Earlier in the day, the weather turned cold, gray and windy -- not a surprise for May in the Midwest. But by 7:00 pm, the sun was shining, the grills were hot and the guests were arriving in anticipation of our third Underground Supper Club, this one at the Apple Farm Community in Three Rivers. It...
After our blog post and e-mail on May 3 about the possibility of losing the Huss property if we can't pay the balloon payment on our mortgage by June 15, we had a flurry of donation activity. When we sent out that S.O.S., we were at $29,300, but this morning, we're at $39,200 -- which...
As the Forsythia flowers bloom in the front yard, we're also getting ready for summer: new interns, summer programs like Family Fun Night and Future Festival 2013! Forsythia flowers are always a friendly reminder of the season to come -- bright and full of possibility. Summer is always a busy season at the Huss Project and we...
Here in Three Rivers, we have a tradition of reading a poem or a blessing before our shared meals, and so we keep around a variety of collections of short meditations. One that I've appreciated has been Dialogues with Silence, which combines prayers and drawings from Thomas Merton. The collection opens with this one, which...
Let May 3, 2013 go down in history as the date that *culture is not optional met its matching donation goal a whole 12 days early! Our Brick Campaign donations last Friday not only reached our goal of matching a $4,500 commitment from an anonymous donor by May 15, but they exceeded the goal to...
When we first launched the Brick Campaign, we set a very ambitious goal: to raise $100,000 by June 15, 2013. Why June 15? That’s the date that the balloon payment is due on the mortgage for the Huss Project property -- about $50,000. The campaign has been going very well, with many generous contributors helping...
Many folks have asked us about the logistics of purchasing the historic Huss School as the headquarters for *culture is not optional's work in Three Rivers. How could a scrappy, upstart organization afford such a fine palace as this? Well, I'll start from the beginning...
Stephen demonstrates a homemade drum as part of his session for making musical instruments out of recycled materials in the art tent at Huss Future Fest 2012. Around the time we were raising the funds for *cino to purchase Huss School in 2009, we received an out-of-the-blue blog comment from someone named Stephen Wirzylo in Toledo. ...
Julianna Sauber leads volunteers cleaning up the Triple Ripple Community Garden at the Huss Project during the garden's clean up day in 2011. As the weather heats up, we get closer to starting the garden's fourth season with this year's clean up day! On May 4, we will be at Huss from 10:30am to 1:30pm...
(David helping with our first Underground Supper Club.) I have lived in Three Rivers for close to ten years. Somewhere in that timeline, Three Rivers changed from being “someplace I lived for now” to “someplace I’m enjoying living and would like to remain in.” There weren’t any Hallmark moments to commemorate this transition from temporary to...
Yes, you read that correctly: right now, you can double your donation dollars to the Huss Project! We are thrilled to announce that an anonymous donor has offered to match donations between now and May 15 up to $4,500. If we reach our goal, that's a whopping $9,000 toward our ambitious Brick Campaign goal! If your employer...
Dale Hasenick chats with students from Calvin College about farming at White Yarrow, and the importance of growing vegetables organically. For many of the students, this was the first time they'd ever visited a farm. In this photo, Dale explains how he starts many of the vegetables he grows inside and under lamps before transplanting...
