4MRMarket Report: "Cucumbers, Summer Squash, and Roots Music!" Edition

Mike Elosh performs last August on the 4MRMarket Stage!

As we get deeper into the growing season, C&T Produce will have even more fresh produce in stock. From their Facebook page:

"Cucumbers and summer squash will be available at all markets, as well as all the other Spring goodies. Berries are a bit limited, due to all the rain and heat, so come early for those."

Also this Sunday, we welcome back 4MRMarket Stage veteran Mike Elosh to 4MRMarket this weekend from 11-noon!

Mike Elosh is a roots and folk musician that you've probably heard during his monthly performances at St. Elmo's Coffee Pub.

As always, the concert is free. Mike and all our performers are volunteering to share their music with market goers, though we will gladly welcome tips and friendly applause for our musicians! Please come out and support this Dylan-like folk rock singer/songwriter. Mike uses guitar, piano and harmonica to accompany his roots-based music.

On top of the tasty new items from C&T Produce, you'll also find a great selection of meat, cheese, handmade soaps, health and beauty products, and more. Get your fresh and local groceries and enjoy Mike Elosh from the 4MRMarket Lounge!

Here is our list of vendors this week:

• C &T Produce (White Oak, VA) - A huge selection of locally grown produce from a locally, family-run farm in Stafford, Virginia.
• The Stifler Farm aka "What's For Dinner Now" - Farm-raised Black Angus beef, humanely raised on lush pasture fields of the Shenandoah Valley, naturally farmed pork...and now... Uncle Frank's Grilling Sauce!!
• Tom's Amish Cheese Store (Lancaster, PA) - Artisan Cheese and yogurt, farm-fresh eggs, and Pennsylvania honey.
• Whole Health Medical (Alexandria) -  Organic teas and body scrubs from one of the largest Message and Acupuncture Therapy businesses in Northern Virginia (approved by the Alexandria Health Department).
• St. Elmo's Coffee Pub (Del Ray) - Brewed coffee, tea, and always a few extra goodies!

Here is our list of craft and beauty product vendors for this Sunday!

• Photo Gifts by Rachel - (Arlington, VA) - Photo gifts, coasters, mirrors, photo greeting cards
• Old Town Suds - (Alexandria) This maker of eco-friendly soaps, cleaning supplies, bath bombs, and more! Old Town Suds started because Steffanie was allergic to most commercial soaps on the market; then she became really sick and wondered if her health was being made worse by everyday chemicals. Their decadent soaps & nose-pleasing cleaning products are tough on dirt but easy on humans, pets, and the Earth. Look for Port City Beer soap & Legend (Richmond, VA) Beer soap plus the Cup of Joe soap that looks like a latte!
• Kalika Beauty (Centreville, VA) - A naturally effective, eco-friendly, line of handmade bath and body skin care goodies. Her products are made with bio-dynamic, natural botanical active ingredients.

Crafts available on a rotating basis.

See below all the ways to help and participate in the market!

The supercool 4MRMarket t-shirt

BUY. Proceeds of our 4MRMarket T-shirts go to support the expansion and revitalization of 4MR Park. They cost $12 and come in 4 colors. See us model a few at the market.  You can pre-pay online via Pay-Pal (send money to 4MRM@arlandria.org).

DONATE. Help 4MRMarket help 4MRPark. Tax-deductible donations can be made to support us in our efforts to revitalize Four Mile Run Park. Donate to the City's Living Landscape Fund to fund tree and other amenities at 4MRExpand More information here.

HELP. If you'd like to volunteer with the 4MRMarket, go to: volunteer.4MRMarket.org to sign up or look for the "volunteer" tab on our website. You'll be able to volunteer to help process SNAP/EBT sales, help us keep our books, help set up or tear down for the market, or help us find musicians to play the market. You can also find a Market Manager to ask to help, or email us at 4MRMarket@arlandria.org for more info.

READ. Keep up to date on all the goings on by following 4MRMarket on Facebook or Twitter or via our website and blog.

SPREAD THE WORD.  Please tell folks about us. And tell folks about some of the great things we're doing. For instance, all SNAP/EBT participants can take advantage of the Inova-sponsored "Double Dollar" program again this year that doubles the first $10 SNAP participants spend at the market. 4MRMarket is the first farmers’ market in Northern Virginia (and still the only) to accept SNAP. And C&T Produce now accepts SFMNP vouchers!

