Today's Adventures
Jul. 11th, 2025 09:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithToday we went to the Marshall Farmer's Market. It's an evening market from 6-8 PM, followed by a band concert, which is way better than a morning one.
We ate supper at Church's Texas Chicken in Marshall. It took ages to get our food, which made us seriously late for the farmer's market, and they were out of dark meat chicken. >_< However, the lemonade, fried okra, and honey buttermilk biscuits were all excellent and the chicken was pretty good. In the future, we will probably pick up food on the way to the farmer's market to eat in the car.
The farmer's market is on the square by the courthouse. It stretched about a block, with a more vendors than last time. Only one of the bakers was there. Lawson's Custom Confections was back though. We picked up a couple of cherry macarons, which were okay but fell apart, and a strawberry crunch mini-cake.
Frankly Organic had more different produce this time including tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and patty pan squash. I picked out a small tomato, to go with a cucumber from my garden for a chop salad; and a couple more patty pans so we can make another batch of "Santorini Stir-Fry with Chicken and Patty Pan Squash." I brought a copy of that recipe for the guy at the booth, and he was excited by it. :D Sadly it was almost closing so I didn't have time to talk about the farm as much as I would have liked.
New this time was T & K Custom Woodworks. He had some platters, side tables with epoxy designs, carvings, and a spectacular Damascus-headed ax with carved handle. I didn't buy anything but did admire the artistry.
Gaslight Art Colony & Gallery had the Side by Side show with pairs of artist and photographer on the same subject, which was splendid. Several pairs were so similar you had to look closely to distinguish which was the photo. Others were more interpretive, like the bluebells with a foggy forest background added or a nightscape with the silhouette of two people added. There were several mixed media and other 3D art too. I saw the best mixed-media ever, where the artist painted aloe vera, then used gel to make droplets looking like water, and some tiny weed stems. :D There was a nice range from amateur to professional skill, which really gives it a hometown feel. The show after this one will be Fiber Art from Sept. 20-Oct. 11.
By then, the Marshall City Band was starting up at the bandstand in front of the courthouse. It is the best small-town orchestra that I have heard. They did a splendid medley of Star Wars music. I'm pretty sure the conductor was the one responsible for the cohesion, although looking at their website, they have members who've been playing for decades so I'm sure that helps. I also think they've got at least one or two members with Bardic Gift -- not trained as such, not particularly strong, but plenty enough to create a solid empathic layer and pull in the crowd to create a very nice pitch pool of energy. We estimated an audience between 100-200 people, probably about 150, gathered around the courthouse. Children were running and playing, people had lawn chairs or blankets, it was a lovely community atmosphere. We bought an excellent brownie from the bake sale in front of the courthouse too.
So looking at it, Marshall has two very strong cultural anchors right next to each other: the city band and its bandstand (which could be used for other purposes too) and the gallery. These are excellent examples of how the built environment supports community spirit, and how people can make their own entertainment and activities. The square really functions as public space; they're willing to close off a street for the farmer's market on Friday evenings, then the band does a free concert, and the gallery has rotating shows. The surrounding neighborhood is walkable with lovely architecture, too. If you're unhappy with how technified and disconnected modern society is, well, do something else. Find other folks in your locale who feel the same way and create some alternatives.
On the way home, we saw a few deer, a raccoon, and an owl (probably a great-horned owl).
It has been a good day.
We ate supper at Church's Texas Chicken in Marshall. It took ages to get our food, which made us seriously late for the farmer's market, and they were out of dark meat chicken. >_< However, the lemonade, fried okra, and honey buttermilk biscuits were all excellent and the chicken was pretty good. In the future, we will probably pick up food on the way to the farmer's market to eat in the car.
The farmer's market is on the square by the courthouse. It stretched about a block, with a more vendors than last time. Only one of the bakers was there. Lawson's Custom Confections was back though. We picked up a couple of cherry macarons, which were okay but fell apart, and a strawberry crunch mini-cake.
Frankly Organic had more different produce this time including tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and patty pan squash. I picked out a small tomato, to go with a cucumber from my garden for a chop salad; and a couple more patty pans so we can make another batch of "Santorini Stir-Fry with Chicken and Patty Pan Squash." I brought a copy of that recipe for the guy at the booth, and he was excited by it. :D Sadly it was almost closing so I didn't have time to talk about the farm as much as I would have liked.
New this time was T & K Custom Woodworks. He had some platters, side tables with epoxy designs, carvings, and a spectacular Damascus-headed ax with carved handle. I didn't buy anything but did admire the artistry.
Gaslight Art Colony & Gallery had the Side by Side show with pairs of artist and photographer on the same subject, which was splendid. Several pairs were so similar you had to look closely to distinguish which was the photo. Others were more interpretive, like the bluebells with a foggy forest background added or a nightscape with the silhouette of two people added. There were several mixed media and other 3D art too. I saw the best mixed-media ever, where the artist painted aloe vera, then used gel to make droplets looking like water, and some tiny weed stems. :D There was a nice range from amateur to professional skill, which really gives it a hometown feel. The show after this one will be Fiber Art from Sept. 20-Oct. 11.
