events calendar

The Good People Good Times Music festival at Nashville’s Valley Branch Retreat will feature a wide variety of performers, including Howard, Lewis and Lovins, Strange Arrangement, Zmick, The Coop, The New Old Cavalry, Fresh Hops, and Glostik Willy. Vending and water/electric sites can be reserved for $40; see website for details.

May 18-20. See website for tickets.

The Switchyard Park Property master plan design team will be at the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market to host an informal, drop-in, public session for the public to share ideas for the development of the switchyard park property, located at the south end of the B-Line Trail just north of Country Club.

The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market is located at 401 N. Morton St. next to City Hall – Showers Building. Locally grown produce, annual and perennial plants, and a variety of prepared foods are available. Purchase your food directly from farmers and ask them questions about their products. Local entertainment adds to the shopping as well as socializing experience. Tantalizing scents and the inviting atmosphere may cause you to make the Market a weekend tradition.

On May 19, 2012 Bloomington will experience what Lemonade Day is all about. Prior to this day, kids and their mentors are engaging in business planning, stand building, taste testing and more—to create the most successful lemonade business possible. Across America, kids are excited about the prospect of selling their lemonade and then getting to spend some, save some and share some with charity.

Some lemonade stands will be run by families, some by school groups and still others by various clubs. Bloomingfoods is a sponsor of Lemonade Day and is happy to be working with one such club, Blooming Kids for Kindness (BK4K). This informal group of families has the purpose of encouraging their kids to care about their communities and believe that they can make a difference no matter how small they are. BK4K will be quenching the thirst of Truckload Sale consumers at Bloomingfoods East in the afternoon.

Visit website or email for further information.

An all day scrapbooking crop will be taking place Saturday, May 19th, from 9am-7pm at the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church on West Third, Bloomington. The cost is $30 which includes lunch, dinner and door prizes. All proceeds are going to the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, for breast cancer research, education and mammogram screenings. Never Scrapbooked before? Start getting your family memories in order and/or learn how to start your 1st scrapbook or continue to work on ones
you’ve already started, make new friends and help raise much needed funds to find a cure for Breast Cancer.

Please contact Bonnie Waters at (812)824-6940 for complete registration details.

New exhibits at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center for the month of May include work by Ben Pines, Yang Chen, Angela Hendrix-Petry, and Nate Johnson.

Figure studies by painter Ben Pines meditate on the state of relationships in our modern world; photographer Yang Chen elevates the tiniest details of spring to highlight their effervescent and ephemeral beauty; Angela Hendrix-Petry’s work is described as “An offering in celebration of an ordinary life lived with eyes and heart wide open”; Nate Johnson pays tribute to the musical and cultural figures who inspire and move him.

The exhibit will be open for viewing during regular gallery hours until May 27.

What does jazz look like? Can you see a symphony in your mind’s eye? This art exhibit showcases the watercolor paintings of older adults living at Sterling House, who paint to music. Lotus banners created by Bell Trace residents will also be exhibited. Bell Trace artists draw their inspiration from Alabama artist Thornton Dial and from the quilts made by residents of Gee’s Bend.

Exhibit runs daily from May 1 to May 31. Regular library hours.

Raymond and Laura Wielgus Gallery of the Arts of Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas, Focalpoint, third floor Locally produced cotton and indigo dyes continue to play prominent roles in West African myths, beliefs, and ritual practices, in spite of the availability of inexpensive fabric woven and printed in factories. Through this most personal means of expression, West Africans use their indigo-dyed cotton wraps to communicate a wide range of social, political, and religious messages. Visitors to this small installation will gain insight into the meanings of those messages as well as an understanding of the technologies, innovations, and marketing strategies employed by West African weavers and dyers.

Recurring daily through July 1.

This free, interactive workshop will help you learn to manage a checking account, develop and maintain a budget, and identify and work towards your financial goals.

This workshop is sponsored by Bank On Bloomington and the Financial Stability Alliance for South Central Indiana and provides Bank On Bloomington participants with a certificate of completion. The workshop is offered twice a month at the Monroe County Public Library. Workshops are held on the first Tuesday of the month from 6:00-7:30pm and on the third Saturday from 10:00-11:30am.

A special open house fundraiser for Japan will take place on Saturday, May 19, from 10 am to 2 pm, at the Zen Sanshinji Temple, offering instruction in the Japanese arts of bento, sushi, and furoshiki. Learn how to roll sushi, learn tips to create a healthy bento lunch box, and practice the art of furoshiki, eco-friendly and elegant Japanese fabric wrapping. Workshop prices are between $10-20, with a variable price depending on the workshop and the size of the bento container you choose. Bring your own bento container (no larger than 25 oz) if you have one.

Children are welcome if you have another adult supervisor during your workshop, with kid-friendly games and an origami table available. Japanese handcrafts will also be on sale until 3pm. This event takes place at the Sanshinji Temple, 1726 S. Olive Street, and all proceeds go to Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief efforts. Cash or check only, reservation recommended. Photos below by Michiko Owaki. To register, email michiko.owaki.smile[at]mac[dot]com