@ The Hard Bean January 23rd-CAB and BAG unite! ARt exhibition and Live Music Event

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Loly Reynolds 484-554-0281

Company Name: The Community Artists of Bethlehem

E-mail Address: Lolymosaics@yahoo.com

Website: www.myspace.com/c.a.b.- Loly Reynolds

www.myspace.com/bethlehemaboveground - Renee Uzzardi

Bethlehem Above Ground and The Community Artists of Bethlehem proudly celebrate a collaboration of the arts through audio and visual media.

In our continued effort to support the local arts scene, The Community Artists of Bethlehem has partnered up with Bethlehem Above Ground (Music Zine) in and exciting and dynamic night sure to entice your eyes and ears. This January 23rd, Join us at The Hard Bean located at 201 East 3rd St. on Bethlehem's Southside. Festivities will start at 6pm as Paul Thiessen will provide an acoustic backdrop to the opening of "The Artworks of Chuck Harris". Chuck Harris has been a staple of CAB as a supported and contributor of events such as Exhibit One (May 2007), Fertile Ground Mural Project (October 2007), and One Love Benefit: Bucks for Chuck (December 2007), where CAB facilitated a fundraiser for Harris due to an unfortunate, work related accident. Since then, his work has taken new dimension and has metamorphosed into strong, vibrant images that conjure emotions from deep within. Often his work is reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, but others are dreamlike and one can not help but to be pulled into the canvas on an adventure of jubilant, contemplation, sorrow, and human drama. Chuck Harris will be on hand to meet and greet from 6pm-9pm. Wine and cheese reception.

The Bethlehem Above Ground will be sponsoring a night of eclectic music from Bethlehem and beyond. The show will begin at 9pm and go on until 2am. BCDE (Bethlehem) will be kicking it off, following them will be Memes (Bethlehem/Philly), and lastly M(I)U (Tampa Bay, FL.). In between musical acts, DJ Tom (Philly) will be entertaining us with his variety of fresh beats. The Hard Bean is a BYOB establishment and welcomes 21+ to bring a spirit or bottle of wine, but please do not bring beer. There will be a corking fee of $2 and admission to the show at 9pm will be $5 (art reception is free).

Special thanks to The Hard Bean for supporting the local arts and for being so flexible with this event. We hope to see you all there in this wonderful night of artistic collaboration. Please feel free to share this release with your media contacts and friends/family alike.

For more information please contact the e-mails above or The Hard Bean at 610-419-9833.

Memes- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=40806708

BCDE- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=444478178

C.A.B.- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=104553751

The Above Ground- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=104553751

The people are the pieces!

interview w/ Matt Molchany

*How did this all get started?

Over the course of the two months before I left Los Angeles, my friend and partner Jeremy and I talked a lot about securing studio space or developing a mobile way for me to take what I do production and engineering-wise anywhere. We were leaning towards an entirely mobile set up but after returning east and seeing all the action on the southside of Bethlehem and other pockets of the L.V., I felt strongly that a brick and mortar recording/rehearsal studio heavy on the d.i.y. vibe and with multiple functions was the way to go here. It seemed like exactly what's needed to speed up the growth and push it further...so began the hunt for the space. I walked around endlessly in Allentown and up and down 3rd and 4th streets in Bethlehem collecting numbers, pictures for Jeremy, and calling realtors until one morning my mom came along for the hunt and instinctively turned down Graham Place and we found it--13 Graham--it was pretty much love at first sight and its location was ridiculously ideal.

*Any particular beginning inspirations?

I got the space the morning after hopping trains, making plans, and talking big shit with Hannae and John Paul--we all held the same hope for the area, similar traveling experience and outlooks. So after I hopped a train and rode across the trestle, I jumped off onto the gravel and called the owner of 13 Graham obscenely early in the morning to set up a date to sign the lease--they inspired me to take the final step but it was talking to local musicians and artists about their lack of rehearsal/recording/creation space that inspired me to make it my mission.

*What experiences in your life/past history that prepared you for this project?

