One the Shoulders of Giants: Four people who kick-started the Philadelphia food movement

April 1, 2012, 10:45 a.m. The line outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center was growing. Parents with strollers, young professionals, older couples, eco-conscious hippies and families in Phillies shirts were all patiently waiting for 11 a.m. Apparently the 1,100 pre-sold tickets were no fluke. The Philly Farm & Food Fest was attracting a crowd.

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Culinary Comedy: Pop-up performance of The Cooking Show at Reading Terminal

Performance artist and playwright Robert Karimi | Image by Jeffery MachtigFor performance artist and playwright Robert Karimi, preventing the growth of the Type 2 diabetes begins with culinary comedy. Joining humor with music, documentary-style video, storytelling, political discussion and live cooking, Karimi’s The Cooking Show engages and educates communities on how their cultural cuisines, stories and rituals are important to developing a healthy lifestyle. The show is hosted by Karimi’s culinary alter-ego, the Iranian-Guatemalan Chef Mero Cocinero Karimi, who for 13 years has advocated for healthy communities through cooking show-style performances.

The Asian Arts Initiative is hosting Karimi in Philadelphia this week, during which he’ll put on a series of youth workshops, performances and a family style open mic night. The full performances will include a meal and audiences will be invited to help prepare the recipes that evening.

Catch a preview of The Cooking Show tomorrow, May 15 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Reading Terminal Market. Chef Maro Cocinero Karimi will be there, serving up a free performance and some food samples.  

For more information on Karimi’s performances and to buy tickets, visit asianartsinitiative.org/programs/cookingshow.php

Knight Arts Challenge: Grants awarded to innovative Philly community art projects

The Knight Arts award will go toward Little Berlin's Fairgrounds project to transform an empty lot into an outdoor artspace. | Image via littleberlin.orgIn our new June issue, we feature the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, a new co-working space in Fishtown that offers the tools and support for woodworking, metalworking, moldmaking and casting in a community setting. The project was jumpstarted after co-founder Darla Jackson received funding last fall from the Knight Arts Challenge. The award, presented by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is given to local, innovative arts projects that engage the community. A few weeks ago, the Knight Foundation announced their second round of award winners. From the more than 1,200 submissions, 35 ideas were funded, amounting to $2.76 million.

Here are some examples from the 35 winners:

- The Clay Studio is launching a “guerilla mug assault” to study the relevance of handmade ceramic objects. In timed, unannounced “assaults” handmade mugs will be given to people leaving coffee shops (along with their paper to-go cups), encouraging them to blog about their experiences using the mug.   

- Little Berlin, an artist-run collective and exhibition space in North Philadelphia, is working to transform a vacant lot in East Kensington into a community outdoor visual art and performance space.

- COSACOSA art at large is also working with empty lots, although their project, located in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, will transforms spaces into community visual and sound gardens.

- The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design are introducing an outdoor independent film series on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The summer series will feature local artists and filmmakers and have refreshments provided by Philadelphia food trucks.

A third round of the Knight Arts Challenge will open this fall. For a full list of this round's winners, visit theKnight Arts website.

Banking On It: PA land bank bill one step closer to passage

Vacant land in South Philadelphia | Image via planphilly.comRemember that vacant lot in your neighborhood—the one you always thought would serve the neighborhood better as a community garden than a dumping ground? And remember how complicated the process was to even consider the space for redevelopment?

With 40,000 vacant lots throughout Philadelphia, this is a common problem—just finding out who owns the empty property can be a challenge. But with the approval of a bill (HB1682 and SB1414) on April 3 by the Pennsylvania State Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, Philly is a step closer to having a new way to deal with this issue.

Under a unanimous vote, the bill pushes the initiative to allow local governments to establish land banks. More than 75 local governments throughout the country already have similar land banks in place. Creating a land bank in Philly would give the city government the power to purchase, or obtain by other legal means, vacant land parcels to maintain and eventually sell. Currently, 75 percent of vacant land isn't owned by the city. Instead, it's owned by private individuals, making the selling process lengthy and often complicated, especially when ownership histories are unclear.

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Salad Days: Shower your greens with these delicious toppings

story by Marisa McClellanOnce the growing season in the Philadelphia area kicks in, we get six to eight good weeks before the weather is too hot for delicate lettuces. While they do return in the fall once the heat lessens, I take that initial and finite season as a challenge to eat as many local green salads as I can.

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Making The Grade: Kensington CAPA one of AIA’s Top Ten Green Projects in the U.S.

