Strength in Numbers
Last night, there was a candlelight ceremony for the three Michigan State University students killed and the five who were critically injured in the atrocious mass shooting last Monday. A huge crowd — probably more than 200, from recent graduates to old guys like me — attended at TreeHouse restaurant in the River North neighborhood to share our sorrow, strength and support for our alma mater.
While it is the kind of event I hoped I’d never have to attend, it just underscored that there is real meaning behind the notion of “Spartan Nation.” Maybe it is like this for your alma mater too, but MSU cultivates a very strong lifelong attachment among many of its graduates.
I first visited Michigan State as a high school senior almost exactly 50 years ago today, I fell in love with the beautiful campus (even though it was mid-February!), and decided immediately that it was where I had to go to college. All these years later, I maintain many friendships from those four years, even though I “see” most of these folks only through social media.
This has been a terrible week for Spartan Nation. But we’ll heal together, and hopefully we’ll be even more driven to lead together. Because you see, we have strength in numbers.
Good Beer, Good Food, Good Films
Girl Beer is an award-winning documentary film that examines the participation of women in beer throughout history and today. There will be a screening of the documentary Saturday (February 25) at Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
The screening caps “Everyone’s Beer Week,” which highlights diversity in the beer industry and invites you engage the community to have an open discussion about the importance of inclusion. The event is a partnership with Chicago’s Marz Brewing, which has created a special brew called “Beer is for Everyone” for the occasion.
Everyone’s Beer Week kicked off today with an 11 a.m. brunch at Ørkenoy at 1757 N. Kimball Ave. (sorry about the late notice). The schedule for the rest of the week is as follows (all addresses in Chicago):
Monday (7-9 p.m.): Pub Trivia at The Beetle Bar, 2532 W. Chicago Ave.
Tuesday (7-9 p.m.): Loteria at Marz Brewing, 3630 S. Iron St.
Wednesday (4-7 p.m.): Happy Hour at Life on Marz, 1950 N. Western Ave.
Thursday (6 p.m. to close): Galentine’s Market at Marz Brewing, 3630 S. Iron St.
Friday (7 p.m. to close): Industry Mixer, Ørkenoy, 1757 N. Kimball Ave.
Saturday (6 p.m. to close): Girl Beer Documentary Screening, Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St.
Reducetarian Doc Screening on 3/29
My friends at Crate Free USA invite you to attend the Chicago screening of Meat Me Halfway, directed by Brian Kateman, co-founder of The Reducetarian Foundation. The foundation promotes the "reducetarian" diet, in which participants reduce the amount of meat they consume in order to improve their health, protect the environment, and spare farmed animals from cruelty.
The event will be held on Wednesday, March 29, 6:30 p.m. at Ravenswood Loft, 4437 N Ravenswood Ave. (a half-block north of Montrose Ave.)
The admission price includes vegan food, and a post-film discussion panel and Q&A in which Brian will be joined by Jess Chipkin, founder of Crate Free USA, and Cliff McConville, owner of All Grass Farms, a pastured livestock operation in west suburban Dundee. The evening is hosted by Chicago radio personality Mike Nowak.
Food will be provided by Kale My Name, Chicago Diner, Ste Martaen, and more.
Click the button to buy tickets and read on for Crate Free USA’s event description.
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This doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It’s about making more responsible food choices. It’s about rejecting factory farm meat … reducing meat consumption … It’s about holding every grocery store, restaurant and farmer accountable to humane animal welfare practices. It’s about trying alternative food options.
Factory farming plays a major role in mistreatment of animals around the world — in our country. Whether you reduce meat intake, buy direct from local farms, or go plant-based… everyone can play a role in ending factory farming.
Every bite counts.
Midwest Cut Flower School at McHenry College
If you are a flower grower looking to expand your consumer market for cut flowers, or are pondering opportunities to sell flowers for profit, then take a look at Midwest Cut Flower School, a two-day intensive presented by the Center for Agrarian Learning at McHenry County College in northwest suburban Crystal Lake.
The school will be held Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 8900 U.S. 14 Building A, Room A213.
The tuition for the class is $345. But Compeer Financial, through its Beginning with Compeer Grant, can pay a portion of the tuition for qualifying applicants. The grant is $250 for a beginning farmer living in Compeer’s 144-county territory who has no business relationship with Compeer.
Here is the official description of the event with links at the bottom.
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Catered lunch by Duke’s Alehouse and Kitchen and morning/afternoon snacks included.
In this two-day intensive, you’ll learn the ins and outs of producing and marketing cut flowers for profit.
Seasoned growers Jeanie McKewan of Brightflower Barn (Stockton, IL) and Tania Cubberly of Skyfall Flowers (Grayslake, IL) will discuss:
Variety selection
Seed starting
Planting and harvest schedules
Post-harvest handling
Pest and disease management
Business startup and recordkeeping
Marketing
Organic and sustainable practices
Guest speaker will discuss urban growing strategies
Plus, live demonstrations on using tilthers and building low tunnels and trellises. Network with other growers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.