Directory - Take Two!

The event that you've all been waiting for.... (drum roll, please).... We present to you the 2nd edition of the Directory of Local Independent Businesses! That's right, folks, it has gone to print and will be rolling off the press next week!

Here's the catch - Jamee, Elizabeth and I need help in distributing these things! We have boxes and boxes to get out to the tri-country area! We will be doing a mass distribution on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7th! And here's where you come in... we need as many people as possible to help out with the deliveries! As incentive, we will provide bagels/coffee in the morning before we head out and Taco Boy Downtown will be throwing an after-party in the afternoon for all volunteers!

What better way to spend a Saturday morning?! (Unless you're at the Farmer's Market, of course!)

If you're interested in helping out, email me at amy@lowcountrylocalfirst.org or call the office at 843-740-5444!

Great Saturday at the Downtown Farmer's Market!

I wanted to say thanks for all of you who stopped by at the Farmer's Market this weekend! Jamee and I braved the morning chill to join all the wonderful farmers/cooks/artisans/etc. for a great Saturday at Marion Square!

As the holidays are approaching, keep in mind the Holiday Market on Saturday, December 5th!

Call for Volunteers!

Interested in doing good by your community? Have some spare time on your hands? Need some community services hours for school? Well LLF is your solution! We are busy planning for our 3rd Annual "Buy Local Week" during the first week in December and we will definitely be in need of some awesome volunteers! Some volunteering opportunties are as follows:

• Helping local business members paint their windows for our "Paint the Town Local" Window Decorating Contest


• Ticket collection at our Independent Movie Night


• Helping out at our "Buy Local, Be Local Bash" (huge party at the end of Buy Local Week)


• Distribute our 2nd printed edition of our Directory of Local Independent Businesses (sometime in November with party to follow at Taco Boy Downtown)


• Website Maintenance

If interested (I promise you won't be dissapointed!), please contact me (Amy) at amy@lowcountrylocalfirst.org.

Summary of Events/Mark Your Calendars!

There have been some great events going down in Chucktown these past few weeks.. and some great events to come! I figured I'd give a quick synopsis of how we've been involved...

October LLF Business Member Meeting at the wonderful Caviar & Bananas:

We had a great turn-out; business members old and new showed up to support the cause! A special thanks to Margaret for being a gracious host. We had presentations by Jonathon of Blue Bicycle Book Shop, Brady of HOOK, Murray of Appalachian Springs Water, and Margaret of Caviar & Bananas.

The 29th Annual Taste of Charleston: Sunday, October 11th

We were lucky enough to be invited to participate in this great event. This was my first time out to Boone Hall Plantation - it is absolutely fabulous! Great food, great people, great music in a breath-taking setting. A special thanks to Rachael, our amazing intern, for coming out to work the event as well!

Lowcountry Field Feast: Sunday, October 11th

I was unable to attend this event, however, Jamee and Elizabeth were able to represent! The feast was held at the Keegan Filion farm and was hosted by Marc & Annie Filion. Mike Lata, the renowned chef from FIG, prepared the meal. The event was held as a fundraiser for LLF and as an example of living/eating/enjoying local!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

- Saturday, October 17th - Downtown Farmer's Market: We will have a table at the market this weekend. Come on down and get some goodies from your local farmers, artisans and businesses! Stop by and chat!

- Wednesday, October 21st - Trident College's Community Activities Fair: I will venture over to Trident for the first time to attempt to convince their students why we're awesome and give them information about how they can become involved!

- Sunday, November 8th - Music on the Farm: Benefiting the Adaptive Gardens of the Low Country, this event will be held at Thornhill Farm in McClellanville, 10882 Highway 17 N, 2 miles on the right after the blinking yellow light. The event will be held from 12pm-5pm. Music by five local bands; hay rides, face painting and a jump castle for the kids; barbeque, oysters and booze for the adults! Buy tickets at: http://www.localmusiconthefarm.com/.

-Sunday, November 8th - Legare Farm's Fall Harvest Dinner: Proceeds from the dinner will go towards Legare Farm Educational Foundation. Celebrate the fall harvest with a "Meet the Farmer" social followed by dinner! The dinner will consist of dishes prepared from Legare Farm's beef, pork and fall harvest vegetables. Check out the link above for more details!

-Tuesday, December 1st-Sunday, December 6th: LLF's Buy Local Week: That's right, our second annual Buy Local Week! We'll be celebrating and promoting our local businesses for the entire week with a bunch of great events! Stay tuned for more details...

Welcome to the South!

I have the pleasure of introducing you to our new LLF Sustainable Agriculture Director! Check her out...

Name: Elizabeth Beaks

Background: Formally trained at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. She has spent the last 10 years learning and collaborating with others interested in cultivating a vibrant, local food system in the San Francisco Bay area. She has coordinated garden-based nutrition education programs in the public school system, piloted farmers markets in low income neighborhoods, worked on farms, and managed farmer's markets! (WOW)

Elizabeth has family in South Carolina and grew up going to Kiawah Island!

Sidenote #1: Elizabeth just DROVE here from the San Francisco Bay area with a friend and Kimdog (her Golden Retriever and trusted companion, who will also be joining us at the office on a daily basis!) Apparently it was quite the treat for Elizabeth to have the opportunity to jump into a WARM ocean once she had arrived...

Sidenote #2: Elizabeth is excited to meet the Lowcountry community of growers, producers, cooks and eaters and grow some innovative local projects together. She is also interested in any tips for sowing her garden patch in this SC climate.

So join me in welcoming our newest member! I know she has great things in store for LLF members and the Lowcountry community! YEA ELIZABETH!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

It's been almost a month since the 10% Shift Launch Party (time flies when you're having fun)... and LLF has gained a number of new local business members! Log on to our website to check them out!

LLF has also had the privilege to partner up with Michael Furlinger at Terrace Theater for the showing of the documentary "Food, Inc." If you missed the opening showing on Monday, check out the Terrace's website for further showings... It runs through Thursday, August 13th. We promise you won't look at your food the same way again!

Another reminder to keep SHIFTING! It's amazing the things that can be accomplished if we decide to dedicate ourselves and work together... (hence, the title of this blog.. a quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead). So continue to support your local businesses!! Also, keep an eye out for the second edition of our Directory of Local Independent Businesses. We hope to have them printed and ready to distribute mid-fall.

Your partner in localization....

A Cornucopia of Thanks!

Once again, it's been quite a while since my last post - but I have a good excuse! I was busy shifting!! And I wanted say many thanks to a number of people...

1. Thanks to all those who came out to our Press Conference at Marion Square!
2. Thanks to everyone who has been on board with the 10% Shift from the beginning and all those who continue to support us!
3. Thanks to our WONDERFUL volunteers who helped out for the 10% Shift Launch Party (you all know who you are... but a special shout-out to Christine Osborne at Wonder Works).
4. Thanks to Noisette for letting us use the great space!
5. Thanks to all of the local businesses, Part-Time Heroes (the band), the food vendors, Palmetto Brewery, Firefly Vodka and Wood Aesthetics for making the party a success.
6. Thanks to over 500 of you who attended the event!

Now, the important thing to remember is to keep shifting! Remember to use the 10% Coupon at participating businesses, and if you haven't already, SIGN THE PLEDGE!