Image via aia.org | photo credit: Barry Halkin, Halkin PhotographyThe list of prestigious awards Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) has received since construction wrapped up in September 2010 is growing. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently named Kensington CAPA one of its Top Ten Green Projects. The annual award is given to architectural projects that exemplify the integration of environment and community. Kensington CAPA made the list for the positive impact its green features have had on Philadelphia youth.

Built on a brownfield at 1901 North Front Street, the high school’s sleek design (SMP Architects and SRK Architects) is framed by greenery and features large windows that virtually eliminate the need for daytime lighting. Rooftop gardens, a ground level organic vegetable garden and a lush playing field provide stormwater management, giving the nation’s first LEED Platinum-certified public high school a rainwater runoff  rate of zero. Besides providing students with a brand new school—Kensington CAPA was previously located in the old Kensington High School building—the project cut the truancy rate from 35 percent to zero percent and boosted graduation rates from 29 percent to 69 percent. The high school has previously been recognized by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council and in Grid's November 2010 issue.

On Tap: Gang Aft Agley

story by Lucas Hardison This month’s featured beer celebrates Scottish poet Robert Burns, owing its name to his famous line: “the best-laid plans o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.” But don’t worry, lads, nothing went awry with this bottle.

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Protecting Our Waters: Help save Riverdale residents from eviction

Marge Van Cleef, Loretta Gary of Protecting Of Waters (POW), Carolyn Auwaerter, Nathan Sooy of Clean Water Action and Charlie Kratovil of Food and Water Watch gather at Aqua America headquarters to demand justice for the affected families. | Image via protectingourwaters.wordpress.comHere in the Delaware River Basin, thanks to thousands of activists mobilizing, educating and successfully pressuring the Delaware River Basin Commissioners, our entire watershed is frack-free; we won a fracking moratorium last November. But our neighbors in the Susquehanna River watershed have no such protection. 

On March 15, despite intense protest, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) unanimously voted to approve water withdrawals from the Susquehanna River, allowing companies to take billions of gallons for hydraulic fracturing. High-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, injects chemical-laced water underground at high pressure – a process with a confirmed, under-reported and under-investigated casing failure rate of 6.2 percent in Pennsylvania (based on information from the Department of Environmental Protection). More than 40 organizations signed a statement demanding an immediate halt on new water withdrawal permits, but they were approved without any cumulative impact study in the river basin, and without a Health Impacts Assessment related to shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania. This water use is consumptive. The water is withdrawn permanently from the hydrological cycle and returns to the surface bearing toxic chemicals, heavy metals, radioactive materials and volatile organic chemicals, with no safe solutions for disposal. 

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Future Weather: Help kick-start the launch of locally-made environmental film

After a world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend, locally filmed Future Weather is hoping to make its way to the big screen.

Shot and produced in the Philadelphia area, the independently-made film follows the relationships of three generations of Midwestern women—specifically the abandoned eighth-grader Laudure (Perla Haney-Jardine), whose passion for nature and concern about climate change is a driving theme.

Writer-director Jenny Deller brought environmental consciousness off-screen as well, working to produce the film as sustainably as possible with special note to energy conservation and renewable materials. Deller took advantage of local resources, shooting at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education and the Pennypack Ecological Center, and having the cast stay at Philadelphia’s only LEED Gold-certified hotel, the Hotel Palomar. Local green businesses provided organic catering, on-set composting and reusable water bottles. And props and set-dressing were purchased second-hand. Check out the film’s blog for a more detailed look at sustainable production practices.

Although the recipient of various grants, the film needs a final chunk of funding for its distribution phase. Visit Future Weather’s Kickstarter page to donate, purchase tickets, and learn more about the film. Pledges will be accepted until May 9.

In a Pickle: Former policeman embraces the art of fermentation

story by Dana HenryTom forrest, owner of Wills Valley & Forrest Acre Farm in Lancaster, maintains that sauerkraut, done right, doesn’t need refrigeration or a warehouse. “There’s not a whole lot of equipment that we use,” he explains of Wills Valley, his minimalist organic vegetable fermentation production. “We’re taking [the product] right out of the crock, putting it in a jar and putting a lid on it.” 

Raw food fermentation, the art of processing using microorganisms, preserves fresh vegetables, dairy, and dried meats by enabling healthful bacterial strands and yeasts to break down food in the absence of oxygen. This process alters flavor and texture while increasing the available nutrient content. The aging process can take weeks – in some cases months – giving craft foods like cheeses, beer and chocolate distinct and subtle flavors.

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