Tag Sale To Benefit the No Kid Hungry Summer food program at La Paloma Sabanera

I come to you on my lunch break to spread the word about an awesome cause. Tomorrow, La Paloma Sabanera will be hosting a tag sale in which all the proceeds go to Foodshare and benefit the No Kid Hungry summer food program.

If you're unfamiliar with La Paloma, you should really get acquainted with this place. It's the little coffeeshop that you always complain that we don't have in Hartford. It's the perfect place to relax with a book and a sandwich and I've spent a lot of time clacking away at my laptop in those walls. It's cozy, casual and beyond that they do SO much for the community, including film screenings, performances and fundraisers, as we can see here.

Yesterday I was talking about food deserts, which is the unavailability of adequate food in poor communities. But sometimes we forget that we have people going without enough food in general everyday. The sad truth is that the free lunch provided through schools may be the only complete meal some children eat all day. When the school year ends, these families have few options for feeding everyone a nutritious and filling meal each day. Scenarios like this are one of the reasons that the Connecticut No Kid Hungry Campaign was started. This summer program will provide free lunch to children in areas all over the state, including many in Hartford.

So if you're looking for some new cool do-dads and nicknacks, or just want to stop by and make a donation to a great cause, come by La Paloma tomorrow from 10am on. Afterwards, give yourself a little treat of a cup of coffee, or maybe we'll all luck up and they'll be selling cupcakes from Icing Cupcakes tomorrow!

Here's some details about all the stuff I just said:
La Paloma Sabanera Coffee House
405 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT
Phone: (860) 956-5003
Website: http://www.lapalomacoffeehouse.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lapalomasabanera
Hours: Mon - Fri: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sat: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

For more information or a list of locations that are participating in the No Kid Hungry summer program, please check out http://www.ctsummerfood.org/

The Farmers' Market Season is Upon Us!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have returned. I know what you're thinking. "Where the frank and beans have you been?" You said "frank and beans" cuz it's pretty early, the kids are still up and you don't want them to know that you curse. They know you curse though. They think it's funny. But I digress.

Honestly, I don't know where the frank and beans I've been. Still in Hartford. Still black. Still doing stuff. But the winter was cold and snowy, then the spring came in like the meek lamb it was and I had to move to a new house, see my girlfriend off to Hanoi, Vietnam and get over the sadness that is being without her. It's ok to point and laugh at me about my lameness. But I'm back and ready to get back to business for serious. It's going to be a good summer!

Let's get reacquainted over one of my favorite subjects: food. But not just any food, my friends. This time I'm not telling you about insanely delicious yet entirely artery clogging foods I've happened upon in my fair city, but healthy, equally delicious, locally grown fare! The North End Farmers' Market starts tomorrow!

My timing is poor, because it's gonna look like I'm telling you about the North End Farmers' Market because a lot of black people live in the North End and then I'm gonna get a bunch of comments about me being racist and how everyone is welcome at every Farmers' Market and yadda yadda yadda. But honestly, I've been meaning to make a Farmers' Market post for quite some time. I just got word through Real Hartford (another awesome blog) that this one was starting and as a new resident of the North End, this piqued my interest. Mainly because I didn't know it existed. Old State House, WEFM and I are bffs. This one, not so much.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the concept of a "food desert", but it's defined as any area that does not have easy access to healthy and affordable food. This is most heavily seen in poor neighborhoods where the closest thing residents have to a grocer is the corner store that sells more "quarter waters" than they do quarts of OJ. While Hartford isn't as bad as a lot of poor urban areas in the food desert category, Farmers' Markets are amazing at offering fresh and affordable produce to areas where the residents would have a harder time getting it. So if you know someone who possibly lives in walking distance to any of these locations, please pass the word along.

This past weekend, I met up with some friends who live in NYC. While waiting to meet them in Union Square, I happened upon a great market day that they were having. Off to the side, I saw a little booth for people to pay for their products with EBT cards and thought, "What an awesome idea! This is REALLY opening the doors for all classes of Americans to have access to healthy food. I wish we had this in Hartford!" Turns out that a few do and I just never noticed it. All locations accept WIC and Senior FMNP as well.