I leased a space in Allentown when I was 19 for recording, rehearsal, and teaching drums out of--it was a huge undertaking considering I was in school and gigging regularly but I learned a lot about managing a studio, which I haven't really been able to apply in L.A. Every recording situation consisted of either showing up at a studio and working or recording with my gear at someone else's space which forced me to figure out people and other people's set-ups fast. Both of these situations were massive learning experiences and can finally be married in the new space.

*What is your vision?

Simply, a functioning spot for creation of all kinds--whatever we can fit and whatever will keep it running.

*a few months from now?

A New Madrid Faults album with a ridiculous amount of instruments, more recording/mixing projects, a few bands and artists locking it out, live recordings of touring bands, regular meetings for Bethlehem Above Ground, and a cute little indie library. Maybe a sweet mural on the outside wall...and a secret show or two...

*a few years?

Another building entirely for rehearsal space rental, our own line of recording gear, live video feed, ability to remotely control other recording sessions from Above Ground Audio Labs, and in general working towards patenting new studio technology and models.

*Upcoming projects about to be born out of the lab?

Paul Thiessen Band(lehem), Swift Technique (philly), Trevor Exter (ny), the next New Madrid Faults album, and quite a few yet to be named conglomerations of local musicians.

*Projects that have already been produced from here?

New Madrid Faults, King Ricco, The Power Cords, and some friendly demos/jam sessions.

*Is the space exclusively for music?

There's definitely space for art, photo, reupholstering, soldering, drafting, crafting, reading, and other non-musical projects that require space and levels of isolation.

*Plans for the physical space? layout/design

There are plans to have a control room when you first walk in with full carpeting, a couch, several bookshelves, a 15 foot wall, and control room window centered in the wall. The ceilings are going to be insulated and covered with an alternating mix of softer acoustic tile and hard plywood. The floors will be cleaned, painted, and left exposed for the most part except for a few rugs. Walls will have lots of stained random plywood pieces at varying angles to break up the parallel walls, smoothing out the room's reverberant character.

*Do you plan to move to a bigger space eventually?

When it's necessary, definitely. It's exciting to think that some day in the near future our area would need more spaces like this!

*How is this space connected to your broader network?

It's the headquarters to Bethlehem Above Ground and New Madrid Faults, both of which are bringing bands from around the U.S. to town to record, play, or in a non-physical sense for review in the zine, making both sides of the network aware of each other.

*How will the network outside of the local area influence what's happening here?

As B.A.G. gets more booking requests and NMF brings more bands to town, I think people here will be awakened by what musicians in random towns anywhere in the U.S. are doing, thinking, and creating--I think we'll all be surprised with how much we have in common but also how different we all express things, helping us make this town a little bigger but the world a little smaller.

column: poetry

~Thrill

Bashful delicacies

Like jewelled fire pallor the lovely face

Pleasures piquant

Coil on the sides of his mouth;

snakes dormant, silently conspiring

Sentiment thickens in a rush

of oceanic pulses.

The speckled compassion in his eyes in me

Strikes the thrill, seething

Sparks into lightening into

Quaking possibility

by paige meyner

Gardening in the Greenway Meeting - - -> notes

Saturday 11/15 at the Wildflower Café

Present: Nick Baily, Peter Christine, Gwen Colegrove, Peter Gaughin, Danelle Hakim, Annie Hasz, Darlene Heller, Daniel Hunter, Steve Hoog, Maureen Lynch, Lynn Nonnemacher, Dave Porter, Javier Toro, Gary Warren, Michelle

Those present included representatives from the city, the South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center, the YWCA, Holy Infancy School, the Wildflower Café, the Maze Garden Community, the Victory House, and the Alliance for Sustainable communities.

Darlene Heller summarized the Greenway project. Phase I will begin this spring with the trail section from New St. to Filmore. Workers will grade the land, add topsoil, seed grass, install the pathway and electrical conduits and establish basic landscaping. Once spots are selected for gardens, the city will do further soil testing but plans to import most of the growing medium after removing the gravel/cinder that composed the railroad bed. The city will use all $800,000 alloted for this site in this part of the transformation. Gardeners looking for funding should contact the Health Bureau, the Parks Department, and also look to independent sources like Rodale.

