Discardia Mending Day – May 11th

Mending Day is back!
Join Discardia on Saturday, May 11th at the Monroe Co. Public Library, room 1A, from 12-4pm.

Mending Day is a free monthly mending workshop. Sewing machines and menders will be available to assist or do the mending for people.
Bring your clothing in need of small repairs and we will do our best to return your clothing to a wearable state.   Look for us the second Saturday of each month.
This event is created by Discardia, a project of the Center for Sustainable Living.

BOGA Plant Swap – May 11th

Happy May!  The Bloomington Organic Gardeners Association (BOGA) is hosting it’s annual Spring plant swap.  All plants and seeds are FREE.  Bring plants to share or stop by to adopt some for your garden.

DATE:  Saturday, May 11, 2013
TIME: 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
LOCATION:  Bloomington Farmers’ Market
NOTES:  Native plants, tree saplings, and seeds are especially encouraged but all non-invasive plants are welcome.

Clips Volunteers Needed May 31st

Volunteers are still needed for the 2013 Clips Beer & Film Festival on Friday, May 31st.  This is one of the main fundraisers for the CSL and we still need 19 volunteers.   If you are over 21 and willing to help, please fill out a temporary bartender application and return it by mail to event organizers Steve and Zoe Dean at 631 Timber Ridge Road, Spencer, IN, 47460 or by e-mail at sdean@bluemarble.net or by fax (please call first) at 812-829-9238.  We need to submit all the paperwork on Monday, May 13th.  All volunteers will receive 3 free raffle tickets for the bicycle drawing, a “Film Tour” t-shirt, and New Belgium’s Beer as a thank you from the CSL.   Thanks for your help!

Join us at the Trashion Show April 21st!

While the Bloomington community will host a number of events in celebration  of Earth Day, none will be quite like the 2013 Trashion Refashion Show,  which is set to take place 7:00pm on April 21st at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

The annual show, now in its fourth year, is a community fashion event  that challenges designers of all levels to change the landscape of the  fashion industry with designs made from fabrics and other materials  rescued from the landfill. The show’s mission is not just about  diversion, however. Raising awareness about throw-away culture and its  deleterious environmental effects is another key message of the show.

The event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased at the BCT Box Office or at any Bloomingfoods location. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at  the door, and $10 for those under 18 and all students. For more  information about the show, please visit our website: http://bloomingtontrashion.org.

20th Anniversary Celebration – April 6th

Join us on Saturday April 6th to celebrate our birthday and hear about our projects current, past and future.  We will gather at the Monroe County Public Library Rooms 1B & 1C from 1:30 to 3:30 with snacks and beverages. Bring your memories from the past and ideas for the future.  Where do you see the Center for Sustainable Living in another 20 years? 

Clips of Faith Returns to Bloomington – Friday, May 31st

New Belgium Brewing’s “Clips” Beer and Film Tour Announces 2013 Schedule

Mark Your Calendars Early for the Best Beer and Film Festival of the Summer

Ft. Collins, CO – March 5, 2013 – New Belgium Brewing, maker of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a wide variety of award-winning beers, is once again taking its beer-toting, film-traveling, nonprofit-benefiting show on the road and they just may be coming to a city near you! Clips is a national beer and film festival where guests can try beers from New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series, along with some popular classics, and screen short films made by New Belgium fans. While you sit under the stars and sip beers, the proceeds benefit a local nonprofit that is working to improve the community at each stop. This year marks the fourth season for Clips, which has raised more than $200,000 for nonprofits nationwide.

The first date will be in Bloomington on Friday, May 31st in Bryan Park.  The Center for Sustainable Living will again host the event as a fundraiser in collaboration with several of our projects including the Bloomington Bike Project.   To see highlights from films featured in last year’s tour and to get more details on each of the city stops this year, visit www.newbelgiumclips.com.  If you’d like to volunteer at the event or help sell raffle tickets for a great Fat Tire bike, send us an e-mail at csloffice@gmail.com.

“We are traveling to and working with great cities. We have booked stellar venues and we get to work with inspiring philanthropic partners who are doing great things. The film submissions we’ve already seen have us excited to get back out on the road for another season,” said Christie Catania, Clips Manager-at-Large. “Mark the date of your local show on your calendar, and if you’re a filmmaker, it’s not too late to submit your film!”

Clips is still accepting submissions through April 15 at www.newbelgiumclips.com. New Belgium selects approximately 20 films each season. All chosen entries for the 2013 season will receive a custom gift from New Belgium and screenings along the entire tour. Approximately 16,400 attendees attended the Clips beer and film festival last year alone.  Films must be short (less than 5 minutes) and family friendly with preference given to films about Craft Beer, Advocacy/Activism, Humor, Culture, Adventure, Art, and Fun!

Explore Peace by Creating a Mandala on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Join fellow community volunteers to create your own mandala for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 21st.  Express your playful exploration into the connection between  peace and the environment. Anyone over 10 years old can fabricate a mandala that will be displayed in City Hall during the MLK 40 Days of Peace, and be part of a community stepping stone for a large public mandala.  Come to Showers City Hall at either 1:00 or 3:00 Monday, January 21, for one of two sessions.

A mandala is a geometrical design made to symbolically represent the cosmos from the human perspective, and originates from the Sanskrit word “circle”. We will use materials from nature and scraps provided for you or you may bring your own, for our artistic creations. We’ll begin with an introduction to what mandalas are, and end with your creation being photographed for the display. Your masterpiece will then be yours to take.

Join us at City Hall on Monday afternoon, Jan 21 at 1:00 or 3:00 for refreshments and a lively get-together to exercise your creativity!  Fore more information, contact Gail Hale at gailgayerhale@gmail.com or 812.360.8560.

Discardia Mending Day – This Saturday

WHAT: Discardia Mending Day
WHEN: Saturday, Jan.12th, 12-4pm
WHERE: TEACH room at the Trained Eye Arts Center, 615 N. Fairview St., Bloomington, IN 47404
FEE: Free

On Mending Day, all are welcome to bring their mending projects to the Trained Eye Arts Center’s TEACH room and Discardia members will help you to mend your clothing or do it for you. This is also an opportunity to learn how to sew or work on any other project involving clothing. Sewing machines and supplies will be provided.  Learn more about Discardia at http://www.discardia.org/ or on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discardia-A-ReBoutique/459819170702651?fref=ts

The Angel is Here!

Thank you to everyone who helped support the Angel Project!  The Angel is now in place on the B-Line Trail at Auto Heaven (Allen Street).  The construction of the angel was a collaborative effort with many community members donating license plates and other scrap materials as well as folks who helped assemble and install the sculpture.

Bitter Seeds: Film and Discussion January 5th

Bitter Seeds, a documentary film made by Micha Peled, will be shown at the Monroe County Public Library on January 5^th  2013 at 1:30pm, sponsored by the Center for Sustainable living.