I encourage you and your peoples to try out ALL of Hartford's Farmers' Markets. Here's the info for all of them, including days of the week that they're open, times, and if they're not open yet, when the big day will be.

Hartford ‐ Billings Forge Farmers’ Market
Thursdays  11 a.m. ‐ 2 p.m.
May 5 ‐ October 27
539 Broad Street, Grassy Courtyard on  
Billings Forge Campus
www.hartfordfarmersmarket.org
WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted  SNAP/EBT

Hartford ‐ Capitol Ave Farmers’ Market
Mondays  10 a.m. ‐ 1 p.m.
July 11 ‐ October 31
First Presbyterian Church Next to Bushnell, 156 Capitol
Avenue
WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted  SNAP/EBT

Hartford ‐ North End Farmers’ Market
Wednesdays  10 a.m. ‐ 1 p.m.
June 29 ‐ October 26
80 Coventry Street, North End Senior Center
www.hartfordfood.org
WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted  SNAP/EBT

Hartford ‐ Park Street Farmers’ Market
Mondays  9:30 a.m. ‐ 1 p.m.
July 11 ‐ October 31
Walgreen's Parking Lot,  
Corner of Park and Washington Streets
WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted   

Hartford ‐ West End Farmers’ Market
Tuesdays & Fridays  4 p.m. ‐ 7 p.m.,  
3 p.m. ‐ 6 p.m. (Sept‐Oct)
June 7 ‐ October 28
United Methodist Church ‐ 571 Farmington Avenue @
South Whitney Street
www.westend.org/farmersmarket
WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted   

Hartford‐Old State House Farmers’ Market
Monday, Wednesday, Friday  10 a.m. ‐ 2 p.m.
June 27 ‐ October 28
Old State House, 800 Main Street
www.ctoldstatehouse.org/farmersmkt.asp
WIC/Senior FMNP Accepted   

(see more info on all of the State of Connecticut's Certified Farmers' Markets here: http://www.ct.gov/doag/lib/doag/marketing_files/certified_fm_by_county_-_5-3-2011.pdf)

Snow Day!

My boss just called me and confirmed that I have a snow day! It's exciting! I feel like a kid again!

Hopefully you all have been as lucky as I, and if you haven't, please please PLEASE be careful out there tomorrow!

Here's some things you need to keep in mind:
1. The City-Wide Parking ban is in effect starting at 1am, so move your cars off the street! If you don't have a driveway, you can park overnight in the nearest public school lot. Huge fines, and from my own experience, they're not very flexible on letting you out of them!

2. Garbage pick up is delayed a day, so if your normal day is on Wednesday, it'll be picked up on Thursday. etc. etc. you get it.

3. The plan of action for plows is:
-major roadways
-side streets leading to hospitals
-other side streets
So if they don't come by right away, they work well into the night, so they'll get there.

Enjoy your cocoa and have fun in the snow, Hartford!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Today marks the second week of Hartford's Festival of Light at their new Bushnell Park location. I'm not going to get into how underwhelmed you may have been for a free light show a couple weeks ago because someone once told me that opinions are a lot like...let's just say sphincters. Frankly, I don't get the big deal about strings of lights this year. Sure they're pretty, but they're still going on in Constitution Plaza and there's youtube videos all over the internet with fantastic displays. And I know the people bitching the loudest are the same ones that bitch about "nothing new" happening in Hartford. Well this is new. Don't be that guy. Don't be crotchety. Don't complain about stuff that you haven't even experienced yet just because it's not what you were expecting. Imagine if you were that way in the bedroom; you'd never get laid. Well, you would, but probably only by the Amish.