Gardens already growing in Bethlehem that may serve as models and resources for Greenway gardens include the Maze garden (all produce grown collectively, donated to New Bethany Ministries), the Victory House Garden (produce donated to the Neighborhood Center – Dave Porter contact), the Westside park garden (allotment gardens- Holly Heitmann contact), the MLK garden on Carlton Ave (started by Lehigh – allotment gardens – Dale Kochard contact) and the Calypso school garden (a garden as outdoor classroom).

So far, projects proposed for coming seasons include a garden near the Greenway that would be tended by children in the Neighborhood center's homework club and summer bridge program with collaboration from the YWCA. Maureen Lynch, a teacher at Holy Infancy, is working with Lehigh architecture classes to design an outdoor classroom including native plantings in the section of Greenway behind the school. Dave Porter hopes to expand already growing gardens in the Victory House G-way section.

These new garden projects have differing aims and needs, but can be connected through the following infrastructure:

• compost – establish centrally located compost that can double as demo

• greenhouse – shared propagation center (perhaps located behind Victory House)

• seed bank – we can begin saving more seed and holding regular seed and transplant exchanges

• classes – on seed saving, planning a season of gardening, cooking with the harvest, etc.

• growing protocol – establish "beyond" organic practices and share (for pest management, soil fertility, etc).

• food preparation + storage facilities – cold storage, demo kitchen (partner with LV Food Co-op?)

• farmer's market – we discussed moving this to the Greenway once phase I is completed – perhaps greenway gardeners could sell collectively

• interpretive trail – signage, tours

• the Landscape Framework – we all are interested in native, edible landscaping

• Parties + theater – regular events to encourage the use of gardens as a community gathering space

Here's some more ideas for themed gardens + different garden models: a peace garden (involve LEPOCO); allotment gardens (rented plots); science gardens (perform experiments – use to partner youth with college students); art gardens (sculpture); garden therapy (incl. Possibly very high raised beds for elderly); ethnic gardens (the tastes of Puerto Rico, of Bulgaria, of the homeland of Bethlehem residents); for-profit gardens, providing job training and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth, etc.

Other organizations and institutions not present but interested in supporting and partnering on gardening in the greenway projects include the CADC and Lehigh University. Others we should reach out to: LEPOCO peace center, Touchtone Theater, Hogar Crea, Unity house, New Bethany, Boys + Girls Club, the Fire Company, the NCC Culinary School.

Remember, gardens...

• can be beautiful AND productive

• feed people and save money

• can be playgrounds and classrooms

• grow leaders

• recycle "waste" materials (Waste = Food!)

• increase the lung capacity of the city

• give cultural heritage a place to thrive

• are fertile ground for healthy communities

Bethlehem needs a healthy green infrastructure to restore torn ecological and social fabric. A thriving network of gardens can be at our community's heart.

article: The Maze Community Garden, secret downtown oasis

The Maze Community Garden Annie Hasz 11/12/08

Welcome to the Maze Garden, a sun-filled niche on the corner of 3^rd and New Streets in Southside Bethlehem. This season a community formed around the gardens’ growing to fill the raised beds with vegetables and the space with conversation, laughter, parties, and music.

Of course community isn’t just a place you can visit. It is an active connection that, to be healthy, must be lived and renewed all the time. However, some places provide more fertile ground for the growth of community than others. Gardens and green spaces are typically more inspirational than the concrete jungle and the work of cultivating the Maze garden brought many lives together.

Designed by Lehigh University students and students at a Banana Factory summer art program, the garden contains a central pond, a maze of raised beds, and an outer cradle of perennial beds. This summer we brought this framework to life.

