(08/27/12 4:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Alumni Association and Bloomington Independent Restaurant Association coordinated the first “Flavors of Fourth Street” International Food Festival on Friday.The festival featured food from 12 ethnic restaurants. The foods ranged from northern and southern Indian food to traditional Ethiopian cuisine. Each restaurant provided samples for $1 while musical entertainment performed on the World Stage.“People don’t want to go in and spend $10 or $12 on something they don’t even know they like,” said Steve Swihart, executive director of BIRA and director of the festival. “This is to encourage people to try it.”Bloomington was rated fourth on the list of best food towns in the Midwest by Midwest Living Magazine due to its ethnic variety and local ownership.“This town contains food from A to Z, from Afghanistan to Zagreb,” Swihart said. “That is really unique for the size of this town.” IUAA Alumni Programs Officer Emili Sperling said the idea for the festival developed after talking with graduating seniors last spring. A common wish was to have taken advantage of more of the restaurants on Fourth Street and experienced Bloomington to the fullest, Sperling said.“We wanted students to be able to experience all that Bloomington has to offer in a setting where they could do it on a student budget,” Sperling said.WFHB, a community radio station run by volunteers, emceed the festival and introduced the entertainment.The evening began with a performance by music group Jiridon followed by Sudanese and Egyptian music from Otaak Band. Dark Side Tribal dance troupe performed American Tribal Style belly dance, and the Bernard Woma Ensemble from Ghana performed with African drumming and dance. Costume artists showcased traditional Latin dress.The festival was an opportunity to build community between the restaurants of Fourth Street and encourage students to take advantage of the diversity Bloomington has to offer, Swihart said.Gopinaath Kannabiran, a Ph.D. student from India, painted henna free of charge. Tvips were donated to a local animal shelter. The IU Chinese Calligraphy Club sold traditional Chinese goods and wrote customers’ names in Chinese symbols.Restaurants outside the 400 block of Fourth Street, such as Taste of India and Dat’s, set up tents inside the festival. “We have done Taste of Bloomington, and it worked really well,” Taste of India owner Tiffany Clark said. “People come in and say they tried us there and have never had Indian food before.” Sperling said the proceeds from food purchases benefitted the restaurants, while the wristband proceeds covered event costs.“I hope for this to be an annual thing,” Sperling said. “I want to make sure my students are able to experience the Bloomington that I fell in love with.”
(04/23/12 3:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Center for Sustainable Living put on its third annual “Trashion Refashion” show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre on Sunday.The 2012 “Trashion Refashion” show featured 50 designs made from recycled material by local designers. Event coordinators said the event had doubled in size from the previous year.The Center of Sustainable Living, a community nonprofit that promotes sustainable living through projects, received a grant of more than $500 to fund the “Trashion Refashion” show.The event was an opportunity for the center to raise awareness about recycling and sustainable living, as well as a fundraising opportunity for the organization and its new retail store, Discardia. “A little more than half of the proceeds will go to the Discardia retail store and studio,” Assistant Business Manager Jeanne Smith said.In celebration of Earth Day and the 20th anniversary of the Center of Sustainable Living, “Trashion Refashion” aimed to inspire thought about how clothing should be incorporated into sustainability, MC and Organizing Committee Member Yael Ksander said.“Tonight is the marriage of beauty and sustainability,” Ksander said.The show was divided into two parts: “Refashion” and “Trashion.” The “Refashion” component featured designs made from used clothing revamped into something new and fashionable. The “Trashion” component featured designs made out of items that were never clothing, such as trash bags, strips of film, flour sacks and mardi gras beads.All 50 designs were made out of 90 percent recycled material. Local designers were allowed to purchase 10 percent of their material as new, as long as it was not a prominent component of the ensemble. Dennis Mu, an IU sophomore pursuing majors in apparel merchandising and fashion design, designed a yellow skirt and a blue kimono top out of a men’s old military shirt and a long evening gown for the “Refashion” portion of the show. “In class we had a bunch of old garments that nobody wanted anymore,” Mu said. It took two to three days to make the separate pieces because the whole ensemble had to be completely restyled, Mu said. Stephanie Ellis, an IU senior pursuing a major in apparel merchandising with a certificate in fashion design, made a dress out of old panty hose and polar pop cups, using an old skirt for its elastic. “We did this for a class assignment and could turn it into ‘Trashion Refashion’ if we wanted,” Ellis said. “Mine was accepted, so I’m modeling my own design tonight.”Also present at the event was a pop-up store called Discardia, where items made from recycled materials were sold for local designers. Proceeds from the “Trashion Refashion” show will go to opening an actual retail store for Discardia in May on the B-Line Trail. It will act as a hub in which local artisans can sell their items that might have otherwise been discarded, such as reconstructed clothing, accessories, art and furniture.“There will also be an educational component where people can come into the studio, learn to sew or learn how to make old things new again,” Smith said.Sixty percent of the proceeds will go to the artists, encouraging local artisans to sell their work, Smith said.“We really want to keep this regional,” Smith said, “Monroe County, Bedford and Indianapolis mainly to make sure we support local artists.”The Discardia store and studio will open a block west from the summer Farmer’s Market to the public in May due to the “Trashion Refashion” show proceeds.