Anyway...Amish sex aside, I really need Hartford people to get to the park. It's all well and good when we get visitors to Hartford, but I want these free skates and beautiful displays to benefit the residents in high numbers. Working for the city for years, I've had people give me some ridiculous complaints (usually regarding parking in the wrong and getting ticketed) followed by the line that grinds my effing gears, "This would never happen in my town!" Yeah, it probably wouldn't. But I'm also not allowed to bring my nephews and nieces to swim in your pool for free in your town since I'm not a resident. You have no theaters, no residents in low-income housing to care for and generally nothing else to do in your town and you like it that way. I don't mean that to sound like a jab, but if you wanted to live in a city and deal with parking, crowds and establishments that stay open late, you would. And while people come into Hartford and complain about all that is wrong when they visit, the tax paying residents in dire straits don't even get to benefit from all Hartford has to offer. A single mother of 3 working 2 jobs can't afford to take her children to the CT Science Center in her own backyard. Some of my friends didn't even know about the Taste of Hartford until it was posted about in my blog.

I'm taking phase 2 of FOL as the City's way of saying "thank you" to us city-dwellers. Thank you for dealing with the traffic while people speed through your neighborhoods to make it to a UCONN game. Thank you for dealing with delays in bus service so people can publicly drink and barf in your streets for massive parades that very few of you will actually attend. Thank you for paying insanely high taxes to fix roads that many residents throughout the state will use. Your reward: a free ice skating rink in the park through January 6th. An additional thank you: free rental of ice skates!

Do not let this opportunity pass you buy! I want to see residents there! I want to hear how much fun we had skating around. From Barry Square to Blue Hills, the West End to Clay Hill, we are all Hartford, and we all need to take advantage of what our city has and not leave it all to visitors. This is our home. Let's live in it.

For more details, Real Hartford has provided the details from the Press Release from the City of Hartford's Communication Department.

Black Owned Business Week: Jessica Designs Jewelry

Tis the season to be bombarded with annoying ads for jewelry, like the Zales one where that woman is ice skating with her grandpa sugar daddy and he pulls out some bling to make up for his brittle bones? Well that's all well and good, and I know Kay Jewelers and Jane Seymour need money too. But this year, how about we leave the mass produced apology jewelry to those who save shopping for their spouses til Christmas Eve, shall we?

This year, why not buy something unique and beautiful from a designer right here in Hartford? Jessica Designs' pieces are as elegant and tasteful, with styles that fit everyone's taste and personal flair. The pieces range from something simple for everyday in the office, or a classy holiday party (hint hint). Just look through her website and you'll see what amazing talent she has. You ever go to the beach with some girls who stop every 5 seconds to collect rocks and shells and they're like, "I'm going to make a necklace!" even though you know you'll never see this necklace, but you nod and smile anyway cuz you want to get in her pants? (what? just me?) I'm pretty sure Jessica is the person who actually makes the necklace and makes it look mag-effing-nificent.

Nothing on the site hitting the nail on the head? That's cool, just call her up and talk to her about making something custom for you. She's good like that. You can also arrange for an in home show, so that way you can help her generate some business with your friends AND earn money towards some jewelry of your own! It's kind of like those other jewelry parties your friends have, but less pyramid-like and you can be all progressive and brag about how you support local artists.

Behind the intricate designs, Jess is a gem herself. She comes in the room wearing a smile and some of her beautiful creations, telling you all about what she's been up to in her soft spoken way. This is good, because I don't like giving my money to mean people. Unless they work at McDonalds cuz I needs me my Big Macs.

Being that it is the season of giving, or if you're not into that then consider this your lucky December, all jewelry will be 10% off with free shipping until December 24th! So even if you don't celebrate Christmahannukwanzicas but you want to get down on some badass jewelry, I'd suggest making your first purchase not now, but right now!

Jessica Designs
(860) 478-1261
jessica@jessicadesignsjewelry.com
http://www.jessicadesignsjewlry.com

Black Owned Business Week: Hot Pots

Listen, because I am going to drop some serious knowledge on you right now. Hot Pots on Main Street is what's really good in the hood.

