Southwark/Queen Village Community Garden
Minutes
September 15, 2015 @ 7:00 PM
1. Welcome. John V. welcomed members and called for approval of the August minutes. The August minutes posted on the website were approved.
2. Treasurer’s Report. Isabelle read Suzanne’s report, which included the balance of funds as of the end of August. In September, Pauline was paid for pollinator garden expenses, and the money received from honey extraction, honey sales, and the Heifer collections for July and August was deposited.
3. Chairs’ Report, Part I.
a. Clean Up is Saturday, September 19 at 10:00 am. Thom will put a list of tasks in the shed Friday night.
b. Thom contacted the water department about the water pressure problem and the water meter, which is not working. One inspector from the water department came out and determined there wasn’t any leak in the pipes in the garden. This inspector said it’s possible when the department did work on Christian Street that a water valve was turned off, and he will look into it. Another inspector told Thom that it’s possible that the pressure problem is connected to the meter problem and he would look into it. Thom has not heard back from anyone to date. He will continue to contact the water department because we want to get the meter fixed before the water is turned off for the season on November 2.
4. Chair’s Report, Part II.
a. Hal Rosner of Schectner’s checked the trees in the garden and will be sending John his estimate. Mr. Rosner said the magnolia tree is doing well, but the cherry tree has about 1 year left. At some point, we need to discuss who will take it down.
b. The holiday party is set for December 2 at Old Swedes Church.
c. There will be two clean ups for the BBQ: the night before and the morning of.
d. Reminders:
(1) If you have crops on your plot that you won’t use, please donate them to City Harvest. All you have to do is send Ed or Janice an email with your plot number (or location) and specific instructions as to what you want to donate and on which Mondays. City Harvest will then come to your plot and pick the crops.
(2) In preparation for next month’s discussion on the bylaws, read the current bylaws and past bylaws (we have them back to 2007) which are posted on our Website.
(3) Weed paths next to your plot and trim back any plants that are growing beyond the plot borders. Do this regularly. Many plants have grown so far into the paths that it’s difficult to walk by them. Before the BBQ, we will trim them up if you haven’t already done so.
(4) Wood chips. We’ve made calls to our usual sources. If you know of anyone cutting down a tree, please contact John.
(5) If you need a copy of the garden map contact John or Isabelle.
5. Marilyn introduced Ellen Wurster who is helping Marilyn with her plot.
6. BBQ Update.
a. Shanna reported she has tickets. The date/time is Saturday, October 3, from 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM. See her after the meeting tonight or tomorrow night from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Adults $15, children $7.
b. Brian wants to have a meeting to discuss the food. Anyone interested should come to the Second Street Tap at 2nd & Dickinson Sts., Monday, September 21, at 8:00 PM. Menu will include burgers, hot dogs, ribs, brisket, lamb, pork sausages, and oysters, and vegetables.
c. Volunteers are still needed to bring side dishes and desserts, serve food, set up, etc. Shanna passed around a sign up sheet. Linda Witt will call volunteers to remind them.
d. Lisa Z has volunteered to set up a craft table for kids attending the BBQ.
e. Items needed still needed: paper & plastic products – cups, dishes, napkins. Can folks donate what they have around the house? Put them in the shed. Also needed – utensils, chairs, tables. Bring them the night before the BBQ and put them on the patio.
7. By-laws Committee Update.
Shanna reported that the committee is meeting tomorrow to discuss a few minor issues and then will be done. Recommendations will be made at the October garden meeting.
8. Special Reports:
a. City Harvest. Ed reported that 930 lbs. has been harvested this year through August, compared to 1,080 lbs. for the same time last year. Winter crops were planted and are coming in. Harvesting will continue until the Monday before Thanksgiving. If you need ideas on what to plant at this time of year, see the City Harvest beds. The beds have been rebuilt and more dirt is coming soon. City Harvest thanks everyone at the garden for their support. Call or email Ed or Janice if you want to donate crops from your plot. See 4.d.(1) above.
b. Deed Update. Barbara S reported that the 8-page Deed to the garden is on foam board and the pages are starting to peel off. She brought it to Staples but they couldn’t do anything with it. She’ll try Silicon Gallery on 3rd St. in Old City. She got a quote of $100 to scan it. She’ll provide an update in November.
c. Bees. No report this month as neither Carolyn nor Scott were present.
9. Additional Topic:
a. Renegade Theater Company requested use of the garden for a one-night performance art show in Spring 2016. This year they have a show in FDR Park for the Fringe Festival. John met with the Director Mike Durkin who toured the garden.
The company would charge admission for its show and expects about 40 to 60 people. The show would include a number of stations around the garden where performers would do readings and the audience is invited to walk around the garden from one station to another and listen to the readings. There would be a mixologist present making cocktails and the company would like to use herbs or other ingredients from the garden in the cocktails. The company has insurance and it would provide a port-o-john. The show would not be open to all garden members, but the garden could have a few of “chaperones” at the show.
Isabelle asked if we would be setting a precedent for outside groups to use the garden to make money. Linda noted that Renegade Theater Company is an arts group, that a show by them in the garden would not be the first time the garden was used by an outside artistic group and the previous time was the Blue Dot project.
Mr. Durkin couldn’t be at tonight’s meeting, but John will ask him to come to the October meeting to answer any questions members may have.
The following comments by Mr. Durkin and John on this proposal also appeared at the bottom of this month’s meeting agenda:
From Mike Durkin of Renegade Company:
The Renegade Company, known for creating site-specific performances of iconic works of art is aiming to present a one night pop-up performance event. Renegade is embarking on a three year journey exclusively presenting works outdoors to explore the relationship between nature and the body, sites include: parks, swimming holes, rivers, cemeteries, farms, and gardens. We never treat any performance location as a venue, we treat it more as a partnership where the environment contributes to the story we are telling. We have worked with churches, parks, museums, and cemeteries to use the history, environment, and culture in the work we are presenting. We will be looking to utilize 4 ingredients in the garden (TBD) and creating performance works and cocktails around them. This endeavor will be the second partnership with cocktail purveyors Spirit Forward. The first was a sold out pop-up Stories and Spirits, where we creating 4 cocktails inspired by classic novels and had readings of the novel. Spirit Forward is run by Dan Lan Hamm, head bartender at A.Bar in Rittenhouse Square. We are interested in spotlighting the garden and reimagining how we can use green spaces in the neighborhood.
From John’s Interaction with Mike:
How many performances? One, in later spring.
How many people will there be in the garden for a performance? Between 40-60 people
What kind of use of the garden will be needed prior to the garden for rehearsal, set-up, etc.? Set up would occur two hours before the party. We would use that time for rehearsal as well. I would need to walk through the garden a couple of times just to get a sense of how to stage the show.
How might you use the garden? There would be maybe 4-5 stations. One where our mixologist would create cocktails inspired by the garden. The other stations, would be set where performances/readings would take place, again inspired by the garden, plants and gardening. The audience would walk about the garden, experience the space and performances. Taking the the uniquiness of the garden within the city.
Insurance? We use Domenick and Associates.
Port-a-John? No problem for them to get.
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The meeting adjourned at 7:55 PM.
Minutes by Isabelle Buonocore, Recording Secretary