image: rhettmaxwell

You might want to check out a new farmers market that is starting up near downtown Phoenix next weekend. There will be plenty of local artisans and vendors with locally grown food and handmade goods. Strawberry Hedgehog will be there so if you’ve ever wanted to try Tracy’s eco-friendly lotions and potions, this is the place to do it. With just a couple weeks until Valentines’ Day, I’m sure you will be able to find something locally made for your sweetie. Here’s the low down:

Farmer’s Market at Ticoz & Switch
beginning January 31st!

The farmer’s market will be held from 10am – 3pm every weekend; at Ticoz (5114 N 7th Street, North of Camelback) on Saturdays and Switch (2603 N Central Ave, on Virginia) on Sundays. The market will run all year long until April 18th!

This sounds like fun, will definitely have to check it out.

Meet representatives from student and local organizations, learn what’s going on in the community, and find out how you can get involved.

• Student Sustainability Fair, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Hayden Lawn
• Ed Hermes, ASU graduate and candidate for Maricopa County Supervisor, speaks about getting involved locally, 12 PM, Hayden Lawn
• Short Film Series, 6-8pm, GIOS 481

GIOS Events Calendar

Farm Sanctuary Fundraiser Dinner and Silent Auction
Friday, October 10th, 2008, 7pm-10pm
Historic Heritage Square, Lath House
115 N. 6th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004- Map
Download an event flyer

Money is tight and we have a thousand other things going on (don’t we all) but are making a point to be at this important event.  Remarkably I had never even heard of the Farm Sanctuary until I saw their California facility on an episode of 30 days. I was really struck by the concept of rescuing farm animals and knew there were small rescues but wasn’t aware of any with this breadth and organization.  While they have main locations in NY and LA they help animals all across the country, working hard at raising money and awareness to make changes and help those who cannot ask for help.  Even if you could care less about the animals welfare, if you are concerned about the environment you should support the Farm Sanctuary as they work to eliminate factory farming conditions which contribute hugely to the polluting the environment.

If you’ve ever wanted to try out my products, now is the time!  100% of the proceeds go to the Farm Sanctuary. I was blown away by that so let me say it again ONE HUNDRED PERCENT goes to the charity.  That means food is donated, silent auction items are donated, the location is paid for by donation, so the entire amount you pay goes to helping local animals.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly from AzVegan.com, the awesome lady putting together the fundraiser this year. I dropped off the basket of goodies with her.  I am amazed at how much of her own time and effort she has put into throwing this event.  It is so refreshing to meet people who care so much about giving back.  The basket is worth $85+ retail so check it out and place your bids, you might get a screaming deal and ALL of the money goes to charity. The basket includes the following items:

• Plush cow :c)
• Relaxation aromatherapy candle by Illuminations
• “good bye stress” Dead Sea bath salts (17oz)
  
• pure lemon bath & body oil (8oz)
• handmade soaps in the following scents: mochaccino, mintaccino, patchouli-orange, lime-eucalyptus (as seen made on 3TV Good Morning AZ), cucumber-wintergreen, peppermint, lemongrass-orange, pure lemon, lavender-lemongrass, and orange-spice.

This is going to be a fantastic event and James and I will be there. We hope to see you there, too!

Here is all the information you could ever need:

Tickets are just $35 per person and are selling quickly!  Your $35 includes dinner, drinks, silent auction, program, and music by the band, Elusive Groove!  Admission is limited to the first 200 people to purchase tickets.  Register online at http://www.firstgiving.com/azfarmparty Note-When you register on the Firstgiving page, it will show up as the Walk for Farm Animals page, but below it shows that it is for the Fundraiser party.

Please check out some of the wonderful items that we have received for our Silent Auction!!

• (2) Two Night Stays at Mi Gatita Bed & Breakfast- Valued at $300
• Rainwater Storage Unit- Donated by Roof to Ground Rainwater Services- $250 Value
• Legal Services to start a New Corporation- Donated by Titus, Brueckner, & Berry, PC- $1,200 Value
• Custom Pet Sitting- Donated by Joann West, Photographer- $350 Value
• Gift Certificate Packages- Donated by American Laser- $4,000 Value
• Dog Items from The Barkery-Value at over $50
• Bath & Body Gift Basket from Strawberry Hedgehog  (See Above)-$85 Value

We have many, many, amazing items to bid on this year!

There is truly something for everyone, or something for everyone you know!  Start your holiday shopping in October and benefit Farm Sanctuary while you shop!!

New This Year For Our Donors And Attendees!! A large part of the work of Farm Sanctuary is outreach to both individuals and other groups.  In an effort to promote networking with other local groups and businesses in Arizona, we are offering tabling opportunities to those interested.  We invite you to bring your mailing lists, materials, banners, and anything to promote your group or local business.  We do require that the item or services being promoted are animal friendly.  Also, since 100% of the proceeds from the Fundraiser Dinner and Silent Auction go to Farm Sanctuary, we will not be able to allow you to sell anything, but this is a great opportunity to network with other groups and individuals and reach out to a wide audience.  Please email azvegan@gmail.com if you are interested in reserving a space.  Space is limited, so reserve your space today!

Had a lot of fun this past weekend at the Green Summit and am glad we were able to attend. Too bad we couldn’t split in half and attend more of the talks. If I could change one thing for next year I’d ask that they put more information about the talks on the schedule such as who is giving the talk and where they are from etc.. If this information was out there I never came across it. All the talks were good, but some weren’t what I was expecting. All in all though it was great and I am now full of lots of good information. I especially liked the Expo and talking with all the exhibitors. It was great learning about their products and gaining better understanding of them.

Here’s a picture of our crew interviewing people at the ASU exhibit. Oh wait, that’s a real TV crew from some big network. We just had note pads and pens.

Anyway, we have lots of great information that we’ll be blogging about over the next few weeks. Can’t wait until the next Green Summit!

Our first day at the Green Summit was a lot of fun and we learned a lot! We have a lot of information to digest and blog about in the comming days and we’re only 1/2 way though the conference. It’s not too late for you to check it out if you couldn’t make it Friday. Costing only $20 for general admission ($15 for students) this is the most affordable conference I’ve seen on any topic.

Here is Saturday’s line up of talks: Click Here for PDF

There is also a great many exibitors to see and learn from. There was hardly enough time to see everything we wanted to see. The Green Summit has definitely turned out to be a great conference.