My One Shot Deals at Dandelion

Tonight will be the grand opening of Dandelion’s art selections for this month, and in addition to the collection of “Bad Art” from the likes of Brian Phillips, Hannah Miller, Brian Feldman and Jessica Earley and others, and the paintings of Sandra Monday, my photography will be shown in one of the little rooms in the back.

Much of the work has been on exhibit before at Pound Gallery, but there are three new additions in colour which will be showcased alongside the larger black and white pieces.

The official opening will be from 8 pm until 10 pm this evening, and I will be there, likely mucking about and drinking iced tea, so if you’d like to stop by and say hello, please do so.  If you are on Facebook, there is a Facebook event page with more information.  Live music from Robert Johnson will also be enjoyed.

Thursday’s Thread Swap

Thursday, the 18th of June, was the Thread Swap, hosted by Alex at the Black Box Collective.  I was offered an area to sell vegan baked goods at, and so, I baked up a little army of edibles to sell at the event.

Before showing up on the 18th, I’d never been to the Black Box Collective, nor really knew what it was all about.  I had heard about it from a handful of people, but nothing really cohesive or that really painted a picture of what Black Box is and what it’s all about.

That evening, I had been running late because I was hungry and stopped for a sandwich at Pom-Pom’s.  When I got to the place at 7 pm, Alex was the only one there amid bags of used clothes, slowly being sorted and strewn about.  The Black Box Collective is housed in a warehouse, and it reminded me a lot of what the Stone Soup Collective used to be like: no a/c and a DIY attitude.  A few leaks from the recent rain dripped onto the floor, so we had to alter some of the placement of clothes draped upon the donated church pews.  The doors were wide open to let any cooler breezes into the building.  I helped Alex set out some clothing as people began to trickle in, then I set up shop on a table by one of the entrances.

It turned out to be a really awesome evening of digging through clothes, drinking beer, meeting people, listening to music, selling baked goods and hanging out, despite the insane heat that permeated the building once more people started showing up.  I made chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cupcakes with coconut icing, chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing, blackberry scones and all spice crumb-topped muffins.  All the items were vegan and made from scratch.  The goods sold well, considering the clientele of the fashionably broke and that Jorge was selling $2 beer at the Black Box Bar.  I overbaked a bit this time around, but my coworkers at the library were jolly at having some of the excess cookies at work.

The musical side to the evening was fantastic.  Dani Shay started the evening out with her guitar and witty banter, followed by the acoustic talents of Amy White and then an excellent performance by Open Windows.  If you missed out on seeing any of these three acts, you should check out their MySpace pages to look up where they will be next, because all of them had fantastic performances, and I feel really lucky to have been able to see all three of them.  I stayed at Black Box a lot longer than I had originally intended because I enjoyed the company and the performances so much.  Mollie joined in after she got out of class, so that was an extra bonus.

I had a great time at the Black Box, and would love to hold another bake sale again, especially if I get to pick through the discarded outfits of others and score finds on the same level as I did on the 18th.  If you’re interested in seeing what’s going to be coming up in the future at the venue, why not visit the Black Box Collective’s website, or see them on Facebook or MySpace.  After speaking with Jorge that night, there’s a lot in store for Black Box’s future, and if I wasn’t moving to London, I’d definitely want in on it, because it sounds really exciting.  There’s an online forum on the website as well, so go hobnobb.

Bake Sale at the Thread Swap

This Thursday evening, I will be selling tasty homemade vegan baked goods at the Thread Swap happening at the Black Box Collective on West Central Boulevard, just a smidge west of downtown proper.

That’s right, I am having a bake sale.

Per the Facebook event invite:

THIRD THURSDAY
June 18th
7:00pm-?

Bring your old clothes, shoes, and pretty much anything else you don’t want anymore! Clean out your closets and come find free new(to you) stuff!  All proceeds from the door ($3-donate more?) will go to shipping costs of clothes to India! Left over cash will also be donated to villages of friends in need in India! All clothes/shoes we can’t ship will be given to our friends in need right here in Orlando!

So come out! Eat, Drink, Share, and most of all- be merry!

REMEMBER: FIRST COME FIRST SERVE ON FREE STUFF!

*Open Mic poetry sharing hours from 7:00-8:00pm
If you plan to recite, show up in time to get your name on the list

A sweet afternoon/evening of live MUSIC, POETRY, DRINKS, FOOD, AND BEST OF ALL: FREE CLOTHES!
AND LET’S NOT FORGET SOCIAL INTERACTION

Confirmed performance by:
Open Windows
Dani Shay
Amy White

Vegan baked items available for purchase, made by Doreen. Come early before all the sweets are sold out.

At the Thread Swap, there will be $2 PBR, Miller and (thank goodness) Yuengling throughout the evening.  Wine will also be available.

Tentatively, the list of vegan edibles I will be providing will include chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing (or maybe coconut… I haven’t decided), vegan chocolate chip cookies, blueberry scones and allspice muffins with crumble topping.  I’ve cleared my ingredients with the appropriate Vegan KGB representative–so yes, it’s really all going to be vegan–and much of the ingredients I will be using, such as flour and sugar, will be organic as well.