__________________________________

Buy Fresh Buy Local 4MRMarket products.

The Four Mile Run Farmers and Artisans Market (Alexandria, Virginia 22305) brings fresh, nutritious food to people of all income levels, provide an opportunity for local artisans and producers of goods to bring their wares to market, strive to reflect the diversity of the community, and improve the quality of life for Arlandria residents and visitors. It is part of an overall vision to expand and improve Four Mile Run park and the surrounding neighborhood.

4MRMarket is open every Sunday from 8am until 1pm from April 14th until November in Four Mile Run Park at 4109 Mt Vernon Avenue, Alexandria. 

(click here for directions)

For more info see: http://www.4mrmarket.org/

On Facebook: facebook.com/4MRMarket
On Twitter: @4MRMarket

Contact us at: 4MRMarket@arlandria.org

Or call the 4MRMarket hotline: (804) 4mi-Run1

Cora Kelly playground may finally get played on

Work is underway at the long awaited new playground.

It's been several years in the making, filled with delays and disappointments, but soon the students and neighbors of Cora Kelly Elementary School may be able to finally use that playground that they've only been able to look at through construction fences for over a year.

In a letter to Mike Peter, treasurer of the Hume Springs Citizens Association, Jack Browand, of Alexandria's Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities says the playground at is expected to be finished and ready by the end of May.

The Del Ray Patch gave us the hopeful story of the planned park back in September of 2010 ("Cora Kelly Working for a New Playground"):

The playground at Cora Kelly Elementary School is in need of a major facelift, and the school's PTA is on a mission to provide a playground the school's students deserve. But in order to achieve its goal, the organization is asking for support from the community.

According to Ashley Chappell, treasurer of the Cora Kelly PTA and project director, the current playground is at least 15 years old and was originally designed by a physical education teacher to facilitate drills, not play. 

The metal monkey bars and slides stand in stark contrast to the equipment at most playgrounds around the area—colorful apparatuses that promote fun and discovery and challenge children to push themselves to achieve.

According to the Patch, "the last straw came when the city recently discovered a West Nile Virus-carrying mosquito nearby, making it apparent the playground's drainage issues pose a health threat to the students."

With a goal of $115,000 for its playground project, the Cora Kelly PTA began fund-raising campaign to build a new and better playground.

It received a $60,000 grant from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, and raised another $10,000 on its own, seeking the rest from a grant for KaBoom, a non-profit which a mission to create modern playspaces through community participation.

With the KaBoom grant in hand and playground equipment on-hand in the fall of 2011, the Cora Kelly Community started site prep in late December of that year.

But then everything came to a halt.

Built on the a portion of the City's Four Mile Run Park, the initial installation was not up to safety code and the project sat idle waiting for an additional infusion of funds from Alexandria City Public Schools in order to be completed.

Those funds finally became available last Fall and work re-commenced this May.

The play area behind Cora Kelly
has been a construction site for the last 18 months.

4MR Park Plans ready for review

The draft of the long range plan for Four Mile Run Park has been released for public review and a meeting to discuss the draft designs is slated for this Wednesday evening at Cora Kelly Rec Center.

Alexandria's Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities began a multi-year process last year to develop a Citywide Large Park Improvement Plan, the goal of which was to review the existing conditions and future needs for Alexandria’s large, city-owned, multi-use parks. Along with Four Mile Run Park, the other parks studied include: Simpson Stadium Park, Chinquapin Park, Henlsey Park, Holmes Run Park, and Ben Brenman/Boothe Parks (click on each to go straight to the draft plans).

Four Mile Run Park Draft Improvement Plan

The full Four Mile Run Park Draft Plan, based the user needs identified during the process is available online, here.

Or, the public has been invited to attend a park workshop to discuss the plan on Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 – 9:00 at Cora Kelly Recreation Center, 3600 Commonwealth Avenue.

