After Hours this Thursday! Jazz & More! Brunch Southern Village Music Series

What Exactly is Fair Trade? By Heather Rees, Contributing Writer In a community like Carrboro/Chapel Hill, rife with community activism and political awareness, Fair Trade should find a happy home. But right now, few people seem to understand what Fair Trade is and what its benefits are. At Weaver Street, some of us are familiar with the sign telling us that the bananas are Fair Trade and the Equal Exchange Fair Trade label on some of the coffee offered in the coffee isle. But what is Fair Trade exactly? More...

Organic Standards Update Friday Night Wine Tastings WCOM Call for Volunteers

Totally Local Dinner Tomorrow! North Carolina Wine Dinners Next Feature Farm Dinner

Weekly Produce Specials

Fair Trade Chocolate

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What Exactly is Fair Trade? (continued)

In a community concerned with global wellness, we should be more familiar with this burgeoning alternative to free trade. To begin with, we need to understand the reason Fair Trade came to exist. Seventy-five percent of poor people in developing countries — some 900 million people — depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Twenty-five million families produce coffee alone. In the 1980s, coffee prices began to plummet, forcing many small coffee producers sell their beans for less than the cost to produce them. The pattern has been repeated throughout the agricultural spectrum: bananas, tea, honey, sugar, cocoa and the list goes on. As farmers lost their businesses and families fell into poverty, larger agricultural corporations expanded their markets and gained in profits by buying up the small farms, using the abundance of cheap labor and selling us food for cheaper prices. In response to this trade crisis, Fair Trade emerged as an effort to purchase goods directly from poor farmers in developing countries to sell to socially conscious consumers in the North America and Western Europe. Their hope was to stem the human disaster of plummeting market prices. In the beginning, these products were sold through networks of shops and specialty outlets. One such shop is Ten Thousand Villages, located across the United States (with one in Durham!) that sells crafts from across the globe. These shops seek to pay the farmer or artisan the fairest price possible by minimizing overhead costs of the store itself and eliminating intermediaries from the trade process. Read more.

Weekly Produce Specials Descriptions by Dave Jernigan, Southern Village Produce Manager
	Dark Red Washington State Cherries	$4.99 per pound	Save $1.00/lb.
	There is nothing like sitting on your porch at night with a bowl of cherries on your lap. I always stain my lips and my fingers crimson, and usually my shirt too. The most decadent, deeply satisfying things on life's table are messy. I love to nibble the sweet, dark, spicy flesh away from pit with delicate, thoughtful bites. I don't really want to finish the cherry after all; it's just too good to end it so quickly. I want to hold it between my teeth and savor every delicious second with it, until I eat down to its small, stony heart. Then, I allow myself to be the North Carolina boy that I truly am, and I irreverently spit the pit into the garden for the squirrels to fuss over. My higher power, Julia Child, taught me that one can love the better things in life and yet not spoil the magic with unnecessary refinement! So Julia, you'd be happy to know (and I do know you are watching over me from some ethereal kitchen in the great beyond) that the only time I use a cherry pitter is when I share cherries with my daughter Isabel. She is very quick to remind me, "We don't eat the rocks Daddy."
	Organic Flame Seedless Grapes	$2.99 per pound	Save $1.00/lb.
	Organic Amethyst sirens, their beguiling color and fantastically low price will beckon you across crowded aisles. You'll quickly toss yourself into a torrent of pure grape ecstasy once you get them home. Our ORGANIC grapes are free of nasty, tongue-scorching residue that you are so unfortunately accustomed to when you buy conventional grapes from other stores.
	South Carolina Freestone Peaches	99¢ per pound
	Peaches have been getting sweeter and sweeter as the summer grows hotter. Softer, juicier, satiny peaches so tender that they melt against your lips. When the first leaves of October start falling, the colors remind me of the last peaches I ate on my porch. Of how August was a blur of sticky fingers, pits tossed into the garden, and the lingering, heady perfume of all of the sweet, Freestone Carolina Peaches that I loved. The end of summer is coming — eat all of the Southern peaches you can...
Read more about other Weaver Street Market Specials.