A couple months ago, a man came by my office to hand me a menu for Hot Pots' new truck that would be stationed in the Old State House Square. A coworker told me that she was excited to try the truck's food, because the restaurant's was "off the chain." Though I don't eat much in one sitting, I consider myself a bit of a foodie. I know what I like and I'll drive to the ends of the Earth to get it. So when I was told there was a soul food restaurant that I hadn't tried, I was a bit offended that not only had I not heard of it, but they had been around long enough to expand to a truck. My coworker goes on to say that the restaurant has mac and cheese, collard greens, potato salad and other delicious sides "just like your mom would make." Shows how much you know, lady, because my mother only cooks like that once a year, therefore I have a serious soul food deficiency at all other times.

First I walked to the truck and got some fried fish that really did taste like someone in my family would've made it. I could just see my grandmother rolling some whiting in corn meal and emptying her well seasoned grease into a pan from the can on the back of the stove. As I devoured the perfectly flaky fish, I decided that a trip to the actual restaurant was in order.

Before going, I asked a couple people if they knew where it was. They looked me up and down and said, "I don't know if you'd like it on that side of town" with a tone that suggested the restaurant was on the corner of Rape and Stabby. I've lived in Hartford most of my life, so I know that though unfortunate incidents do happen in my fair city, I'm not going to let fear keep me from trying out new things on certain sides of town. (especially at lunch time on a Tuesday. C'mon!) A quick Google search showed me that the restaurant was at the intersection of Main and Nelson, a stone's throw away from the church I grew up in and my old hair dresser. If I had any fears, they were now gone.

The place is small with just one table, so much like a Chinese restaurant, staying isn't really encouraged. (Except I hear that outside of Hartford, Chinese restaurants have multiple tables? That's insane to me. Chinese is to be eaten in front of the TV or maybe, maybe around the table with your friends directly out of the box like people do on TV.) The menu is short, which I like because choices just make my brain hurt. I ordered the bbq chicken meal with collard greens and candied yams, along with a side of mac & cheese because I couldn't drive all the way there and NOT try the mac. The staff was pleasant and got right to work on my meal while I had a conversation with a man who warned me that I would want to finish my entire plate, but I wouldn't be able to. I laughed and told him about my awesome power of self-control and he kinda laughed back at me as if to say, "yeah right."

When my order came up, I was handed what felt like 5lbs of food. The whole way back to my office, the smells taunted me. I never got to a long enough light to reach in the bag and nosh on a chicken leg. Back at my office, I opened the container to a massive amount of oh.my.gosh...pardon my French but fucking delicious food. yeah...F Bomb up in this piece. That's how good. I don't know if you're familiar with the phrase "smack your mama good," but let's just say my mother is lucky she works in Wethersfield. (or maybe I'm lucky, because I'm pretty sure slapping my mother is grounds for a coma) That guy warned me that I'd want to finish my plate, and he didn't lie. I think I ate until food was ready to come out of my ears.

For $11 ($8 for the chicken along with 2 sides of your choice, $3 for the extra side I got) I was able to eat lunch, and split the leftovers with my girlfriend for dinner the next day. I'm sure other people don't eat as little as I, but even those with big appetites would surely get their money's worth from here.

Hot Pots
2374 Main Street
Hartford, CT
(860) 241-0200)
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11a-7:30p (I saw a sign that also mentioned that they are opened Sundays until 4:30p. If I went to church, that would be a perfect after church meal! Since I do not, heathen game day dinner? I think so.)

Black Owned Business Week: Anya Production Studios

A long long time ago in a galaxy far away, two creative juggernauts (yup, I said juggernauts) combined their forces for the power of good, much like a Power Ranger, and decided to take the world by storm!

...Actually it wasn't that long ago and it was right here in CT, but the taking the world by storm part is quickly coming into fruition. Chances are you've seen a picture on Facebook, Twitter or even some blog about what black people do in Hartford with the elegant "TimeFrozen" watermark in the corner. Look at the model, now back to me, now back to the model, now back to me...sadly, your makeup is probably not as fierce as hers. But it would be if you were using the services of Painted by Brettnee.

