Thursday, June 25, 2009

Community Supporter: Half Price Books

Half Price Books just donated $1,750 to Unpaving Paradise through its corporate environmental initiative. The Capitol Hill location led the way in pooling the environmental grant money from stores all over the Seattle area to give to the park at John and Summit. Our friendly neighborhood Half Price Books has also been kind enough to host an info table on UP and the park-to-be - if you have a chance to visit, it's on the top floor just to the left of the stairs.

8/4 - UP to co-sponsor Cap Hill Chill 'n' Grill

August 4th is the Seattle Police Department's "Seattle Night Out". "Night Out" is a nation-wide crime prevention event that the City of Seattle participates in by waiving the fees for blocking non-arterial streets, thus encouraging block parties all around the city.

This year, Cafe Metropolitain and Unpaving Paradise are co-hosting one of the block parties of the "Seattle Night Out": The Capitol Hill Chill 'n' Grill. There will be free food and entertainment for the whole family, booths with information about neighborhood non-profits, and plenty of time to chill out and meet your neighbors.

If you'd like more information or you're interested in volunteering during the event, please email us at unpaving(dot)paradise(at)gmail(dot)com.

UP booth at Pride Festival CANCELLED

Unpaving Paradise will not have a booth at this year's Capitol Hill Pride Festival.

Potential volunteers: visit the Festival, play Calvinball in the park, and generally enjoy your day off! Have a Happy Pride Weekend!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

John and Summit Park and P-Patch: A Project Pertinent to Our Economic Times


When was the last time you saw a kid in an ad salivating over fresh produce? Ah, those were simpler times with more interesting hosiery (note the nifty seam down the back of the lady farmer's legs - scandalous!).

While we're not on rations and the battles we fight are different, home-grown produce can still play a large role in making our lives affordable and sustainable. In short, our local food is still fighting for us here and around the world. Support your local Victory Garden/ P-Patch today!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Pictures from the Capitol Hill Community Garage Sale


Justin Carder of CHS Blog and the main organizer of the Cap Hill Garage Sale. He put his time and money into making this event happen - you can help him break even by donating here.



The Amazing Sale: The Community Lot of the Cap Hill Garage Sale



Above and below: our absolutely fabulous booth, courtesy of Panache.





Garage Sale Saturday - UP at the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Garage Sale

Last Saturday's Capitol Hill Garage Sale was a smashing success for the participants and a big hit with the neighborhood. There were over 70 registered sales and over 30 of them (including UP's) set up shop at the community lot on Pine and Belmont.

The unaccustomed activity on the long-empty lot drew as many people and more as all previous flyering and advertising. Neighborhood excitement and ideas about the present and future activation of the space were recorded by People's Parking Lot, co-sponsor of the Cap Hill Garage Sale and the group responsible for securing the lot for the event. You can see some great People's Parking Lot pictures of the Sale here and see the list of the all the ideas that PPL gathered here.

The UP sale was also a success - we helped some residents get rid of their extra stuff, we had many opportunities for community outreach and we made a grand total of $280.65 (not bad for a day's work!). We also had the most fabulous booth in the entire sale due to a generous loan of equipment from Panache on Broadway. Neon fluffy umbrellas, fake plants, pink flamingoes - it was amazing.

Thank you to everyone who made this event possible - our volunteers (thanks Hong, Josh, Becki, Thomas, and Jen!), our "sale stock" donors, CHS Blog, People's Parking Lot, Panache, Sustainable Capitol Hill, and last but not least, everyone who patronized the Capitol Hill Garage Sale this weekend. You are all amazing!

Monday, June 8, 2009

We need volunteers! - The Capitol Hill Garage Sale and the Capitol Hill Pride Festival

As we may have mentioned before, June is going to be a very busy month for Unpaving Paradise. Last Sunday's Farmer's Market went wonderfully - the weather was nice, the volunteers hardworking (thanks Josh, Pinar, Micah, Becki and Thomas!), and the Capitol Hill Garage Sale flyers proved so popular we had to run down the street to make more! But we cannot yet rest on our laurels, because the Capitol Hill Garage Sale and the Capitol Hill Pride Festival are coming right up and we still need volunteers for both these events.

Unpaving Paradise will have a sale at the Pine and Belmont community space of the Capitol Hill Garage Sale next Saturday, June 13th. Because UP is a sponsor of the event, we hope to get enough volunteers to run our own sale and to help coordinate the CH Garage Sale as a whole. The sale will run from 10am to 4pm, but we'll need volunteers from about 9am to 5pm so we can do donation pickup, set up, take down and donation of unsold items as well. This event will be outside, but UP will have an canopy over our space.

Unpaving Paradise will also have a booth at the Capitol Hill Pride Festival on June 27th. The Festival will run from 11am to 4pm, but we will need volunteers from about 10:00am to 5:00pm so we can set up and take down the booth. Our presence at the Pride Festival will mostly be about outreach, but we also hope to be able to sell some rainbow bandanas as a fundraiser. This is also an outdoor event, and UP will have a canopy over our booth.

If you are interested in volunteering at either event, for any period of time, please email unpaving(dot)paradise(at)gmail(dot)com to sign up!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

UP in the news

Seattle PostGlobe: Capitol Hill to get P-Patch

6/27 - UP Booth at the Capitol Hill Pride Festival


June is a busy month for Unpaving Paradise! Along with co-hosting the Capitol Hill Garage Sale and tabling at the Farmer's Market, UP will also have a booth at the Capitol Hill Pride Festival on Saturday, June 27th. The Festival will run from 11am to 4pm, and as always, we need volunteers to help run the booth and tell our neighbors all about the park-to-be at John and Summit. If you're interested in volunteering at the UP booth or to poster for the event, please contact unpaving(dot)paradise(at)gmail(dot)com.

6/7 - UP Tabling at the Cap Hill Farmer's Market






We'll be at the Capitol Hill Farmer's Market again this Sunday - hope to see you there! If you'd like volunteer, please contact unpaving(dot)paradise(at)gmail(dot)com.