Monthly Archives: July 2015

grass roots: our community place annual lawn jam.

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burgIMG_8510Before meeting Brandy at the (approximately 18th) Annual Our Community Place Lawn Jam, I had lunch at The Little Grill. Sitting on a stool at their three-seat counter, I read an article on my CNN app called “America’s Quietest Town.” Greenbank, West Virginia – home of the Robert C. Byrd Greenbank Telescope, a massive, 485-foot structure weighing 17 million pounds that cranes its ear into the darkest corners of space and lures passionate and accomplished scientists from all over the world. It’s a big deal.

And to live in a town with such incredible, powerful, cutting-edge technology, one must sacrifice one’s own modern conveniences. Because even the tiniest emission from someone’s house can disrupt months of research. Spark plugs have caused problems for the telescope. Electronic doorbells. Even faulty electric blankets. They all create “noise” that can interfere with interstellar communications. And so, of course, bigger items, like microwave ovens, cell phones, and wifi are strictly prohibited. Employees of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory ride around Green Bank, patrolling the town’s 143 citizens for illegal emissions. These technological restrictions have rendered the town of Green Bank forever old-fashioned, if you will. Forever lacking all the bells and whistles of our web-connected, web-constructed reality. Oh, those lucky souls.

From there the article trails into a rant about cell phone dependency. It makes me think of the video going around Facebook of the guy who misses the whale that swims right next to him because he’s on his phone. “Pathetic!” we all scream at him. The irony that I was reading the article on my phone while eating alone at the Grill was not lost on me.

All trends reach an apex and fold in on themselves. A few years ago, a new form of snobbery was in full swing – owning a smart phone. I mean, what kind of loser doesn’t have one? GAH. Now that force has reversed itself and I find myself feeling judged if I pull out my phone anywhere, even just to check the time. I kinda hope the folding in continues, because yes, we have become a rude and detached society. And as the Green Bank resident explains in this video, the lack of technology has allowed people to “discover who you are” in a way that is different from the modern world and its huge, global context.

burgIMG_8569So when Brandy arrived, I chucked my phone into my purse (plus, it was almost dead anyway, haha), knowing I was already with the people I wanted to be connected to. And we walked into the crowd.

burgIMG_8547May I say, Our Community Place has really got their act together. Having officially opened in their current location (E. Johnson Street) in 2008, the idea for OCP was born across the street in The Little Grill. Ron Copeland, who bought the Grill in 1992, wanted to prepare a free meal for “anyone in the world,” where people of all walks of life could sit and dine together once a week. That’s how Soup Kitchen Mondays began at the Grill. In 2008, the meal moved over to the finally-renovated (I mean, years and years of fundraising and renovations!) Our Community Place, where they’re now able to serve five meals per week. According to their web site, Our Community Place is “a Christian organization that seeks to accommodate, foster and provide activities and programs related to personal growth and community well being; be a resource in the community for individuals seeking information or services already provided by other organizations; educate and empower individuals toward self-sufficiency, thus creating social capital for the community at large; and nurture a community that appreciates diversity and sees differences and conflict as opportunities for spiritual growth.” And anyone in the world, anyone and everyone, is welcome. People can get a meal there, do laundry, get Internet access, worship, shower, and enjoy each other’s company with games and sports. There’s also arts and crafts, a theater group, classes like drumming, pottery, and Tai Chi, and movie nights. Finally, they host and sponsor lots of events, such as the Lawn Jam and the Shenandoah Bicycle Fest earlier this month, an annual plant sale, Walk for OCP in October, and the OCP Christmas Concert.

burgIMG_8548 burgIMG_8549The purpose of this year’s Lawn Jam was to raise money for their kitchen renovation and new food-based business enterprise. They need to raise $36,700 to complete their projects. To that end, they sold raffle tickets for fifty cents each; prizes included gift certificates from Clementine, Bed Bath & Beyond, Greenberrys, Chanello’s, Court Square Theater, Fox’s Pizza, and Capital Ale House. They also had an AWESOME silent auction with a zillion really great items:
~ a half hour airplane ride with pilot Scott French
~ a beautiful framed mirror
~ assorted rings from Hugo Kohl
~ a one-hour massage from Kathryn Cheeks
~ two tickets to the American Shakespeare Center
~ Old Crow Medicine Show merchandise
~ bicycle panniers
~ a Natural Hair Care Basket
~ a compost roller
~ a day of skilled carpentry
~ a Natural Garden tote bag
~ two watercolor paintings by Shelley Pope
~ a kids’ cycling jersey from SBC
~ New Creation Body Products gift bag
~ JMU football tickets and prize pack
~ Walkabout Outfitters water bottle and t-shirt
~ Lunch with Mayor Jones
~ and a gift certificate from TJ’s Dermographics!

