The First Annual Chicken Coop Tour in Denver and surrounding communities that will take place on October 2, 2010 is now seeking applications from owners of chickens and other urban livestock who would like to exhibit their backyard farm animals and housing for the tour.
 
The Tour is hosted by Denver Botanic Gardens in partnership with Denver Urban Homesteading.  Denver Botanic Gardens offers spectacular plant displays, unlimited opportunities for lifelong learning and research that help preserve Colorado's precious natural resources in its three locations.  Denver Urban Homesteading is an urban agricultural center that hosts a local farmers' market, a homesteading school and special events related to food, urban agriculture and sustainable living practices.
 
Applicants with chicken coops must live in Denver, Englewood, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Arvada and they can contact either entity for details for entry and an application.  See the website at www.botanicgardens.org or www.denverurbanhomesteading.com

Details and Directions for the July 7 Local Foods Community Potluck
Celebrating Bikeloc's Bike Ride Across America!
Hi all….A google map search for 4751 York is bringing up a wrong location, so we wanted you to have proper directions, as the area can be confusing.
 
Here’s a link to the mapquest map that has the location ( and even this map is a bit wrong, the Growhaus is just at the NW corner of York and 47th, not a bit north of there as shown on the map)
http://www.mapquest.com/mq/4-iUEdWtCicWG4T7X4
 
York is southbound in this area, so take note of these directions –
If you are coming from the city, go north on York to right before I 70 where it veers to the right…you will then be able to take a left on Josephine…do that and go under I 70 and continue on Josephine to 47th and take a left.  As you approach the railroad tracks and York you will see the Growhaus ahead of you.
As for parking - there's a limited amount (maybe 8-10 cars) in the areas near the front door... otherwise folks can park along 47th or Claude Ct (the street immediately to the West of the building).
Carpooling would make sense and it would be more fun to come with others
 
IF YOU ARE STILL CONFUSED, CALL ME, DANA, AT 720-837-6237 AND I WILL EXPLAIN IT MORE IN DETAIL TO YOU SO YOU ARE WELL PREPARED AND NOT DRIVING AROUND LOST.  TO TRY TO ANSWER CALLS WHEN THE EVENT IS STARTING MAY BE DIFFICULT!
 

The Denver potluck event is sponsored by Grow Local Colorado and Transition Denver, co-hosted by a host of organizations engaged in the local food movement including Blue and Yellow Logic, the GrowHaus, the ReDirect Guide, and Wild Green Yonder.
 
July 7
Growhaus - 47th and York
6-9 pm
A Local Food Potluck event celebrates growing local food, local community and local economy on Wednesday, July 7, at 6:00 p.m., at The GrowHaus at 4751 York Street in Denver. Special guests are Robert DuBois of Washington, DC, and Aaron Zueck of Brooklyn, NY, who are cycling across the country, attending potlucks and sharing stories about the local food movement. Their journey began in the spring in New Brunswick, Canada, stops in Denver on July 7, and will wrap-up in California at summer's end. (http://bikeloc.org)."For a long time I thought the food I was eating was making me sick,” says DuBois "and in the process of trying to figure out why, I discovered how our industrialized food system works and over time realized that good food is the greatest healer of all."Guests are invited to bring food and beverages made with ingredients from local growers, local breweries and local wineries or from recipes of local chefs, highlighting Colorado products. It is a zero waste event and guests are encouraged to bring their own plates, silverware, glasses and napkins. Free and open to the public, everyone is welcome to share their stories and learn more about the local food movement.For more information, visit www.growlocalcolorado.org or call the Director of the Grow Local Colorado Campaign, Dana Miller at 303-300-3547. For more info about Aaron and Robert’s bike adventure, visit http://bikeloc.org.###

Locavore: Local Diet, Healthy Planet,
a film about the Local Food Movement 
at EventGallery 910Arts
 
"Locavore: Local Diet, Healthy Planet," a documentary about the return to the local diet, is the featured film for Fourth Thursday Film Night at the EventGallery 910Arts on June 24, starting at 7:30 p.m., in the gallery at 910 Santa Fe Drive.
 
Produced by Lynn Gillespie, owner of The Living Farm in Paonia, Colorado, and directed by videographer Jay Canode who also calls Paonia home, the film has a strong Colorado connection. The showing is introduced by Carmella Hensyel of The Living Farm and she leads a discussion afterwards.
 
The filmmakers describe a locavore as someone who exclusively – or at least primarily – eats food from his or her local farmers or from a radius of 100 to 250 miles. "By eating locally," Ms. Hensyel explains "locavores intend to create a greater connection between themselves and their food sources, resist industrialized and processed foods, and support their local economy."
 
Ms. Gillespie, an organic farmer, author and the film's executive producer, believes that food is a common factor in today's challenges of economy, health, energy and environment and that eating locally grown and raised foods is the single most proactive thing people can do to meet these challenges. Best-selling author Barbara Kingsolver, a locavore enthusiast, adds: "If everyone would eat one meal a week from a local source, we could save over 50 million barrels of oil per year."
 
Fourth Thursday Film Night, presented in collaboration with the sustainability organization Transition Denver, is always free and open to the public; however, a $5 contribution is suggested.
 
Located in the heart of Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, the EventGallery 910Arts is housed within the creative community known as 910Arts. It is a complex of 17 artists’ studios and galleries, 8 live-work lofts and the Studio 6 Coffee House, anchored by a colorful open-air courtyard. Besides being a venue for Fourth Thursday Film Night, the EventGallery 910Arts is an art-filled rental space for meetings, parties, workshops and retreats and it hosts music and literary events.
 
For more information about Film Night, please visit 910Arts.com or call 303-815-1779.