On October 14th, TimeFrozen Photography and Painted By Bretnee opened Anya Production Studios, bringing a gorgeous photography and makeup studio right to Hartford. And believe me when I tell you, these two can do ANYTHING. Whether it's getting your makeup and pictures on point for your 30th birthday party, taking the headache out of selecting a photographer AND makeup artist for your wedding, or even shooting a friggin music video*, seriously...ANYTHING.

Behind the lens is Keith Claytor, always armed with a camera, a bright smile, and the most insane artistic eye that I've ever seen. This guy could make your morning eye crust look beautiful. His wife, Chinenye, has her own creative eye with a soft-spoken but firm voice. Watching the two of them together is surely where the term "well-oiled machine" came from, as they seamlessly come together to make every shot perfect. Holding the brush is Brettnee Nelson; beautiful, bubbly and brilliant, your face is morphed into her canvas as you sit in her chair. She's not limited to enhancing your features with some lip gloss and eyeshadow, but can also turn a person into a walking work of art.

If you've read all this and you're still thinking of choosing someone else to handle your fashion show, I will slap you in the mouth when I see you. Seriously. Back handed. Here's their contact info, because I don't want you coming up with any lame excuses when I go to slap you:

Timefrozen Photography
Email: keith@timefrozen.com
Phone: (860) 656-7494
www.timefrozen.com

Painted By Brettnee
Email: paintedbybrettnee@gmail.com
Phone: (860) 874-9546
www.paintedbybrettnee.com



*the music video was co-created with Rabbit Ears Media, another fine Hartford artist!

Black Owned Business Week: Nu Style Cut Creators

To kick off this week, I decided to lead with my most used black-owned business. Whenever my locs are in need of a touch up, I drive down to Nu Style Cut Creators on Ann (Uccello) Street for the most prompt service that I have ever had at a black salon. Not to say that there's no one else in the city that will service you AT 10:30 when they made an appointment with you, but it's a rare find.

I get my locs twisted by Cedric Robinson, the owner of the shop, and he has a full staff of beauticians and barbers to meet any of your other hair needs. I've been coming to the shop since I went natural 2 years ago, and I'm always beyond satisfied with the service there. Beyond being able to do hair for all the different types of people that come in the shop, everyone who works there is just nice. You walk in the door and you're greeted with a smile from everyone behind a chair. I've had experiences where I walk in a shop and not one person looks me in the eye, or even asks me who I'm there to see. That would never happen at Nu Style, because as Cedric has told me many times before, he WANTS you to have a good experience in his shop. He understands that your time is just as valuable as his, so if he says your appointment is at 2:15, by 2:16 you're getting your hair washed. It should go without saying that you're expected to respect he and his staff's time as well, so no CP Time here. I forgot I had an appointment once and ended up running all the way to the shop to make it on time.

Since the shop has been open they've taken on more than just hair, adding a nail technician on-site and massages earlier this year. You can treat yourself to a one stop day of pampering right downtown!

If you're looking for a shop with raunchy locker room talk, you're out of luck. The conversation in the shop is never off-color so don't worry about having to cover kids' ears. The place is always clean, so you never have to walk home with more hair on your shoes than on your head, and at the end of the visit, everyone in the shop shouts a warm, "see ya later" as you leave.

If you're thinking about finding a new spot to get your hurr did, consider Nu Style. I know it sounds like a pain in the butt trying to find parking downtown, but the shop is very close to Allyn Street, which means there's plenty of parking during the day since those clubs and bars don't open til the shop is closed. Usually though, I luck out and find a spot right out front or across the street. Just don't forget to pay at the parking kiosk. The parking is ample, but they still ticket.


Contact:
Nu Style Cut Creators
183 Ann Street
Hartford, CT 06103
(860) 560-3600

Theme Week #1: Black-Owned Businesses

What it is, people? I've been somewhere between busy and forgetful lately, and because of this the blog has suffered tremendously. I assure you that black people are still doing things, but I haven't been participating or blogging like I should have been.