Here's a summary of what the Parks department heard from the park users (click here to see a full Summary of Community Feedback on Four Mile Run Park):

Ranking of 4MR Park Priorities

Athletics

• Develop better pick-up game areas
• Install covered dugouts and fix the backstops
• Renovate the courts
• Re-orient field #3 for better shade and enhance seating area
• Install netting along Frank Mann field
• Improve parking for athletic fields 

Natural Resources

• Preserve and enhance the Park’s natural areas, including the wetlands
• Remove invasive species
• Plant trees along the alleyways 

Access

• Improve the connections between the trail, pathways and Park uses
• Build a bridge over the channel to connect areas of the Park near Cora Kelly
• Re-pave the asphalt trail through the Park and connect it to Cora Kelly Recreation Center and School 

Athletics

• Develop better pick-up game areas
• Install covered dugouts and fix the backstops
• Renovate the courts
• Re-orient field #3 for better shade and enhance seating area
• Install netting along Frank Mann field
• Improve parking for athletic fields 

Design and Fixtures 

• Increase Park security through CPTED
• Cluster activities at entrances
• Formalize the overlook at the entrance to the wetlands
• Install area for fitness equipment behind Cora Kelly Recreation Center
• Add more park furniture
• Remove unfenced dog area and provide a fenced dog area
• Install a community garden
• Install mile markers
• Locate the playground in a more visible location
• Provide natural play spaces such as boulders and climbing features 

4MR Park Existing Conditions

Through the Citywide Large Park Improvement Plan, RPCA intends to determine budgeting priorities and recommendations for both short and long term incremental improvements, ensuring the Parks serve Alexandria’s needs now and into the future. Please contact Dana.Wedeles@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.5491 with questions or concerns. 

4MRMarket Report: "Happy Mother's Day!" Edition

Pick up some fresh leafy goodness
this weekend from C&T Produce

4MRMarket has yet another local performer this weekend on the 4MRStage!

Jong Lee is a guitarist and singer that covers popular tunes and lives only a few blocks from the market. He runs a local business called Jive Sound (like them on Facebook) that specializes in bass guitars and related music equipment. He'll play from around 10:30 to 11:30 or noon, so come check him out!

If you haven't picked up something for Mother's Day, yet, why not pick up a few things at this Sunday's 4MRMarket for Mom? Shiny Soap and Fiber will be here with all of their hand made soaps and angora rabbit wool products. Not to mention all of the  mom-friendly health and beauty products from Kalika Natural Beauty.

Also back this weekend is Fluffed Up Desserts, the purveyors of mom-friendly gourmet marshmallow treats, smores, and macarons that anyone is sure to love for a sweet treat!

So come out and grab something high quality and locally made from one of our great producers!

As always, pick up local produce from C&T Produce, pasture raised beef and pork from the nearby Shenandoah from Stifler Farms, artisan made cheese from Tom's Amish Cheese, and or a variety of other goodies!

Here is our list of vendors this week:

• C &T Produce (White Oak, VA) - A huge selection of locally grown produce from a locally, family-run farm in Stafford, Virginia.
• The Stifler Farm aka "What's For Dinner Now" - Farm-raised Black Angus beef, humanely raised on lush pasture fields of the Shenandoah Valley, naturally farmed pork...and now... Uncle Frank's Grilling Sauce!!
• Tom's Amish Cheese Store (Lancaster, PA) - Artisan Cheese and yogurt, farm-fresh eggs, and Pennsylvania honey.
• Fluffed Up Desserts - (Alexandria) - Gourmet Marshmallow treats and macarons.
• St. Elmo's Coffee Pub (Del Ray) - Brewed coffee, tea, and always a few extra goodies!

Here is our list of craft and beauty product vendors for this Sunday!

• Shiny Soap and Fiber - (Hollywood, MD) - Crafty Shiny whips up hand made bathes of goats milk soap, hand milled soaps, herbal soaps, knitted items from Angora rabbit fur, and even soap dishes!
• Kalika Beauty (Centreville, VA) - A naturally effective, eco-friendly, line of handmade bath and body skin care goodies. Her products are made with bio-dynamic, natural botanical active ingredients.

Crafts available on a rotating basis.

See below all the ways to help and participate in the market!

The supercool 4MRMarket t-shirt

BUY. Proceeds of our 4MRMarket T-shirts go to support the expansion and revitalization of 4MR Park. They cost $12 and come in 4 colors. See us model a few at the market.  You can pre-pay online via Pay-Pal (send money to 4MRM@arlandria.org).

DONATE. Help 4MRMarket help 4MRPark. Tax-deductible donations can be made to support us in our efforts to revitalize Four Mile Run Park. Donate to the City's Living Landscape Fund to fund tree and other amenities at 4MRExpand More information here.