burgIMG_8561 burgIMG_8564On the lawn, people enjoyed two free meals, volleyball, face painting, tie-dyeing, corn hole, basketball, a swing set, each other, and live music all day by Tom Weaver, Eric Olson-Getty, Jeff Gorman, Jake Cochran, Kat and the Travelers, Dr.How and the Reasons to Live, Nic Melas, and members of the Walking Roots Band. You could also put money in a jar to vote either for Mark Doll to wear a Hillary 2016 shirt or for Ron to shave off his beard (!). Not sure if you’ve seen his photo on FB yet, but Ron lost. Big time. Hopefully, though, this year’s Lawn Jam was a big win for him and Our Community Place.

burgIMG_8513 burgIMG_8522 burgIMG_8524 burgIMG_8530 burgIMG_8534 burgIMG_8538 burgIMG_8540burgIMG_8551 burgIMG_8553 burgIMG_8555 burgIMG_8559burgIMG_8566 burgIMG_8572 burgIMG_8579 burgIMG_8582 burgIMG_8587 burgIMG_8590 burgIMG_8593 burgIMG_8596 burgIMG_8598 burgIMG_8607It was truly a beautiful day of beautiful people being simply connected by their common humanity and not disrupting a giant telescope. If you’re interested in volunteering or donating to the Kitchen Renovation, visit their web site, call Ron at 540-236-4314, or email him at ron@ourcommunityplace.org.

burgIMG_8584Copyright © 2012-15 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

tap dance: brothers craft brewing music festival.

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burgIMG_8619Well, that was one of the happiest days ever!

This past Saturday, Brandy and I slathered on the sunscreen and the loose, lightweight clothes and braved the scorching heat to attend two – TWO – local music events that happened to be just a block apart. First up was the Annual Lawn Jam at Our Community Place, which will be the subject of our next post. But right up the street from that was Brothers Craft Brewing’s Summer Festival featuring three bands and food from Mashita, Wing It, and Branch’s Soft Serve.

burgIMG_8609 burgIMG_8611burgIMG_8625We headed inside the taproom to cool off a bit with an ice cold brew, knowing we had about thirty minutes before the music would start. I tried the Pilsnerd because the name resonated with me – it’s a Southern German pilsner with an Atari-ish label – and it was perfect for a hot summer day. We talked about their event coming up this Friday: Run, Sweat, and Beers, a collaboration with VA Momentum in which participants choose a 1-, 3-, or 5-mile “fun run” and then get a discounted beer as a consolation prize. The Brothers have lots of collaborations, actually. There’s also the Brothers Craft Brewing Three Miler (a relay race happening August 29 to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters) and Casks for a Cause (third Friday of every month), where they donate the proceeds from a specially crafted beer to a pre-selected charity; they’ve collaborated with the SPCA for Barks and Brews, where you can actually adopt a pet in the taproom; and coming up September 24 is a beer dinner with the Chop House! Those brothers are always busy planning things for you and the rest of our Harrisonburg family.

burgIMG_8683 burgIMG_8682 burgIMG_8679Outside Maple Union was getting started, so we walked around to the loading dock/music stage. Originally from Harrisonburg, Maple Union’s singer Josh Henderson now lives in Baltimore, so the band only reunites here once a year-ish. How lucky we are that they’re still performing together, and even luckier that we got to see them on this day! Still playing with Josh are Jared Tampa, Andrew Hassler, and Jonathan Woods. Their set seemed to zip by, prompting everyone to go inside for a refill or grab some food from Mashita or Wing It.

burgIMG_8692 burgIMG_8631 burgIMG_8638burgIMG_8622burgIMG_8693burgIMG_8748Next up were some of our favorite people. Maybe that’s sounds a little biased, and it is, for sure. Because exactly 66.67% of the members of Many Nights Ahead were members of my classroom in tenth grade, and I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to see awkward 15 year olds grow up to be this talented and downright cool. And might I add, Broadway High School is like a talent factory or something. Harrisonburg’s music scene is crawling with BHS grads, and I’m really proud to be at least peripherally affiliated with all of ’em. And I’m not the only one – two other BHS teachers, Shirley and all-the-way-from-Russia Anne were also there, tapping their fingers and stomping their feet.

burgIMG_8743burgIMG_8737 burgIMG_8725 burgIMG_8717burgIMG_8667Just when everyone thought it was cooling down a little, Bryan Elijah Smith and the Wild Hearts took the stage. Heat rolls off them like steam from a highway after a summer storm.We’re totally bummed we had to scoot out so early, but it was time to relieve the babysitter. We’ll catch them again soon, though, because those guys tour like crazy.

As I mentioned before, THIS Friday, July 24, is Run, Sweat, and Beers at Brothers Craft Brewing. Show up at 5pm, complete your run, and reward yourself with a discounted brew and some grub from Wing It!

burgIMG_8696 burgIMG_8703 burgIMG_8710 burgIMG_8695 burgIMG_8694Copyright © 2012-15 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

here’s the deal: harrisonburg pokemon league.

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burgIMG_2639The kids and I returned from a 24-day tour of America this week, and my original plan was to publish this post sometime during that trip. However, because I was driving a lot and doing a lot in places with little or no Internet connection, I just never got the opportunity to put it all together, until now. But, you know, it’s a good thing, because my knowledge of Pokemon increased about 200% during the trip.

