Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Briar Chapel to Host Earth Day Celebration on April 16th

Briar Chapel will be hosting a series of events on April 16th to celebrate Earth Day. Come help me celebrate one of our favorite days of the year!
  • 3rd Annual Briar Chapel 5K: starting at 9am, you can join me in running (or walking!) the scenic, USATF-certified course throughout Briar Chapel. Pre-registrants will receive a locally-made organic t-shirt by TS Designs. Following the race, there will be an awards ceremony with refreshments. Registration fees are $20 in advance and $25 on race day with proceeds to benefit the Abundance Foundation.

  • Local Culinary Tour: starting at 1pm, begin your tour by picking up a Culinary Tour Guide at the Information Center, then visit each of Briar Chapel's model homes where well-known local chefs will showcase menu items recently created for Chatham County Schools, through a program designed to improve school lunches in the county dubbed the Chef Challenge. Featured chefs include: Jimmy Reale of The Carolina Inn, Colin Bedford of The Fearrington House, and Gregg Hamm & Kelly Taylor of the Natural Chef Program at CCCC. Chefs from other area restaurants, including Angelina's Kitchen, Saxapahaw General Store, Bean & Barrel, and Busy Bee CafĂ©, will also be on hand with signature dishes featuring locally grown ingredients.

  • Hunt for Green: from 1 to 3pm, you can participate in a scavenger hunt where you'll learn all about the benefits of owning a green home in Briar Chapel. This exciting hunt will take you throughout the community, capturing photos and QR codes on your smart phone. You will then return to the information center to share your data, collect your prize, and be entered into a drawing for one of these fun prizes: a 1-month pool pass to Briar Chapel for a family of four, a rain barrel water capturing system (a $100 value), a $25 gift certificate to one the local restaurants featured at Briar Chapel Earth Day celebration, two tickets to the Pepper Festival courtesy of the Abundance Foundation (a $50 value), and an energy saving monitor courtesy of McNeill-Burbank.

  • Outdoor Learning Activities: from 2 to 4pm, come join me and my fellow "Green Thumb" club members and take part in fun educational demonstrations at The Briar Patch, our newest park and community garden maintained entirely by residents. There will be activities for all ages: the Abundance Foundation will be talking about local food and renewable energy, Farmer Doug will be discussing the importance of seed saving and various gardening tips, and residents will provide an educational discussion for children in our "Pots for Tots" gardening class.

  • Beer Garden: while you're visiting the Briar Patch, enjoy some refreshments provided by local businesses, including Sugarland Bakery and Fullsteam Brewery.

  • Q&A with author Jonathan Bloom: from 2 to 3pm, the author of American Wasteland will be on hand to share insights on local food recovery and on how to eliminate food waste in the home. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session. You can even register to win a 110 gallon composter (a $100 value).

Come join me in the activities on April 16th from 9am to 4pm. If you would like to discuss the possibility of moving to Briar Chapel, I would be happy to do so. Contact me today!