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Update On The West County Relief Fund

November 1, 2011

The WCRF has raised over $46,000.  We are still accepting donations and raising funds by selling the “Heart of 10 Towns” t-shirts and by hosting concerts like the one coming up this Friday evening, November 4, at Memorial Hall.  Call or stop by Mocha Maya’s for tickets.

We’ve been gathering information on how other communities have handled their disaster relief funds and are working on an application form.  We are now creating the committee which will finalize the form and internal procedures for evaluating requests for funds.  We’d like to have one person from each of the 10 towns in our service area on the committee.  Our first choice will be to have someone who is familiar with the extent and types of damages people and businesses have experienced in his or her town.

The committee will be seeking to gain an understanding of the big picture of the damages around West County, the extent to which assistance that FEMA, MEMA, and other non-profits has or will address the issues, and how we should use our limited funds to maximum effect.

If you’re interested in being appointed to the committee or wish to nominate someone else, please call Will Flanders, President of Central Connecticut River Valley Institute, the fiscal sponsor of the WCRF, at 413-625-2525.

To Our Customers & Friends

We opened Café Martin on January 30, 2003. In these 9 years we have baked a lot of focaccia and made a lot of soups. We have served many lunches, brunches and dinners to a lot of happy people. We have gained a lot of friends and gotten a lot of attention. We have had write-ups in many publications; local, national and even international! We have weathered many setbacks including a bad economy, high gas prices and many cost increases including energy, food, rent and labor. But what happened on August 28th has forced us to make some changes.

Hurricane Irene caused severe flooding to our other business (West End Pub) which caused damage to the building and its contents. This has been very costly to repair and replace what was lost. Because it was caused by flood there is no insurance coverage, FEMA is set up to help individuals with homes.. not businesses. This has forced us to make a very difficult decision.

Since we own the building in which the pub is located and since Café Martin is on a lease which is set to expire at the end of this year, the decision has become obvious.

Café Martin will close at the end of this year as this lease expires. We will continue to operate the West End Pub through the Winter but we will take this as an opportunity to make changes and upgrades to that space over the slow season. Spring will bring something new incorporating many of Café Martin’s best features and menu items.

We thank all of you for your business the past nine years and we hope to see you on the other side of the river. Thank You.

Paul and Marty

11th Iron Bridge Dinner Video

View video and read more.

11th Iron Bridge Dinner Video

This video was produced and directed by Kris Badertscher of Kbest Productions for the SFABA. She generously donated her time and talent to produce this outstanding video for us. It's especially nice to see it right now, because the dinner was just one week before the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

Please have a look at the video, pass it on to your friends, and visit Kris' Vimeo page to enjoy more of her smart and stylish videos for artists, environmental activists, and small businesses.

Shelburne Falls Area Business Association Organizes West County Relief Fund For Those Impacted By Tropical Storm Irene

The Shelburne Falls Area Business Association has established the West County Relief Fund to receive donations from the public to be used for relief from the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene. Funds will be given out to individuals, families, and businesses to fill needs not met by funds from Federal, State and non-profit sources.

Shelburne Falls and the West County area are still very much here - please support our towns, families, and businesses by coming to visit and patronizing our shops, galleries, and restaurants.

A Body of Work - Henna, Photography and Yoga

Lindel Hart, Owner/Director of Hart Yoga

For the last few months, I have been working with henna artist Kelly Flaherty and photographer Paul Teeling on a project tentatively called, A Body of Work, which examines the intersection of three art forms -- henna body art, photography and yoga.

A Body of Work represents the culmination of a lifetime of creative expression. In a literal sense the human body is a canvas onto which is painted a design concept. But the body is also a container for all the creative work that has led each of us to this moment in our lives and our careers. For me as a yoga teacher and practitioner, the human body is a work of art in and of itself, constantly changing and evolving, beautiful in all its imperfections. The body tells its own story.
 

It is one thing to document the body, to document painting or drawing or other forms of visual art. But when the art is drawn on the body; when the story of a life is written on the body, albeit abstractly; when movement and stillness are expressed in photography and videography, it goes beyond documentation. It is this confluence of yoga, henna designs, photography and video as an expression of three artists that is truly exciting to me.

Since my first henna design by Kelly, I was intrigued by this form of temporary artistic expression and wanted to explore it further. I half-jokingly asked Kelly if she had ever done a full-body application of henna, and although she hadn’t, she was eager to try it. We knew early on that if we were to engage in such a huge undertaking, it had to be documented. Paul’s idea was to go beyond merely documenting a process or an end result; he proposed creating artistic photographs and a video that will stand on its own as a work of art.
 

We had designated a week in mid-July as our intense work week, and I cancelled three days of classes at the studio. We transformed Hart Yoga from a yoga studio into a photo studio on Monday afternoon, loading in lights, backdrops, scrims and all the other equipment needed for the shoot. Even though we faced several obstacles which could have derailed the project, we persevered and A Body of Work unfolded during the week with amazing results.
 

Over three days of application, Kelly created spectacular henna designs that felt simultaneously modern and tribal, organic and architectural. Paul shot photo and video footage of me prior to the henna application, as well as during and after – seven days of shooting in all. In the crunch period mid-week we were at the studio for 17 or more hours a day, and yes, it was exhausting. But the end result was thrilling!
 

This, however, is just the beginning. Paul plans to create a multimedia installation, including the video he envisioned, as well as still photographic images. My goal is to create a book that explores the intertwining of these art forms through essays, reflections and images. Would we do it again? I can speak only for myself, but I would do it without hesitation! It’s a powerful collaboration with two amazing artists, and I loved working with them.
 

Check out the Hart Yoga blog -- http://hartyoga.blogspot.com/ -- for a more detailed narration and more photographs of A Body of Work, and visit www.hartyoga.com for more information about Hart Yoga classes, workshops and special events.
 

Don't Eat Lunch Alone now in Greenfield, Easthampton, Springfield - and soon in Brattleboro, VT

August 3, 2011

Don't Eat Lunch Alone (DELA), which started right here in Shelburne Falls at Generation Sustain (now the Bridge of Flowers Business Center), is now being held twice a month in Greenfield (2nd and 4th Fridays), Easthampton (2nd and 4th Thursdays) and Springfield (1st and 3rd Thursdays). DELA is free, open networking for the business, creative, professional and civic communities. Bring a brown bag lunch or buy lunch (Greenfield and Easthampton) and make some new friends and connections. 

Don't Eat Lunch Alone is sponsored by SFABA members Rick Feldman of Ostberg Financial in Northampton and Daniel Lieberman of Daniel Lieberman Digital in Shelburne. For more information, visit http://incommon.squarespace.com/dont-eat-lunch-alone/ or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 413 489 1818

Construction begins on Massachusetts High Speed Network

This is great news, but it doesn't finish the job of bringing high-speed internet access to everybody in the community who wants it. "Last Mile" service is needed to do that, and only Wired West is committed to the task of completing the job. Visit http://www.wired-west.net for more information. 

Shelburne Falls Yoga Becomes a Kripalu Affiliate Studio

Four busy months have passed since I stepped into my new role as director at Shelburne Falls Yoga and many new programs and classes are underway! We are expanding as students both new and old come to experience the variety of offerings here at the studio. It has been my mission as director not only to offer the highest quality yoga instruction with dedicated and experienced teachers but also to share the benefits of yoga with the wider community through children’s programs, special classes and events, and free community workshops.

Call Out To Artists - Logo Design Contest

CALLING ALL ARTISTS TO ENTER THE: “WE COMPOST!” LOGO DESIGN CONTEST