c2 March 11, 2005 - March 20, 2005

The Gift

The day before yesterday it arrived. I held Rose, my 17 month old daughter, and Mida, one of our neighbor's daughters, stood next to me as we watched the dump truck dwarfing our driveway disgorge its load. White Ash, Hawthorne and Birch. Once seemingly distinct trees, now all mingled and particulated as strips, bits and shreds. They were warm and smelled of spices-like Christmas in a Moroccan spice market on warm gentle humid morning. Most of the small mountain was the color of honey but one side was a light cream. There were curly strips, and twigs with funny Styrofoam looking pith, a few undigested chunks, and myriad perfect little nuggets of honey. All of us, the workmen too, scooped handfuls and washed ourselves with the fragrance. Rose, too, grabbed a little itty bitty fist full and made her tiny audible sniff. For a moment we were all bound together in the body of the heavenliness of the fragrance. I thanked the men.

The next morning the mound was steaming. I smiled and thanked the wood. I thanked the Earth, Sun and Air for bringing this gift to us. I thanked the men, again, and their growling ancient organism eating monster of a truck.

Yesterday, Theresa (the neighbor's other daughter), Rose and I spread the wood around the base of the Hibiscus, the bamboo, and in my wife's Peace Garden. Saturday we used half the mound to spread around the backyard to keep down the dust from the bare dirt created by our marauding mutts. Rose toddled around the wood chips and became an expert spreader finally able to use those inherent entropic skills without hindrance from her order craving parents.

I will miss the steamy presence of the wood and their shocking scents.

May you be blessed with gifts this spring.

In peace,
Tim and the rest of the Dirt! gang

FARMERS, ARTISANS, CRAFTSPEOPLE - MARKET WORKSHOP SERIES: HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL VENDOR

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Workshop Series: Be a Successful Market Vendor East County One Stop and Mercy Corps Northwest are pleased to announce a new training for creating and strengthening local market vendor businesses. This will be helpful for farmers, artisans, craftspeople, specialty food sellers, etc. This 10-session workshop series is designed to help entrepreneurs start or expand vendor businesses for any market. Participants will learn how to: - Design a successful vendor businesses to make money - Determine the best markets for your business - Find customers through market research and marketing techniques - Use best practices in retail: eye-catching booth layout, creative merchandising, customer service - Discover financing sources and business development support - Build a strong business from experienced vendors Register today!

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR ENTUSIASMO!: A SHOW ABOUT HOPE

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Do Jump presents a great way to celebrate Earth Day: ¡Entusiasmo!: A Show About Hope, April 22-23. This latest full-length work from “Portland’s best local performance group” (WW reader’s poll, 2003) uses trapeze, acrobatics, aerial dance, live music and traditional dramatic techniques to tell the amazing true story of Gaviotas, a village in Colombia that is an exemplar of sustainable culture. The people of this tiny village have created a beacon of hope to everyone in the world who is concerned about our environment. Through invention, ingenuity, imagination, and entusiasmo, Gaviotans have created remarkable windmills, solar kettles, and diverse human-powered devices. On the barren savannahs of eastern Colombia, they have regenerated a native rainforest. ¡Entusiasmo! was written by Robin Lane, adapted from the book Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World by Alan Weisman. When the show premiered in April 2004 the Oregonian said, “For the first time in its 26-year existence, the company turns to storytelling, and it’s…a delightful triumph.” In the year since, artistic director Lane and the Do Jump! ensemble have had a great time refining the production and adding several new acrobatic pieces to this remarkable show. ¡Entusiasmo!: A Show About Hope will open at PCPA’s Newmark Theatre April 22-24 ¡Entusiasmo! features traditional Colombian music by Los Llaneros and original music by Portland composer Joan Szymko. Do Jump! has been a pioneer in aerial dance since 1977, touring throughout North America, including performances on Broadway at the New Victory, at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. ¡Entusiasmo! is jam-packed with trapeze, acrobatics, humor, drama, and that inimitable Do Jump spirit. It is guaranteed fun for people ages 5 and up. Tickets are available through the Echo Theatre box office (503-231-1232) or TicketsWest (1-800-992-8499), or at the PCPA box office (walk-ups only). To learn more about Gaviotas, check out the Friends of Gaviotas web site. Do Jump Troupe includes Robin Lane, Robin Woolman, Wendy Cohen, Yoji Hall, Nicolo Kehrwald, Megan Faria and Kelli Yannariello. ¡Entusiasmo! features Andres Alcala and Vicente Guzman-Orozco.