Fair Trade Chocolate

What's The Deal With Chocolate? By Heather Mosely, Contributing Writer I always hear people say, "I love chocolate and it doesn't matter what kind!" Well, maybe it should! What I'm trying to say is that there is more to chocolate than you think. Chocolate, to me, is like a fine wine or specialty coffee. It does matter how it is grown, how it is roasted, what kind it is and so on. Do you like dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate? Do you need to know the actual cocoa content of your chocolate? Do you want to know where your chocolate is grown and by whom? These are the questions to think about before buying chocolate. Like wine and coffee, chocolate varies depending on the quality of the ingredients used and the processing of those ingredients. The quality of the cocoa beans used and the processing of those beans determine the taste, texture, and price of your favorite chocolate. The better the beans and the more extensive the refining process, the better the chocolate. Most of the world' s chocolate comes from West Africa. Many of the cocoa farms are small and do not use any mechanical means for harvesting the cocoa bean. The working conditions are very rough and the days are long. Due to the manipulation of the cocoa bean market by large chocolate corporations, most cocoa bean producers are impoverished and cannot pay a sufficient income; they rely on child labor for their production. While the word is spreading of such practices and some action is being taken to reduce the number of children used for cocoa bean harvesting, there is still much more to be done. This is where we come in. By needing to know where and by whom your chocolate was made you are helping to end this practice of child labor. Heather, how will I know? By looking for the "Fair Trade Certified" label! This tells you that the producer of this chocolate earned enough to pay his workers a decent wage and did not require child labor. You may ask yourself, "Hey, is this chocolate as good as the chocolate produced by the large chocolate corporations?" I'm here to tell you, some taste exactly the same as the large corporation chocolate, and some of it tastes even better! Weaver Street Market currently carries 3 chocolate confections that are "Fair Trade Certified" and they are Equal Exchange Chocolate, Divine Chocolate, and Green & Black's (unfortunately only one of their confections is Fair Trade, the dark chocolate with orange and spices). So before you tear into your next brown and white candy bar wrapper or try to decide if you want plain or peanut, think about where, how, and by whom your chocolate was made. If the answer isn't a label that says "Fair Trade Certified", then maybe you should put it back!

Read more about Fair Trade chocolate here.

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After Hours this Thursday from 6-8 pm

After Hours has grown to be one of the "best of the best" nights in Carrboro. It's old-fashioned fun with free music by local bands and the chance to relax on a blanket and picnic with your family on fresh grilled food by local charities. Kids of all ages can dance the night away or catch-up with friends. Weaver Street Market loves to see people enjoying our lawn and connecting with their community. To keep this event a safe and fun place, we ask that you only bring friendly, well-behaved dogs on leashes and please clean up after them. We want the children who attend our event to have a safe and happy time too, so we ask that they not be allowed to climb the trees or the Crepe Myrtles. Lastly, please enjoy the fountain from its perimeter. Thank you for your help in making this event safe and fun for everyone. July 21 - Carolina Caterwaulers - breakdowns, hoedowns & songs of the south July 28 - Jonathan Byrd & Friends- original & traditional country & bluegrass After Hours & the ALE Regulations We know how much fun it is to sit on the lawn and drink some beers, but unfortunately North Carolina law forbids Weaver Street Market from selling six packs for consumption outside. You can buy beer by the glass outside at the tasting table, singles, or half-gallon Growlers from Carolina Brewery, but please—be kind to our cashiers and don't buy a six pack to take outside. Haw River Assembly Cooking at After Hours this Week The Haw River Assembly is dedicated to protecting the Haw River, its tributaries, and Jordan Lake; and to building a community that supports this vision. Though threatened by human impacts, the Haw River remains a beautiful wild refuge for plants and animals, and for people. We dream of a river that runs clean once more. The Haw River Assembly can claim many successes: More than 22,000 fourth-graders have celebrated the river in an annual educational Haw River Festival that began in 1990. The Haw River Watch Project and its 50 volunteer teams monitor the Haw and itstributaries, doing research and watchdog activities. We organize hundreds of volunteers for an annual River Cleanup Day. We educate officials who make decisions about wastewater treatment plants, landfills, growth and other development issues. HRA works with people and communities to preserve and protect natural lands along the Haw and its tributaries. For more information: visit their website, call 919-542-5790, or email hra@emji.net.

Find out about all of the Weaver Street Market Events here. Keep up with the Haw River Assembly here.

Jazz & More! Brunch, 2005. Sundays from 11am until 1pm

Our popular Sunday music series is in full swing! Bring a chair or a blanket to enjoy an eclectic mix of music and feast on fresh breakfast fare from our hot bar and pastry case - eggs, pancakes, home fries, muffins, croissants, and loads of fresh, hot coffee! July 24 - The Tim Stambaugh Band - Bluegrass, Celtic, folk & traditional July 31 - The Jon Shain Trio - Americana & blues

Find out about all of the Weaver Street Market Events here.

Southern Village Music Series

Head on over to the green at Southern Village for some summertime fun with their Summer Music series every Sunday from 5:30-7:30 pm. This Sunday, July 24 enjoy Great Big Band music and Classic Standards with the Raleigh Jazz Orchestra and the Susan Reeves Quartet. Don't for get to stop by Weaver Street Market in Southern Village to grab delicious picnic food and drinks.

View the summer schedule.

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Organic Standards Update

Expect Positive Changes to the Organic Label By Robynn Shrader, NCGA, Contributing Writer The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been ordered to amend the National Organic Program (NOP) to comply with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA). In October 2002, just days after the rules governing organic under NOP were implemented, Maine blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey filed suit against USDA claiming that the USDA regulations governing foods labeled "organic" contravened several principles of the OFPA. Having initially lost on all counts, Harvey prevailed in January 2005 when the Court of Appeals ruled in his favor on the three counts finding: 1. Synthetic substances are not permitted in processing of items labeled as "organic," and only allowed in the "made with organic" labeling category. 2. Provisions allowing up to 20-percent non-organic feed in the first nine months of a dairy herd's one-year conversion to organic production are not permitted. 3. All exemptions for the use of non-organic products "not commercially available in organic form" must be reviewed by National Organic Standards Board, and certifiers must review the operator's attempt to source organic.

