Category: community

ARTfarm Wednesday, 3–6 p.m. Farmers Gotta Dance!

Photo bomb this afternoon with local LOCAL chefs Digby Stridiron and Eddie McNamara! Rocking yet another private chef gig! These foodies are on fire! 20140521-140451-50691618.jpg
For all you private PRIVATE, local LOCAL chef/customers out there, we offer 3–6 today, grown organically right here on the South Shore: Sweet salad mix, microgreens, arugula, kale, collards, sweet potato greens, carrots, bodhi (yard long) beans, onions, tomatoes, figs, bananas, papayas, passionfruit, lemongrass, lemon basil, Italian basil, recao, garlic chives, and thyme! Buy yourself a little thyme!

Also for sale today, tickets for Friday and Saturday nights’ Caribbean Dance Company performances! Both nights start at 7 PM at the air-conditioned Complex auditorium (across the street from UVI). For a $15 donation, enjoy performances from adorable and fiercely talented students and professional company members! This is a fantastic, family-friendly arts celebration of culture and community practically unrivaled on the island! Several members of our ARTfarm family will be performing, so come and see if you can pick out some of your favorite farmers and fellow ARTfarm customers on the stage Friday or Saturday night! Plus: Zombie Ballet from Kemit Amon-Lewis! Do not miss this!

ARTfarm Saturday: Fig Trees & Cukes!

ARTfarm Saturday: FIG TREES, cucumbers, recao, garlic chives, lemongrass, pineapple, fresh figs. Mangoes and carambola from Tropical Exotics farm, papaya from Reuben at Solitude Farm, bread and bagels from Tess, honey from Wanda, ice cream from I-Sha.

Sorry, no salad greens today, we’ll have some micro available on Wednesday.

ARTfarm nursery sale: FIG TREES, cacao trees, moringa trees, ginger plants, star apple, papaya, pineapple slips. Native/landscape trees: white cinnamon, sandbox, Jamaican caper, lignum vitae, black olive (gri-gri).

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Reuben is a familiar, friendly face to east enders and to anyone who visits the Department of Agriculture. He produces huge papayas and dragon fruit at Solitude Farms and we are thrilled to be able to bring you the fruits of his labors at ARTfarm.
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Poor Farmer Luca is very sad to have to sell some of his young fig trees, but he just doesn’t have enough room for all of them at ARTfarm. Stop by today and adopt one of these little guys, and give it a loving home. Reasonable adoption fees.

ARTfarm Saturday! What To Talk About At Cocktail Parties! 10am-12noon!

ARTfarm Saturday, June 1st! 10am – 12 noon! Sweet mix, baby spicy mix, baby arugula, microgreens, cucumbers, purple long beans, dandelion greens, zinnia flowers, garlic chives, onions, tomatoes, sage, rosemary, Italian basil, lemon basil, Thai basil, holy basil, recao, fresh Mediterranean figs, pineapple, mangoes from Alex and Irene, papaya from Reuben, bread and bagels from Tess, local honey from Wanda’s Wright Apiary, and Mama’s Nondairy ice cream from I-Sha (Feel-I and Shalima)!

We need to tell you something. The Jojo flavor ice cream from I-Sha is crazy good! Jojos are teeny little plums that come from a very drought resistant local tree with beautiful silvery green leaves. Island schoolchildren love to harvest Jojo plums and eat them at all stages of ripeness for a wide range of flavors. Plenty of people who have grown up on St. Croix are still big fans of the tiny Jojo. It’s one of those fruits that has a giant pit and there’s not a lot of edible flesh on it, but the flavor is uniquely satisfying. A discussion of the degree of ripeness of Jojo that one prefers can be a unique icebreaker at a social gathering, or to ease those ‘awkward moments’. Go out on a limb on this fine Saturday and try the Jojo flavor ice cream, with its complex notes of vanilla and cinnamon!

Speaking of Complex: last night’s performance of the Caribbean Dance School was on fyah! Be sure to check out tonight’s final show at 7pm at the StX Educational Complex! Amazing performances, some adorable tiny little ones, some very accomplished company dancers, and a lot of dedication shown. Guaranteed to move and groove you. And at the end, sparkles fall down from the ceiling. $15 at the door is a tax deductible donation to keeping the arts alive…

… And finally, don’t forget about the Caribbean Colour show opening this evening in St. Thomas at Yacht Haven Grande! Here’s a preview of your farmers’, Christina and Luca’s artworks that are going to be displayed in the “2BLUE4U” show tonight:

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Memorial Day Trees

It just so happens that this wet time of year is a time when we get a lot of young trees into the ground. When you plant a tree, you’re taking a long range view of things.

In thinking about Memorial Day, I reflect on the youth, drive, and promise of so many who serve our country in the US military. People like everyone else with families who love and depend upon them, but whom we also as a country depend upon, whose function or lives are always at risk of being cut short because of their service.

Like a mature tree in your yard, you start to take its lifetime of service for granted. The shade it provides, the buffer from road noise, the habitat for birds… You might not look at the tree every day but pass right by it, a mere obstacle. Part of the landscape.

After a severe storm or hurricane, when all of the trees have lost all of their leaves and we are faced with a blistering sun, we realize how important that large, strong, silent partner was in our comfort and health.

We have to take care of our trees, pay attention to and care for them more than once a year, be sure to plant new trees and appreciate them as well.

Our active military and veterans deserve no less for the service they silently, unerringly, dutifully provide us.

Next time you plant a tree, consider it a gesture of thanks to our silent and strong military and first responders. When you pass an old tree by in the yard or on the street, honor the spirit and strength of all those who serve. Consider it a reminder to give back, through your own active participation in a community where you enjoy many hard-won freedoms, including the freedom to discuss and organize to change large and small injustices.

Happy Memorial Day.