Spring is upon us! Although it's still chilly, the Sweet Water community is already preparing the Commons for bountiful growing season. There is never a dull moment during spring! From mentors and apprentices building shelves for the weekly Farmers' Market stand-to-staffand volunteers prepping the soil for planting.
Not only is the work at the Commons picking up momentum, but our connections are growing as well. The work of regenerative neighborhood development is expanding all across the country. Get a glimpse into springtime at Sweet Water Foundation.
Meet Armani McCalister...
In June 2017, Armani was introduced to Sweet Water Foundation through a friend who worked at the organization. “He told me to come up here to talk to Emmanuel...and that’s what I did.” Just like that, Armani began working at SWF. At first, his work centered on the farm, but now, Armani is a junior level apprentice, working on carpentry projects throughout the fall and winter seasons and on the farm in the summer.
On April 28th, SWF will be hosting our first volunteer day of the year. Join the Sweet Water Foundation community as we prepare for the 2018 farming season. Roll up your sleeves and help with clean up, flower planting, seed starting, organization, and more. RSVP Required.Click here to register.
Volunteers should wear comfortable clothing and closed toed shoes and bring a water bottle and sun protection. Please note: This event will be canceled in the event of heavy rain. We will contact all registered volunteers to update on the status of the volunteer day.
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL PUPPET THEATRE FESTIVAL NEIGHBORHOOD TOUR @ THE COMMONS - FREE!
Bring the little ones out to the Commons for a special performance of the Chicago International Puppet Theatre. The Festival Neighborhood Tour provides free, family-friendly puppetry performances in neighborhoods with the ultimate aim of cultivating a widespread and diverse audience for internationally significant, culturally transformative works of puppetry. This spring 2018, the Festival Neighborhood Tour events present Afrofuturist puppeteer Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins from Atlanta, and family act The Joshua Show by Joshua Holden from Brooklyn.
SAVE-THE-DATE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION @ THE COMMONS Save-the-date for the first annual Juneteenth Celebration at the Perry Ave Commons. Join us as we celebrate this important, historical event with live music, arts & crafts, health & wellness activities, and much more. More details coming soon.
RADICAL [RE]CONSTRUCTIONS: EXHIBIT @ THE SMART MUSEUM The Radical [Re]Constructions exhibit will connect the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago to Sweet Water Foundation's Perry Avenue Commons. The installation features a large, three-dimensional representation of a house, set against the Museum’s central lobby wall and constructed from salvaged materials including wood that SWF apprentices finished with the traditional Japanese shou sugi ban charring technique. The Smart Museum is free and open to the public. For museum hours and directions, click here.
RECIPES
Asparagus Salad Topped with Poached Egg
Did you know, asparagus is one of the early harvest vegetables, arriving in abundance in Spring? It is a nutritious and delicious vegetable, offering a good source of vitamin K, antioxidants, and thiamine. April is the prime month for harvesting asparagus in most places. With the abundance of asparagus, try this recipe for Asparagus Salad Topped with Poached Egg from Victoria at EatingWell. This light salad is a delicious start to a springtime meal.
Got Rain Barrels?
Help us reduce our water usage buy donating an unused rain barrel and/or purchasing a new rain barrel. Click the image above to purchase the best priced rain barrels, as recommended by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