The size of my car severely limited what each of us could bring on the trip. Just a couple changes of clothes, a tent and sleeping bags, a few books, and one – ONE – toy per child. So Bree and Cal decided to bring their Pokemon cards. Every night, wherever we were camping, I insisted that we all be in the tent before dark, and since we weren’t always ready to sleep at that time, we stayed up playing Pokemon. And I joined in, too.

Before the trip, if I had tried to write about the game, it would have sounded very much like this post about roller derby, when I didn’t understand a dang thing that was happening. All I knew about Pokemon just a few short weeks ago was that cards are dealt, characters battle each other, points are deducted, and players speak in some weird Star Trek language, saying things like “charizard” and “kyogre,” “gengar” and “voltorbe.” Now I understand, and I owe my new-found knowledge not just to our trip, but to the group that started it all for my family: the Harrisonburg Pokemon League.

burgIMG_2634The League was created nine years ago by a Harrisonburg couple, William and Juanita. They have six sons, the oldest of which is now 21. In essence, they created the club for him, and they have generously continued it for any kid who’s interested. When their first son was little and became interested in Pokemon, William and Juanita looked for a place where he could practice and play with other Pokemon fans. Along the way there were some groups; one group met, for a short time, at the library. Then a few groups formed at stores like Books-A-Million and Toys ‘R Us. William and Juanita learned the game, they took their boys to the club, and it sort of became a family hobby. But eventually, all the local clubs closed. At that point, with a growing family of Pokemon fans, the couple took it upon themselves to start their own league.

The League currently meets on Sundays from 1 – 3pm at 8Bit Oasis, a gaming store owned by Lauren Davis in the Cloverleaf Shopping Center. Anyone who wants to play Pokemon is welcome. It’s completely free and open to all people of all ages. Even if you’re not ready to sit down and play with the others, a visit to the store to check out the scene is a must. Walking into 8bit Oasis gave me an overload of sense memories. They’ve got a huge inventory of vintage gaming systems, equipment, accessories, and games. I was an Atari girl, myself. My childhood friend Kathy and I would play Missile Command and Frogger and Yars Revenge for like twelve hours straight, eating nothing but Dr. Pepper and pixie sticks. We’d have thumb cramps and bloodshot eyes and all. So seeing that wall of Atari cartridges – wow! It made me swoon. Other vintage items include Gameboys, Gamecubes, joysticks, and old games like Top Gear Rally. They also carry new and used games for current systems – Wii, Xbox, Playstation, and the like. At the back of the store is small gaming lounge. You can borrow a game to try out on their system, or you can play one of their arcade games, like Donkey Kong Jr., Mario, Galaga, or PacMan.

burgIMG_2621 burgIMG_2620The League is very organized. On our first visit, William sat down with all our kids and led them through a battle, explaining all the official rules in detail (believe me, Bree and Cal had improvised at home A LOT before learning the proper way to play). Even though there were several other players there, William took the time to patiently coach each child. One of William and Juanita’s sons also helped answer questions and strategize with the kids. All the kids picked up really quickly and have been able to play independently ever since. A battle starts with the dealing of cards. Each player gets seven cards for his hand and six for his “prize cards.” The rest of the 60-card deck remains face down. The deck is composed of a variety of Pokemon (characters), energy cards (you need those to make your Pokemon be able to attack), and trainer cards, which usually grant a player some special advantage for a single turn or for the remainder of the battle. Next, each player chooses which Pokemon will battle. Then it’s a series of picking cards and discarding, attaching energy cards to the Pokemon, attacking (things like “peck,” “stomp,” “continuous headbutt,” “hopeless scream”), and deducting points for each attack. Once a Pokemon’s “health” score is decimated, it’s been defeated, and the winner gets to pick up one of his prize cards. The player who gets through all six prize cards first wins the battle.

burgIMG_2625While William walks around to facilitate the battles and serve as referee as needed, Juanita keeps track of everyone’s wins. After you’ve accumulated a certain number of wins, you get a prize. And once every three or four months, they hold what’s called a Booster Pack Tournament. They purchase newly released cards in packs of ten. Each kid pays $20 and gets six packs of cards. They sit at tables, open one pack at a time, take their favorite card from that pack and pass the rest to the left. The cards keep moving around the table until they’ve all been distributed. Then they all open pack #2, and repeat the process. By the end, each kid has more than 50 new cards, which they use to create a 40-card deck and play two battles right then. It was really fun for everyone, and a cool way to add excitement and anticipation to an already challenging and complex game.

burgIMG_2640Brandy and I have been so impressed with William and Juanita that we felt compelled to share this with you. They are just the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Their patience and friendliness to all the kids… their willingness to create and maintain this league for nine years with no compensation… their relaxed demeanor and acceptance of anyone who wants to play is exactly what should come to mind when one thinks of The Friendly City. Thank you, William and Juanita (and their sons!), and 8bit Oasis, for providing a fun, educational, and wholesome activity for kids of all ages.

If you haven’t been to 8bit Oasis or the Harrisonburg Pokemon League, you should come Sunday and check it out!

burgIMG_2638 burgIMG_2630Copyright © 2012-15 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.