First Friday at Global Fayre

First Friday will be here very soon – and we can’t wait!

We always look forward to First Friday Art Walk; it’s great having so many people downtown, everyone having a good time, all the galleries full to the brim. But this time we’re more excited than usual.

Why?

It started last week – we took delivery of a consignment of fantastic Zulu baskets. Some are traditional weave, others are a wonderful combination of the old and the new – baskets woven traditionally but using telephone wire. Vibrant colors, wonderful shapes and patterns – just outstanding. They were so wonderful that we couldn’t resist putting them out on show ahead of time (well, some of them – you have to hold something back for First Friday, right?!).

But these baskets are not the only reason for our excitement. We have live music again this month, this time from someone who has been a friend to Global Fayre pretty much since we first opened. Alexander Kofi (of Jah Kings) will be playing acoustic guitar and Djimbe drum. We’re really thrilled to have our friend here on Friday – it’s going to be an awesome evening!

War Dance – watch a movie, change a life

Team world vision ozarks will be showing War Dance at McBride Elementary School on Friday Sept 27th.

There will be a silent auction at 6:30

The movie will start at 7:00pm

Admission is free.

What is War Dance? – a documentary revealing the redemptive power of music, even in the most horrific places. Focusing on three children in their early teens in war-torn Uganda, War Dance tracks the efforts of the school of a refugee camp called Patongo to compete in Uganda’s countrywide music competition.

Who is team world vision ozarks? – a group of runners who have a passion for those less fortunate. Currently training for the 2008 Chicago Marathan and raising money to help struggling communities in Africa.

Fair Trade Fayre at Christ Episcopal

We’re excited to be returning to Christ Episcopal Church on Walnut this weekend for another Fair Trade Fayre. We’ll be joined again by Karen from Anna Sophias, and will have a great range of Fair Trade products on offer. 10% of all sales revenues go to the Church’s Outreach Fund.

The Fayre starts on Sunday morning (Sept 21st) from 8am.

Fair Trade and UW-Oshkosh

For supporters of Fair Trade, there was an encouraging article in the Chicago Tribune today: “UW-Oshkosh promises to buy fair trade products”.

The essence of the story is a commitment from Chancellor Richard Wells to buy fair trade products whenever possible. He said (fair trade products) will be used in university dining, catering and department offices.

Since opening Global Fayre last December, we’ve been fortunate to meet many students from the universities in Springfield, and have been greatly encouraged by their general level of awareness of Fair Trade. Most of the universities here have embryonic Fair Trade groups, and our ambition in the short term is to help these groups join forces with like-minded members of the community to spread the Fair Trade message.

Who knows, maybe the News-Leader will be carrying a story sometime soon about one of our universities making a commitment comparable to that of UW-Oshkosh!

First Friday Art Walk – Sept 5th

We’re delighted to have a double feature this month.

First off, we have the beautiful creations of Cheryl Draudt. Originally from Salt Lake City, Cheryl started to learn the challenging art of woodworking scroll shortly before moving to the Ozarks in 2000.

The pieces on display for First Friday reflect a natural wildlife theme, inspired by the beautiful areas that Cheryl has lived in, including Cougar and Cub, Wolf Pack and The Owl and Mouse.

bird-basket

Cheryl will also be on hand to describe in detail the challenging work that went in to each piece.

Alongside Cheryl’s exhibit, we have the wonderful sounds of Moonhoney.

Moonhoney is Grace Easley on viola, Adriana Jones on vocals/piano, and Ryan Flores on vocals/guitar.

The music is a mixture of classical, flamenco, rock ‘n’ roll, Latin, and jazz filtered through a melodically refined Gypsy-Tango style that is both elegant and enticing. Adriana and Ryan share the compositional workload, each bringing different themes and textures to the creative palette. Adriana’s smooth melodies create intricate soundscapes through which her voice flows like water and Ryan’s driving finger-style guitar and intense vocal prowess provide an excellent backdrop for his playful and poetic lyrics. Weave in the warm tones of Grace’s viola and you have a recipe for something truly unique: a tapestry of sound that you’re not likely to forget or hear anywhere else.