Chen Arts Group Meets This Weekend

Do you just have a decidely artistic bent and a desire to connect with other artists?  Or, are you looking for a way to hang out with and support the creative class and would like to volunteer somehow?

Allentown's increasingly discussed emerging arts scene, organized by the Chen Arts Group, will be gathering this weekend this Saturday, Feb. 28th at the House of Chen on Hamilton Street between 7th and 8th (South Side) at 6:30 p.m. for dinner and discussion.

I'm going to be away, so cannot attend.  Their meetings are always interesting.  Go and check it out.   Seriously, all are welcome.

If you're going to go, they need a head count so the restaurant knows how many people to be ready for.  So send an email to:  chenarts.into@gmail.com

Pocket Park Design Meeting for Old Allentown

Has the recent warm weather drawn you outside, got you thinking about Allentown's fabulous park system and public space and stirred your interest in participating in the public process for a new pocket park?  I thought so!  

Well, next week the City of Allentown will be hosting a public input session to solicit comments on a Site Master Plan for the former PPL Parking Lot located in the 200 block of North 9th Street.  This is not the first public meeting on this project, but it's the first time it's been mentioned here.

The session will be held on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 7 p.m. at the St. Michael's Lutheran Church at 9th and Turner Streets.  Residents of the City of Allentown are invited and encouraged to attend the session to review the pocket park design and provide comments on the proposed design elements.

Chestnut Street Community Garden Reaches Milestone

With snow still on the frozen ground, citizens and community partners gathered together at the Chestnut Street Community Garden in Allentown's 1st Ward, to celebrate the completion of an important element of the project today, the garden shed.

Phyllis Alexander of Weed and Seed, surrounded and supported by various community partners, expressed gratitude to all who have worked on this project and cut the ribbon on a new fence.

To learn more about the garden or get involved , you are invited to attend the next meeting of the First Ward Community Group, Tuesday evening, February 10th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Weed and Seed Offices at 10 Pump Place in Bucky Boyle Park.  For more information, call:  610-437-7679.

For the WFMZ video of today's announcement, click here.

Looking for some excitement?

Wondering what to do with any given span of free time, either a few hours tonight, tomorrow afternoon, next Sunday or at some point in the future?  

Your search is over.  You need only to check out the Special Events Calendar with the City of Allentown's website, your link to excitement.  

Here you will find interesting arts, cultural and community activities to shake off your winter blues, explore your creativity, or meet new people.  Check out gallery tours, movies, concerts, kids activities, art classes and workshops.

Bookmark this link and check it often, because fun new events in Allentown are being added all of the time.

  

What Does It Mean to be Green?

People have been talking a lot lately about the "greening of Allentown."

Department heads have spearheaded a variety of earth friendly projects such as the LED traffic lights, our award-winning recycling program and the installation of street trees, just to name a few.

Increasingly, we are hearing about developers who want to build "green" and green businesses opening up (I just had a tour of GenX, a biofuel manufacturer in Allentown last week -- very exciting!).

With our traditional neighborhood design, related efficient use of infrastructure, "multi-modal" nature (meaning you can walk, bike, take transit OR drive), and manufacturing history, Allentown is well positioned for a "green future."

One of the city staff recently asked, "What does it mean to be green?" I think that is a question everyone is asking themselves these days. We are asking, not just for reasons related to the environment, but also to find opportunities to save money. It turns out that saving natural resources generally saves money, too.  

As we consider what each of us could do to be a little more earth sensitive, opportunities open up. As citizens join together with other citizens within the community or through local government to ask the question, even more opportunities will open up.

In Allentown, we are actively exploring what it means to be "green." One of the places where this discussion is taking place is the Allentown Environmental Advisory Council (AEAC). This body of citizen volunteers was created by city council this last year. They meet once a month, the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the third floor conference room of Allentown City Hall.

The EAC's meetings are open to the public, so if you have some great ideas for Allentown to consider, this is a good place to plug in.

In the meantime, as we explore the "greening of Allentown" we are exploring what other people are thinking, saying and doing. For an interesting explanation of what a green, sustainable, traditional community should be, check out Original Green. Click here

If we resist the temptation to be "Gizmo Green" and, instead, get in touch with the practical, energy efficient qualities of good urbanism, more people will come to appreciate the infrastructure we have that makes it easy to live or work energy efficiently in Allentown. 

This is the elegance of urbanism.

Now, I need to stop writing and head out the door to walk to work. This will burn NO gasoline. I wouldn't be able to do THAT in suburbia.