In an effort to get myself back in the swing of things, I'm going to make up a theme week. The reasons for this are tri-fold:

1. I love themes. Theme parties, theme restaurants, whatev. If you put theme in front of it, I am fully down.
2. That's 5 days of stuff that I have already planned to write about. Now there's no reason for me to run out of content.
3. Hopefully, one of the things that I mention will be helpful to you. With the holiday season upon us, small businesses need our support just as much as the big guys. Added bonus if they serve alcohol, because we all need that during the holidays.

So the theme for the week will be: Black-owned Business Week.

As with all things mentioned here, (and hopefully in this country for that matter) none of the businesses I'll be writing about are only available to the browner skinned among us. My goal is to expose people to things that they may not hear about otherwise, so tell your friends and do what you can to make use of their services.

For Colored Girls... At Classical Magnet's Black Box Theater

It's been a long time. Sorry about that but my car got a flat on the way here and omg, did you see the traffic on 84? And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse a dinosaur came and ate my homework. Not really, but I haven't done much around town lately. As my one of my fellow bloggers Coffee Rhetoric mentioned, being a light-in-the-pockets Hartford socialite can be tough. There's no shortage of things going on, but there can be a shortage of funds available to do them. So I've been having more low-key nights with friends, enjoying the beginning of Fall aka The Season of Wine and Firepits. I'm all for supporting local business, but a game night with friends is important when it comes to having a well-rounded life in a small city as well. But I'm back in the swing with some new stuff you have to check out!

Back in the days of bell-bottoms, public cocaine use and disco, a woman named Ntozake Shange wrote featuring women identified only by colors rather than names. She compiled poems on heavy topics such as domestic violence, rape, abortion and tied it all together with the memorable ups and crippling downs that can go along with simply just being a woman. Later this year, Tyler Perry will be releasing his film adaptation of Shange's work, and already people who know the play intimately are telling me how shitty Tyler Perry's version will be. But before you get that fist raised and shaking at me to protest, you can see the play itself right here in Hartford this weekend!

Destination Destiny, Inc & poetess Darlene "Peaches" Brandon have done a lot of work to put on the production at Classical Magnet's Black Box Theater for this weekend only! I'll be out of town seeing what things black people do in the Nation's Capital (*cough* drunken debauchery *cough*), so I'll miss the official show, but the cast was lucky enough to give me and my girlfriend Charmane a sneak preview of the show you will all be getting. Take it from me, you're in for a real treat! You may recognize this cast of beautiful and talented ladies from poetry nights in the Greater Hartford and Springfield areas, or doing the many other talents they have in life. You'll definitely notice them after this because like I said: beautiful and talented. No homo. That's a lie, mad homo.

Beyond the prettiness you'll be looking at on stage, these ladies all care about putting on one hell of a show. Peaches is the captain of this ship and it's clear that she takes the job very seriously. The other ladies of the cast follow where she leads, listening to the notes she gives and immediately turning gears in their own heads on how to make their performance work. The pride that each woman takes in her performance comes through with every monologue, and from our vantage point, we were able to see them transform into their respective "color" the moment they stepped on the stage.

Though the parts are all played by women of color, this is far from being only "our" story. I'm sure any woman can find a connection to their own life in here. No one should leave here thinking, "poor colored girls, they've got some pains and sorrows to work out, I mean did you see Good Hair?" because the poems hit too close to home for all that. Plus you shouldn't be saying "colored" anymore, unless you're someone's great-grandma and you're "from a different time".

Parts of this are tough to hear for even my seasoned ears, so for that reason I'd suggest leaving the little kids at home. But it's thought provoking and the actresses are amazing, so you WILL be sorry if you miss it.

Info:
When: Friday, September 24 & Saturday September 25 at 8pm
Sunday, September 26 a matinee performance at 3pm, doors open an hour before all three shows.
Where: Classical Magnet Black Box Theater, 85 Woodland Street, Hartford
Price: $15 General Admission, $25 VIP

Two last things:
1. Proceeds benefit Destination Destiny, a local non-profit serving youth and young adults.
2. The cast of the play will be featured on Poetz Corner this week. They're filming at Cloud 9 tonight and airing all week on Access TV's website. Check it out!