Skip to main content

Columbia, Next Gen.


 

According to local photographer Charles Jackson, the well-known Poinstettia Tree is up and ready for your visits at the Mall in Columbia. The holidays may be wildly different this year, but at least this time-honored Columbia tradition lives on.

I have a confession to make: I don’t have a personal attachment to the Poinsettia Tree. Certainly it’s lovely, and festive, but it doesn’t hold the kind of mystical holiday appeal for me that it does for many long-time Columbia residents. After all, I’ve only lived here for 21 years. I didn’t spend my formative years here. I do appreciate it. A lot of work goes into that thing, and a lot of people enjoy it. 

I find myself more inspired by initiatives spearheaded by a newer generation in Columbia: Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods (Nina Basu), Columbia Community Care (Erika Strauss Chavarria), community Ecology Institute/Freetown Farm (Chiara D’Amore). All three women are building on the foundation of Rouse’s Columbia to enhance to quality of life in our community.

Today I want to turn your attention to the Silent Auction going on right now to support the new Maker Space at Freetown Farm. If you are like me, and won’t be making any trips to the Mall anytime soon, you may be searching for safe ways to do your holiday shopping. In addition, a lot of us are putting a concerted effort into shopping local. The Silent Auction has both of those areas covered.

If you want a full interior car cleaning, a virtual babysitter for date night, a vineyard vacation for two, garden sculptures, mugs/teas, jewelry, or wall art—you've come to the right place! We have over 120 auction, raffle, and fixed price items listed. This is a great time to connect with small businesses and local artists by getting a start on holiday shopping. All auction proceeds will go towards our vision of creating a community Maker Space where people of all backgrounds can learn the arts and trades that have become less accessible over the last few generations: pottery, woodworking, metalworking, repair and more!

The auction closes on November 22nd, so you only have a few more days to get your bids in. There are some lovely nature-inspired art pieces, as well as opportunities for trips or music lessons. How about a massage? You know I’m tempted to bid on the vintage 1972 Avion Camper and turn it into an HGTV-worthy retreat, but I’m more likely to go for some of the gorgeous artisanally crafted jewelry pieces, whose opening bids are more in my price range. 

More about the Maker Space:

The Community Ecology Institute is excited to be creating a Maker Space at Freetown Farm. We hope to support personal and community resilience by offering a place for people to learn about arts and skills that were commonly practiced several generations ago such as woodworking, pottery, fiber arts, and repairing things. The creative opportunities are exciting! 

So, visit the Poinsettia Tree if that’s your family tradition. But take a little time to try something new this year. Do some holiday shopping to support a local initiative that’s brimming with every bit as much Columbia spirit. 

The event: https://event.gives/makerspace

The auction items:  https://event.gives/makerspace/items


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more