We started veggie seeds in a farmer friend’s greenhouse in March and then incubated the baby plants in Lehigh’s greenhouse. The vegetables we grew included sungold cherry tomatoes and Cherokee purple tomatoes; greens including red Russian kale, orach, spinach, collards, chard, bok choi and lettuces; hot and sweet peppers; eggplant, okra; beans; peas; corn; radishes; onions; and garlic. In early spring we planted perennial, edible species like pawpaw (a fruit-tree also known as the Michigan Banana), elderberry, high-bush blueberry, sweet crab apple, and strawberry. A grower east of Hellertown helped us fill in our herb wheel and southern beds with mint, echinacea, thyme, sage, parsley, nasturtium, hyssop, calendula, elecampane, and oregano.

From March until mid-November we held Thursday afternoon work parties to plant, harvest, weed, mulch, build, and more. Every Friday morning we took our harvest from the previous evening to the New Bethany Ministries Soup kitchen on West 3^rd Street. Every First Friday (weather-permitting) we hosted a garden party that featured potluck food, the tunes of a neighborhood old-school DJ, presentations by community groups like the Lehigh Valley Food Co-op, hula-hoopers, and break-dancers.

We in the Maze garden community are inspired by the principles of permaculture, a system of perennial agriculture developed from the wisdom of traditional cultures and ecological ethics and design. We believe that Bethlehem needs a healthy green infrastructure to restore torn ecological and social fabric. A thriving a network of gardens should be at our community’s heart.

interview: Dan & Ashley talk about ALIVE

This past summer 2008, two young Bethlehemians, Dan and Ashley, set out to create an 8-week summer program called Southside Expression.

The camp was based on an education curriculum called The Living Values Education Program, and was created by the Association for Living Values Education (ALIVE), an international, non-profit association of educators from around the world. According to their website, ALIVE is supported by UNESCO, sponsored by a wide variety of organizations, institutions and individuals, and is being implemented in all continents of the world. The basis of the curriculum promotes community and civic engagement by instilling a twelve core living values system that promotes peace, proactive involvement in community issues, and non-violent action. The twelve living values are: Unity, Simplicity, Responsibility, Happiness, Humility, Honesty, Respect, Peace, Love, Tolerance, Cooperation, and Freedom. You can find out more information about the program by going to their website at www.livingvalues.net.
All of the activities in the camp including poetry, stories, art, and role-playing were based around understanding and embodying the core values.
Southside Expression was sponsored and/or supported by St. Peter's Lutheran Church, from a stipend provided by Brockel Middle School, and The Spine, a statewide program established to bring children's PSSS scores up (the middle school equivalent of SAT's).
Though Brockel Middle School was the main supporter and participant of the program, there were a total of ten middle schools who's students were involved. During the eight-week course, the students were taught the importance of community action and active engagement in public policy. The group took time to discuss what some of the biggest problems in the Bethlehem community were and chose one issue they wanted to see positively changed. They decided to take on litter in the south-side Bethlehem community and organized projects to go out and clean the streets of Bethlehem. This hands-on community experience allowed them to meet many members of the local community, discuss the focus of the project, and taught them the meaning behind building a community network. They also received some notoriety for their deeds by having articles written about them in a few local newspapers, including the Morning Call and Express Times.
As the summer program moves further into hindsight, Ashley and Dan plan to continue to facilitate the development of community networking and build a community sanctuary focused around creating a culture for peace. Their next move is to create a non-profit organization based on non-violent action. They intend next to organize a fundraiser in the near future to develop the non-profit and other projects to help aid the youth in the greater Bethlehem region. They are presently looking for local people interested in becoming board members for the non-profit, as an active board is a must in order for them to be eligible for non-profit status. So, keep an eye out for Dan and Ashley's next series of projects set to materialize by the spring of 2009.

GREEN SMOOTHIE RECIPE!

i asked gary for a favorite raw recipe to share, and this is what he told me:
a 1/4 of a bunch of your favorite green thing (any leafy green vegetable! could be kale, chard, collards, parsley, lettuce, cilantro, basil, mustard)
water - like 1/2 cup
bananas (frozen makes smoothie thicker)
dates, pitted & chopped into chunks
maybe some raw agave or maple syrup

puree and enjoy!