The Spokane City Council and Planning and Development Services Department is hosting an Urban Farming Open House on Tuesday, July 30 from 5:30 to 7:30pm in Room 1A/1B of the Downtown Branch of the Spokane Public Library (906 W Main) [map].
The event was organized in response to increasing local interest in urban farming, which is gaining popularity throughout the country. Organizations like Project HOPE (the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council’s partner for the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market), community gardens like the Emerson Community Garden, and The Father’s Table (a neighborhood small business) can all be considered part of the urban farming movement, not to mention private residences scattered throughout the neighborhood and indeed the city.
The City Council and the Planning Department are leading this effort to research, evaluate and develop a system to better support and provide regulations for urban farming. The goal is to get an ordinance passed by the end of the year.
The workshop will be for the purpose of discussing ideas and generating comments on possible changes to city code that could create a more consistent, predictable and streamlined system for urban farmers.
For more information, contact Tirrell Black at tblack@spokanecity.org or (509)-625-6185.
Christ Our Hope Bible Church (1620 N. Monroe) will be holding its second annual Parking Lot Party tomorrow (Sunday, July 28) from 5:30 to 8pm.
The Parking Lot Party is one of COHBC’s many regular, family-friendly events that is open to the wider community. Last year they had a bouncy castle, live music, carnival food, face painting, games, and this year’s event looks like it willl feature all that and more — including a magician.
This year the PLP takes place on the same day as the first-ever Concert in the Park, but the good news is that they’re pretty much back-to-back. That means you can catch Island Soul and eat some delicious BBQ at Emerson Park between 4 and 6pm, then head down N. Monroe to enjoy the festivities of the PLP. We hope to see you at both!
Trinity Catholic School (1306 W Montgomery) [map] will be holding a two-day Christmas in July Sale this weekend on Saturday, July 27 from 8:30am to 5pm and on Sunday, July 28 from 9:30am to 4pm. The event will be held in the school’s gym (and we’re pretty sure that will be well marked once you arrive).
The Christmas in July sale is your chance to get a sizable head start on the holiday season — plus take a mental vacation from the 90°+ heat — by shopping for Yuletide gifts, ornaments, knick-knacks and more. The school promises lots of holiday items to choose from, including Department 56 collectibles.
For more information, call Trinity’s main office at (509) 327-9369.
Incidentally, this is a busy weekend here in Emerson-Garfield. In addition to Trinity’s Christmas in July Sale on Saturday and Sunday, we’ve got today’s Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market and both the Concert in the Park and the COHBC Parking Lot Party on Sunday. We’ll post more info on the Parking Lot Party tomorrow.
This marks the year that the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council launches its Concerts in the Park series. The first of those concerts — and the only one for 2013 — will take place on Sunday, July 28 in Emerson Park (1116 W Alice) [map] from 4-6pm.
Admission to the concert is free. The R&B/soul band Island Soul will be performing, and Smokin’ Rome’s food truck will be on hand serving up his delicious BBQ and soul food. So it’ll be a feast for at least two of the five senses.
Concertgoers are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs and picnic items as well as friends and family — but please leave any alcohol at home. And that goes for trying to consume it discreetly, too. Otherwise it jeopardizes the possibility that these concerts will continue in the future.
Eline Helm has been instrumental (no pun intended) in getting these concerts off the ground. She arranged the venue, took out the necessary permits and insurance, sought out the band, and handled all the funding. Mallory Battista pitched in by designing the eye-catching poster you see above, and Jackie Wheler designed the promotional brochure that will be available at the concert.
We also had a very generous donor on the neighborhood council who ensured that we had the initial money to do all this. Neighborhood businesses who chipped in are Zip’s on N. Monroe, Caffe Delicio, the West Central Association of Businesses and the Corbin Park Homeowners Association. Hamilton Studio is kindly loaning their PA for use at the concert.
If things go smoothly and there’s an encouraging turnout, this year’s concert will serve as a stepping stone to more ambitious series in coming years, which will be held in both Corbin and Emerson Parks.