By then, the Marshall City Band was starting up at the bandstand in front of the courthouse. It is the best small-town orchestra that I have heard. They did a splendid medley of Star Wars music. I'm pretty sure the conductor was the one responsible for the cohesion, although looking at their website, they have members who've been playing for decades so I'm sure that helps. I also think they've got at least one or two members with Bardic Gift -- not trained as such, not particularly strong, but plenty enough to create a solid empathic layer and pull in the crowd to create a very nice pitch pool of energy. We estimated an audience between 100-200 people, probably about 150, gathered around the courthouse. Children were running and playing, people had lawn chairs or blankets, it was a lovely community atmosphere. We bought an excellent brownie from the bake sale in front of the courthouse too.
So looking at it, Marshall has two very strong cultural anchors right next to each other: the city band and its bandstand (which could be used for other purposes too) and the gallery. These are excellent examples of how the built environment supports community spirit, and how people can make their own entertainment and activities. The square really functions as public space; they're willing to close off a street for the farmer's market on Friday evenings, then the band does a free concert, and the gallery has rotating shows. The surrounding neighborhood is walkable with lovely architecture, too. If you're unhappy with how technified and disconnected modern society is, well, do something else. Find other folks in your locale who feel the same way and create some alternatives.
On the way home, we saw a few deer, a raccoon, and an owl (probably a great-horned owl).
It has been a good day.
}:>
Date: 2025-07-12 10:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-12 07:54 pm (UTC)It does make me think - where I live does have markets and live music and art, but no one has quite figured out how to put all of the elements together with each other. HMMMMM...
Thoughts
Date: 2025-07-14 01:26 am (UTC)Sooth.
>> And I appreciate your point about how Marshall is managing to do things really well. <<
The crappier the world gets in general, the more it sticks out when someone has managed to retain or create examples of healthy community. I have become more serious about watching for them and seeking them out. The band plays a complete mishmash of musical styles; it's the feeling of community in the audience that appeals to me, even though I don't know anyone there.
>> It does make me think - where I live does have markets and live music and art, <<
That's a good start. Markets help people make a living when there are not enough conventional jobs, and for shoppers, a chance to buy local. Live music is so much warmer and more human than recorded music -- and loses a lot of that when routed through a sound system. It really needs to be acoustic to work. Art is a celebration of creativity and human emotion, ideally something that everyone can do if they wish.
>> but no one has quite figured out how to put all of the elements together with each other. HMMMMM... <<
You're off to an excellent start with so many pieces. You need people who are interested in activities, so if they're already doing things, you should be able to identify the enthusiasts and organizers.
You also need good space. Look at the ones I have described. Marshall has a courthouse with a bandstand and enough yard around it to hold an audience. The square around the courthouse has plenty of small businesses. Close off one section of street, add the farmer's market, and there are now enough things for people to do in one little area that they can make an evening outing of it. Greenup has a city hall with a multifunction room that has a stage at one end (usually used for the charity buffet), a large yard outside, and just across the street a rentable dance hall also suitable for events (where they held the Christmas market).
So examine the facilities in your area. What large buildings have a basement, multifunction room, etc. that can be borrowed or rented? Is there a stage anywhere? Who has a big lawn? Are there parks with pavilions, or similar facilities? Does the town have provisions for closing a street for a street fair? What about big parking lots? Especially, look for useful places close together so you can stack multiple activities, either simultaneously or sequentially. And then talk to the people who own those places, to see what it takes to put an activity there. See "The Power of 10+" for a discussion of stacking activities to create a destination. Here is a guide to placemaking.
Another important aspect is cost and accessibility. So much today is expensive, reserved for people with plenty of spending money. However, the vast majority of events I attend nowadays are free. In Marshall, it costs nothing to visit the farmer's market, browse the gallery, or listen to the music. The farmer's market is supported by booth fees. The gallery is supported by members (and presumably sales); anyone who wishes can join and put up their art in relevant shows. I'm less sure of the band's support, but there was a sponsor handing out treats to kids, so I suspect they have business backing and maybe other resources.
Greenup has a church that runs the charity buffet, which is pay what you want or can afford. Church members make the food for it, which is typically excellent home-cooked potluck type dishes sometimes augmented with packaged goods like chips. Nothing says "I want you to continue existing" like free or cheap food. The Christmas market was free to visit, and so where the Apple Festival activities.
Check your locale for free or cheap resources. One very useful thing you can do is simply make a list of those. Among my favorite resources is A Day Away, a magazine that promotes attractions and events in central Illinois. It has a handful of articles about places, a plain text event calendar and list of attractions per county, and a ton of ads for events and attractions (presumably paid). Arthur has the best community calendar I've seen -- just a website that lists all the stuff going on.
Look around to see if your town has a website and/or calendar. If so, make sure all the stuff you mentioned is on there; if not, that's a good resource to build. Our local mall has its own event calendar, which can be hit or miss but is helpful when available. Another very useful thing to include is a list of clubs and other activity groups that people can join, like you see at colleges.
Then go back and talk to the folks who are active in the events you already know about. Encourage them to connect the dots, to coordinate event times and locations so they stack together into more of a community atmosphere.
I recommend looking at resources for building community. Strong Towns covers America; Transition Towns is in the United Kingdom.
Here's a discussion about how to make your home town more like Bluehill. See also "Value Per Acre" for an analysis of land use in T-American towns, and "How to Build Community" for links about cultivating social ties.
I hope this helps.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-13 02:46 am (UTC)