More...

Friday Night Wine Tastings

Every Friday night Weaver Street Market offers a selection of wines for you to taste in our Carrboro and Southern Village Wine Departments. Knowledgeable wine representatives are on hand to talk about the wine and where it comes from. This is a great opportunity to expand your wine palate, stock your cellar, or buy a gift for that upcoming dinner. This Friday from 4:30-6:30 in the Carrboro store, Peg will be sampling American Wine values and from 5:00-7:00 at our Southern Village store, Marilyn will have a selection to be announced.

WCOM Call for volunteers

Hi to all friends of WCOM, I'm sure you've all been listening and telling your friends about the station - it gets better every day as more community voices are heard. In just about a year we've grown from a pile of dirt to a 24-7 functioning radio station, with more local original programming than WUNC and WCHL combined. Thanks again to everyone who is putting energy into our station. We need some help on a couple of projects- please write me if you are interested in helping: 1) We need volunteers to assist with the live remote broadcasts. We are broadcasting live on Thursdays from Weaver St. Market and on Sundays at Southern Village through the summer and need a body on both ends of the remote link. No experience necessary, you have to be able to plug in a few cables and operate a laptop. 2) We need volunteers to help organize a yard sale on an upcoming Saturday morning. This could benefit us all, clean out some junk and have this HUMONGOUS sale on our advantageously located grounds in the center of downtown Carrboro. Seems like a no-brainer, yard sale experience preferred but not required. 3) We are looking for volunteers to learn how to operate our automated play program. This is a computer program called "Simian"; it plays music and syndicated shows when there is no DJ. This job requires basic computer skills, downloading MP3s, formatting CDs, recording audio, and some musical sensibility, as it's mostly choosing songs from a playlist and dragging them into a program log. You're the DJ, in other words, just not on live. Hope to hear from you soon, Chris Frank Volunteer Coordinator, Etc. 103.5 FM WCOM-LP Station:919-929-9601 chris@communityradio.coop 201 N.Greensboro St Carrboro, North Carolina 27510

Go to WCOM's website.

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Totally Local Dinner Tomorrow!

Join Panzanella for the next Totally Local Dinner on Wednesday, July 20, featuring a menu of foods created from ingredients produced and purchased within a 250-mile radius of Carrboro. Dinner, 5:30-9:00 pm. Parties of six or more, call 929-6626 to make a reservation.

Two North Carolina Wine Dinners

Our first dinner will feature the Wines of Hanover Park Vineyard, Yadkinville, NC Monday, August 1, 7pm - 9pm We Welcome Michael and Amy Helton, winemaker and owners. When I first met Michael Helton almost five years ago, his enthusiasm was contagious. Their wines, however, spoke for themselves. Michael and Amy's inspiration came during a month long honeymoon in the south of France in the summer of 1996. Michael and Amy returned home with a love of French wines and the countryside. By December, Hanover Park Vineyard began. Teachers and Artists by trade; they became farmers and winemakers almost overnight. Their passion is inspiring. When I finally made it to their winery just this spring, I didn't want to leave. Tasting their amazing, French-inspired viniferous delights and listening to Michael and Amy talk about the vineyards, their latest experiments with fruit wine, and port, I was totally hooked. I even considered asking them if they needed a field hand, I was ready to move to Yadkinville and make grape growing my new life! I am so excited to host a wine dinner with Michael, Amy and their wines as the stars. Join us for this exciting dinner, and enjoy plenty of food from the Panzanella kitchen, Monday August 1, 7pm -9pm. Special! Buy tickets for both North Carolina Wine Dinners for $60 (regularly $35 each). See you there! ...And our second North Carolina Wine Dinner on Monday August 15, 7pm-9pm, tickets $35. The Best of North Carolina Wines Peg Conway, our Wine Coordinator will be presenting eight North Carolina wines from eight different NC wineries. Peg, recently spent three days visiting fifteen North Carolina Wineries. What she found was a state with a thriving wine industry, great people and beautiful vineyards. She's excited to share her experiences with you, through a slide show and tasting tour of some of the best wines North Carolina has to offer. Wineries that will be represented are Westbend, RagApple Lassie, Raylen, Buck Shoals, Stony Knoll, Silkhope and Dennis. Join us for this exciting dinner, and enjoy plenty of food from the Panzanella Kitchen. Tickets $35. Special! Buy tickets for both North Carolina Wine Dinners for $60 (regularly $35 each). See you there!

Visit Panzanella's website to view all menus (lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch).

Next Feature Farm Dinner

Join Panzanella for the next Feature Farm Dinner on Wednesday August 3, featuring a menu of foods created from ingredients grown by Peregrine Farm. Dinner, 5:30-9:00 pm. Parties of six or more, call 929-6626 to make a reservation.