So please, after you’re done sifting through the discarded contents of other people’s closets, stop by and buy a cupcake or cookie from yours truly.  The proceeds aren’t quite as noble as that of the Thread Swap (don’t worry, I’ll be donating clothes, too), but would be just as appreciated, not just by me, but by the friends I’ll be visiting on the West Coast before I move to London.  Hopefully I will remember to bring the paper bags I bought today at Whole Foods for people to take some of these yummies home with them for breakfast or snack time the following day.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Black Box Collective, visit their MySpace page or their website, BlackBoxCollective.com.  They are on 630 West Central Blvd, 32801, and you can see a photo of the space on their MySpace page.  It sounds like it’s going to be a fun night, but I won’t be there for all of it, as I do have my day job to get to in the morning.  Speaking of which, I put in my notice at the Library today!  My final day as a library clerk will the the 15th of July.  Hooray!

Hope to see you Thursday night!

Socialising at the Social Chameleon

I’ve been hanging out often with my friend and fellow single-lady Mollie, and on her birthday, we went to a place new to me: The Social Chameleon.  It’s a relatively new cafe open in what used to be an antique store, then a tattoo parlour, but it’s now a little place that Mollie describes as “a little Stardust,” not so much in character, but in purpose.  The Social Chameleon is a cafe in Orlando’s Milk District on Robinson Avenue, and they’re open until 2 am on Saturday, which has thus far been the only day of the week I’ve been.

This first time, Mollie and I had a birthday beer in honour of her birthday and enjoyed the cozy atmosphere of the cafe’s interior.  The decor is interesting and eclectic, with tiled tables and a very pretty ceiling treatment using scarves–it’s quite nice.  The staff at the Social Chameleon were very nice and chatty, and were especially familiar with Mollie’s friend (and my new friend) Ryan, who lives walking-distance to the place, and so has become quite the regular.

Mollie and I both chose the Nut Brown Ale from Peak Organic Beer, which was nice and smooth–perfect for fans of Newcastle.  Later that evening, I was thrilled to learn that, despite it being midnight, the kitchen was still open, so I ordered a simple plain cheese pizza on the traditional crust at the very reasonable price of $4.  It’s always good to have a list going on in one’s head of places to get food at late hours, and The Social Chameleon has gotten its name on my list.  In addition to pizza, the cafe also has some dips, a cheese platter and a few other edibles to choose from.  This also includes a few dessert items as well.  The following weekend, after leaving Peacock Room because I was craving a late-night Chameleon pizza, I ordered the key lime pie, which was a tasty treat at such a late hour.

I haven’t sat in the back patio area, but it looks to be a nice place to hang out and meet up with friends.  It’s nicely decorated with a wooden deck to keep it from feeling you’re in what used to be someone’s back parking lot, resplendent with little lights on string and a continuation of the cute decoration from the interior.

From my two late-evening experiences on two separate Saturdays, I’ve had good service, good food and good beer, enjoyed in some good company.  The Social Chameleon is a very cute corner tucked away on Robinson, and if you tire of the normal bar scene, it’s nice to go somewhere relatively quiet–although the folks inside may be watching episodes of Family Guy, as they were the last time I was there–serving up food late into the night.  It hasn’t been crowded at all the two times I’ve been, although this might change once word-of-mouth goes around.  The first night I was there, I bumped into my friend Libia, whom I hadn’t seen in an age, and she seemed to enjoy the place as well.

The Social Chameleon doesn’t have a website as of yet, from what I can gather, but the cafe is located on 2406 East Robinson Street, 32803.  The number that’s listed on their menu is 407-715-2138.  It’s a good place to start out your evening, as Mollie and I did on her birthday before heading out to Redlight Redlight, or to fulfill a pizza craving with something other than the choices available downtown.  I’m sure it’s also great in the afternoons, too, but I haven’t yet experienced it myself.

LARVA action

Doug Rhodehamel has something going on this week: LARVA.  For those of you without Facebook accounts, here’s the 411:

LARVA
an installation by Doug Rhodehamel

Will’s Worm! Will’s Worm! Party Time! Excellent!

On Tuesday May 26th I will create a giant, inflated, larva-like structure in the lovely Orlando Florida cozy spot that is Will’s Pub.

This will be my first attempt at something like this. If all goes well, it should look really really cool!

Speaking of really cool, A Scissors, as well as Algarhythm will be making some music!

All for the unbelievable price of FREE!

Recap:

- Big air filled Larva.
- Music by: A Scissors.
- Free!

The event is scheduled from 6 pm until 9 pm.  For those of you unfamiliar with Will’s Pub, or haven’t yet been to its new location, the address is 1040 N Mills Ave, 32803.  I’ve actually got another engagement I may wind up going to that day that won’t be nearly as fun, but hopefully I’ll be out in time to at least catch some of Doug’s newest installation and drink a beer at Will’s.