C-Street Market

Isn’t it great when you see something bloom?

C-Street Market was good fun today. There is a broad range of vendors, and we had a good number of customers (until the rains arrived!). But more than anything, I really like the atmosphere. Great conversations, lots of goodwill and humor (people are VERY tolerant of this British guy and his strange accent) and a real sense of community.

That’s what a community market is all about, right?!

If you haven’t checked it out yet, then get down to Commercial Street on Saturday from 8am to 12 noon, or on Tuesday from 3 to 7.

First Friday……already!

I got an email this morning from Clarissa, the Communications Director for the First Friday Art Walk confirming that the June newsletter is available now online. This will be the 6th First Friday for Global Fayre, and we’re only just getting in to the pace of things. The night itself has been great from the start – we’re packed with people all night, everyone having a great time – and it’s fun to see a growing number of regulars. The harder thing has been making sure that we have future exhibits scheduled, and that we meet our deadlines each month. Clarissa does a great job of keeping all the galleries in line – so our month revolves around making sure she has her copy and then sending out things like our newsletter (have you joined our mailing list?!) and postings to other calendars and publications. So by the time First Friday actually gets here, we’re ready to party and then collapse!

Our Downtown Neighbors

When Cheri and I decided to make downtown the home for Global Fayre, we knew a number of key things: we liked downtown, it had a good representation of our core customers, we absolutely wanted to be part of the First Friday Art Walk….the list goes on.

What we didn’t know much about was our neighbors. We had been in to most of the stores down here, and the restaurants too, but had not spent enough time to get to know the people operating them. The real bonus for us since we’ve been here is just how great our neighbors are. I won’t name names, because I’m bound to miss someone and that would NOT be good – but if you’ve visited Global Fayre then you know who else is in the immediate neighborhood – and I have to say they are best that we could ask for.

So this is just a simple note to say THANK YOU to our neighbors, one and all – we’re very happy to be here! 

Latest stats for Burma

I like to catch up with the news on the BBC’s website. No news agency is without some form of agenda, or without biase, but I do think that the BBC gives as good as an account of things as any.

So here’s the latest stats:

The following are the most up-to-date statistics provided by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

Dead: 77,738; Missing: 55,917

Displaced: 150,000 people, in about 120 temporary settlements

Affected persons: 2.4 million people, of whom 1.4 million are in severely affected areas requiring priority assistance.

It’s just mind boggling. I started reading the articles because I wanted to have some up to date info for anyone supporting our fund raiser on Monday. I ended up feeling just wholly inadequate.  

And here’s a link to some of the blogs coming out from Burma.

Memorial Day Fund Raiser

Lots of the downtown retailers and restaurants are open for Memorial Day (you can check out more about who is open at www.itsalldowntown.com) so we decided to go ahead and open up the store, but use that chance to raise some funds for a worthwhile cause.

In our last newsletter, we talked about raising funds for the people of Burma – so we figured we should put those words in to action.

WE WILL DONATE 10% OF EVERY SALE WE MAKE ON MEMORIAL DAY TO THE INTERNATIONAL BURMESE MONKS ORGANIZATION

So – come downtown and support the retailers that are open for Memorial Day, and come to Global Fayre to make sure some funds go to the people of Burma!

PLUS – we have some goodies to offer to thank you for making the effort………

C-Street Market – update

4th Saturday at C-Street today, and it was GREAT.

The weather was right, we had some great new vendors, and there were plenty of people milling about. It really is a community event – people stay to visit a while with each other, and with the vendors, everyone is relaxed and just enjoying the moment. Perfect.

Convention & Visitors Bureau Tourist Information Center

We had a lovely visit yesterday from some of the volunteers at the Tourist Information Center on Battlefield Road.

As the new season kicks in, it was nice to see them come downtown to visit with Hot Glass Studio, Global Fayre, Springfield Pottery and Well Fed Head Books.

These people do a wonderful job, giving their time to share their love of Springfield with the many visitors that come here each year.

Thank you!

First Friday Art Walk – June 6, 2008

Featuring work from the Electronic Arts and Media Production students at Missouri State University

We will be screening a sampling of award-winning student work featuring short narrative films, animations, music videos, and experimental video. All of these extraordinary pieces were created by Electronic Arts and Media Production students at Missouri State University over the past several years. Many have won awards in national competitions and been screened in film festivals from coast to coast and as far away as Europe and China.

Screenings will run continuously, commencing at 6pm.

Alene Miller

We are also featuring the work of a local weaver, Alene Miller. Alene started weaving in 2000, and is a member of the Ozark Mountain Weavers Guild. She works with natural materials such as gourds, pine needles and grasses.