{"id":958,"date":"2011-03-28T12:50:20","date_gmt":"2011-03-28T16:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=958"},"modified":"2011-03-29T09:41:17","modified_gmt":"2011-03-29T13:41:17","slug":"talk-about-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2011\/03\/28\/talk-about-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Talk about community!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes.<\/h1>\n

We really are connected to each other. Of course, through North Country Public Radio, and in so many other ways: we have networks of farmers’ markets, book clubs, the regional public library system; we have museums that tell the story of our physical and human environments; we have Traditional Arts in Upstate New York and lively arts councils in many counties; we have theatre groups, like Pendragon, and cultural organizations, like the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, presenting wonderful events in their home towns and at locations around the region. We have businesses and colleges serving multiple communities.<\/p>\n

I’m proud to serve on the board of GardenShare, which is trying to make wholesome, local food available to all people, through hands-on programs and by working to shape the policies that govern agriculture and food. At a GardenShare sponsored event, Table Settings, held last Saturday, I saw a bright example of how we come together to make things happen.<\/p>\n

NCPR was media sponsor for the event, and Todd Moe and Joel Hurd helped as emcee and sound mixer respectively. I loved this event. A committed and talented group of people donated time and energy to do something good for an organization that does good 365 days a year. Regardless of my connection to the group, what struck me was how people worked together, joyously and effectively. Here are some pictures from the evening. You’ll see what I mean–just plain folks making something good happen.<\/p>\n

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Kim Bouchard, producer of the evening's performance, and GardenShare board chair, Heather Sullivan.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Looking a bit like a minister prepping a Sunday sermon, GardenShare executive director Phil Harnden prepares to welcome everyone to "Table Settings." You'd never guess that he had us rolling in the aisles with his introductory "Top Ten" reasons for being at the event.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ah, there's the minister, David Blanchard, our host, the Unitarian Universalist congregation leader in Canton. David read an iconic poem about friends--and food--by former Canton U.U. minister Max Coots.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Members of the SUNY Potsdam-based CariDanco Dance Company getting into the spirit before their performance.<\/p><\/div>\n

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CariDanco gets going as a garden of dancing vegetables.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jennifer DeCoste reading Walt Whitman.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Kim Bouchard and Francisco Clark-Bouchard reading from "Hidden Kitchens" by Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson.<\/p><\/div>\n

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NCPR's own Joel Hurd makes it all sound good.<\/p><\/div>\n

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NCPR's own Dale Hobson reads from his own poetry.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Molly Clancy and Mary Rubio did a fabulous job with "We Are Eating."<\/p><\/div>\n

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SLU Visiting Creative Writing Professor Peter Selgin reads from his hilarious and poignant short story, "Gjetost."<\/p><\/div>\n

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SUNY Potsdam Professor Jay Pecora performs from the heart (he has young children), "Lamentations of the Father," by Ian Frazier.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The devil--trying to corrupt emcee Todd Moe. Later, the devil is reincarnated as Asparagus Super Hero and a rejected crab--but all were portrayed by Jon Montan.<\/p><\/div>\n

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GardenShare associate director Aviva Gold and volunteer Liam Hunt, in the dessert reception room.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Music for the evening was provided by the bistro ensemble Piquant, including selections from their just released cd, "The South is My North."<\/p><\/div>\n

While scanning my photos of the event, I came across this one, taken last spring. Seems like a good time to share it with you.<\/p>\n

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When I checked on Sunday, the rhubarb and garlic were already a couple of inches high. Here are those two early bird crops in May of last year.<\/p><\/div>\n

Finally, this morning, Rev. David Blanchard sent Todd Moe this poem which he hopes to read at next year’s “Table Settings.” Thanks to everyone who came together on behalf of GardenShare.<\/p>\n

Leeks<\/h1>\n

Two sticks in drifted snow
\nmark the trench where I laid the leeks
\nin cool dirt in October.
\nNow I dig down through old
\nfrozen crust to damp dark hay
\nto the thick grey green leaves
\nof the leeks and pull them
\nfrom the piled earth and
\nshake dirt from their white
\nhairy roots. They come up
\nlike creatures from under
\nthe ocean. In the half-cold,
\nhalf-light the odor of earth
\ngone all these long months
\nwraps around me, and it is as if
\nthese leeks have come from
\na world where there are great
\npleasures of the body, where
\nthe mind grows smaller, where
\nlibraries mold in the dark,
\nwhere worms in purple and brown
\nrule the streets, and the corridors
\nof power are moist and rich
\nin a way that radio voices
\ncan\u2019t conceive of, and the talk
\nis of the thick trunk
\nof seasons, the nose
\nof rootedness, the eye
\nthat works its way through,
\nhair that feels its way,
\nthe skull that follows,
\nthe toad of desire, the beetle
\nof bone density, the grub
\nof grief, the larva of longing,
\nthe moon coming up and the quiet
\nat the end of February.<\/p>\n

I pick up the pile of leeks
\nand carry them to the kitchen.
\nI wash them clean. I chop them
\non the old board. I cook them
\nin oil and salt. I taste
\ntheir great sweetness. I remember
\nthat the earth will hum into spring.<\/p>\n

– ABBOT CUTLER<\/h2>\n

Abbot Cutler is the author of <\/em>1843-Rebecca-1847 and <\/em>The Dog Isn\u2019t Going Anywhere. A third poetry collection is due out in 2011. His poems have appeared in <\/em>Ploughshares and <\/em>Blue Sofa Review. He lives in Ashfield, Massachusetts.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes.
\nWe really are connected to each other. Of course, through North Country Public Radio, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1299],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":988,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions\/988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}