred Conversations: Jasmine Hampton, Olympic Hopeful and Local Boxing Champion
“That’s life,” Jasmine Hampton reports cheerfully from training camp. If she is anything, she is a good sport. Hampton is a two-time Junior Olympics champion boxer and 11x national champion with a record of 106-17 or so. She was enrolled in the Olympic Training camp with US Boxing in Colorado Springs as an alternate, even though she won her weight class. The selection process can seem arbitrary, but she is happy to train in any case. Born and raised in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, I met Hampton as the cool high school kid who lived down the street. I got to know her as she became a champion basketball player and track star first. It has been a treat to witness her devotion to the task every step of the way.
Kids Can Cook, Too! And Why They Should…
Cooking isn’t just about whipping up tasty treats (although that’s definitely a big part of the fun). Empowering and nurturing children’s culinary skills extends far beyond the kitchen. It’s a fantastic adventure where kids explore, create, and learn skills that will stick with them for life. Think of it as a mix of delicious experiments and add a sprinkle of essential life lessons on top. From crafting scrumptious snacks to understanding the fuel that keeps us going, kids learn the importance of nutrition, gain confidence, and feel accomplished. In today’s fast-paced world, introducing kids to the wonders of cooking is an invaluable gift, offering them a foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits and a deeper appreciation for the culinary arts.
Leaps of Faith, Winter 2024, Whitepine Studios
Fast forward to the summer of 2023, and I stood in an elegant gallery in downtown Saline, Michigan looking at a variety of impressive 2D and 3D artwork. I was there to learn how Whitepine Studios went from that upsetting message in 2020 to a thriving women-founded business that had already outgrown its first studio location (opened in 2021). Here is what I learned about their journey from setback to success.
Leaps of Faith, Winter 2024--Grace Proper
When I first heard about Dexter, Michigan’s new boutique gift shop called Grace Proper, a memory passed through my mind. It was from roughly four years ago when I worked at a high-end retail store in Ann Arbor. I was getting to know a fellow employee named Breana Jackson as we worked on what the company referred to as standards—tidying up products to display them perfectly folding t-shirts symmetrically, lining up candle labels, and arranging sizes from smallest to largest. In this memory, Jackson told me where she lived and why she and her husband Dan and their two daughters loved the community of Dexter. She beamed about their country home, great schools, and proximity to Ann Arbor that made them fall in love with the town. She said another reason the Jacksons chose Dexter was that she eventually hoped to open a shop on bucolic Main Street which attracts shoppers and diners from surrounding cities.
Great Tastes in Local Food
Local restaurant reviews for Winter 2024: The Deep End Cafe and Gallery, Cups n’ Chai, and Hidden King Cafe and Bar.
Folk Song Jam Along— Singing and Playing Just for Joy
A half hour before the six o’clock start time of the monthly Folk Song Jam Along, there were already about a half dozen people in the program room at the Westgate Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. Song leaders Lori Fithian and Jean Chorazyczewski greeted early arrivals at the door and chatted with familiar regulars. There were about fifty chairs facing the large pull-down screen at the front of the long rectangular room. Fithian had set her Mac laptop, complete with purple case, on the lectern on one side of the screen, and Chorazyczewski’s Yamaha electric keyboard rested on its stand near the other side.
Bringing Warmth: Grief as an Anti-Racist Practice
Harriet Tubman stares at me as I approach her. I am walking in the forest behind the high school with my dogs. It is an early spring morning, the sun lighting the sky but not yet risen, trees leafless, robin and cardinal calls in my ears. In 2020, art appeared in the forest: a colorful banded ACAB (for “All Cops are Bastards” used by a variety of groups, both racist and anti-racist) sign, Toni Morrison’s portrait printed on sheet metal and Harriet, in orange and green. While Toni is gone, the others remain, and I greet them as I pass, Harriet in particular. Her eyes reach through time to touch my heart and depending on what is happening in the world, I feel her gaze as accusing, patient, angry, vulnerable, or shocked.
What’s New at Crazy Wisdom, Winter 2024
Many people in southeastern Michigan will be excited to know that after being closed since February 15, 2022, Crazy Wisdom Bookstore reopened on December 1, 2023 under the same ownership of Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Schekter, the couple who have shepherded the store forward over the last 30+ years.
Lovingkindness in Action: A Visit to the Arab-American Museum
I stared at the man silhouetted against the murky gray December sky. Strings of blue and white lights arched skyward as he placed them over the turquoise tiled sign announcing in Arabic and English Arab American National Museum. Walking under the lights felt like a metaphor for the threshold I crossed as I entered the building. I stepped into an atrium that reminded me of dun stone buildings and courtyards, sunnier climates, and warm weather clothes. I breathed in, tuning into my body and the stream of sensations.
Tantre Farm Honeybee Nut Festival A Fall Celebration of Nature’s Bounty
If you’re looking for a fun, free, educational, and delicious way to celebrate fall, the Third Annual Tantre Farm Honeybee Nut Festival in Ann Arbor is the place to be on Sunday Ocotber 8th.
Leaps of Faith--Fall 2023, London Beauty & Misfit Coffee
This column is a look at brave souls who have taken a leap of faith to open their own businesses in and around Ann Arbor. Business owners who are following their dreams and thriving despite the odds.
A Walk in North Bay Park in Ypsilanti
I stood near the entrance to a boardwalk watching an egret do very little. It was nearly motionless amid a cluster of pond lilies that covered the water’s surface. Its shape—long, slender neck, bulbous body—reminded me of the glass beakers we used to mix potions in high school chemistry, it’s white plumage radiant in the afternoon sun.
Tying the Knot in Nature
Infusing a wedding with nature adds a sense of lighthearted whimsy and charm through elements such as fresh air, natural lighting, vibrant flowers, and wildlife. Several local venues bring the ceremony to nature's doorstep by offering outdoor ceremony sites, while others bring nature indoors. Some Crazy Wisdom favorites include botanical gardens, riverside views, sprawling fields, and vineyards. Each of the following venues is unique, but all of them offer nature's aesthetic beauty and are perfect options for a nature-inspired wedding.
Kindred Conversations: Maurice Archer and Anne Erlewine
The center of Maurice Archer’s big vision starts with dance. He’s known around town as the premier break dance performer, teacher, producer, and owner of A2 Breakdance. He has been bringing his unstoppable energy and expertise to classrooms, after school programs, rec and ed offerings, private parties, intensives, local festivals, and street fairs for years. If you’ve seen the linoleum unroll and a simple boom-box set up for a crew of kid and adult dancers to step in for six step, windmill, kick-up, flare, or a bunch of impressive acrobatic dance moves, then you have seen an A2 Breakdancers’ cipher. A cipher is a circle of dancers, jumping in to share a small mobile dance floor with their handstands, back spins, and fancy footwork before the next dancer tags in.