HELP. If you'd like to volunteer with the 4MRMarket, go to: volunteer.4MRMarket.org to sign up or look for the "volunteer" tab on our website. You'll be able to volunteer to help process SNAP/EBT sales, help us keep our books, help set up or tear down for the market, or help us find musicians to play the market. You can also find a Market Manager to ask to help, or email us at 4MRMarket@arlandria.org for more info.

READ. Keep up to date on all the goings on by following 4MRMarket on Facebook or Twitter or via our website and blog.

SPREAD THE WORD.  Please tell folks about us. And tell folks about some of the great things we're doing. For instance, all SNAP/EBT participants can take advantage of the Inova-sponsored "Double Dollar" program again this year that doubles the first $10 SNAP participants spend at the market. 4MRMarket is the first farmers’ market in Northern Virginia (and still the only) to accept SNAP. And C&T Produce now accepts SFMNP vouchers!

__________________________________

Buy Fresh Buy Local 4MRMarket products.

The Four Mile Run Farmers and Artisans Market (Alexandria, Virginia 22305) brings fresh, nutritious food to people of all income levels, provide an opportunity for local artisans and producers of goods to bring their wares to market, strive to reflect the diversity of the community, and improve the quality of life for Arlandria residents and visitors. It is part of an overall vision to expand and improve Four Mile Run park and the surrounding neighborhood.

4MRMarket is open every Sunday from 8am until 1pm from April 14th until November in Four Mile Run Park at 4109 Mt Vernon Avenue, Alexandria. 

(click here for directions)

For more info see: http://www.4mrmarket.org/

On Facebook: facebook.com/4MRMarket
On Twitter: @4MRMarket

Contact us at: 4MRMarket@arlandria.org

Or call the 4MRMarket hotline: (804) 4mi-Run1

Spring for Four Mile Run Park

On Friday, May 3rd as part of the Spring for Alexandria 6th Annual Community Service Day, a few staff members from the City's Department of Planning & Zoning and Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities volunteered a few hours to help beautify the plaza at the Four Mile Run Park Expansion. Reusing old troughs that had been reclaimed from a previous projects, the volunteers filled the repurposed planters with new plants, herbs and flowers.

Spring for Alexandria is an event sponsored by Volunteer Alexandria, whose mission to build a better community by inspiring people to volunteer, matching volunteers to opportunities.

Conceptual view of 4MR Expand 
from Four Mile Run Restoration Plan

The volunteer effort is a continuation of a series of private initiatives to revive, restore and expand this public space. Recently, trees were planted as part of the Four Mile Run Park Expansion (4MR Expand), a project that has been a decade in the works. Originally conceived as part of the 2003 Arlandria Plan, 4MR Expand was incorporated into the Four Mile Run Restoration Plan adopted in 2005. Four parcels were acquired in 2007 with Alexandria City Open Space funds but sat idle for a number of years due to lack of money for planning and implementation. A group of architects, known as Architects Anonymous, banded together to create a workable plan for the site that could rolled out over time making the best use of contributions from grants and the community. The non-profit Four Mile Run Farmers and Artisans Market adopted the site as the site for a farmers' market and provide maintenance and financial contributions to further the project. Architects Anonymous contributed additional plans to re-purpose the former paint store at 4MR Expand and to prevent its demolition. 

The Arlandria Plan Implementation Group supported the project by requesting that the City direct some funds that would have otherwise be lost to help complete the community's vision. Since then, 4MRMarket has solicited private contributions to enhance the site and the City's Parks department has coupled those funds with grants that they've solicited to create a venue to showcase the arts and environmental best practice. To date these include: a performance stage, permeable pavers and rain gardens to collect stormwater run-off. Rain gardens to collect additional stormwater run-off and arts grants are still pending.

 

 

 

 

Previous related posts from The Arlandrian:

• Volunteers plan massive tree planting in 4MR Park this weekend
• Four Mile Run DOWNSTREAM Clean-up April 6th
• Tales of an Arlandria Twitcher
• Four Mile Run Park is for the birds!
• Tales of an Arlandria Twitcher: The Ides of March Edition
• Community Comments on 4MR Park
• New Views on 4MR Expand
• Architects Anonymous win for Four Mile Run Park Designs
• Why plan a park?
• Discuss Path Forward for 4 Mile Run Park Expansion Sites
• "Architects Anonymous" Donates Time, Vision To Four Mile Run Park
• How Alexandria City Bureaucracy Didn’t Steal Christmas
• Two Dozen New Trees Grow in Arlandria