Filed under: Uncategorized
Looking to meet environmentally-minded people? Green Drinks is a global organization that links together a mixture of people from government, academia, business, and anyone who is interested in going green or green issues. Every month, people meet up at these informal sessions.
The Green Drinks idea started in a pub in Northern London in 1989. Green minded individuals meeting together noticed another friend and his eco-conscious mates sitting nearby, so they pulled the tables together and the movement began. Now it is a global movement.
During each meeting (according to their website) everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organizing network. It’s a great way to network with other professionals, meet new people, do deals and just have a good time. The spirit of Green Drinks is that anyone can come, and this makes for interesting interactions.
There is now a Green Drinks group in Corvallis. Their next meeting is going to be on Tuesday, Nov. 17th from 6 to 8 pm at Squirrel’s Tavern on 2nd St. in downtown Corvallis. For more information, contact Debra Hascall at d_hascall@yahoo.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized
This one’s too small, this one’s too big, this one is juuusst right! When it comes to hunting for halloween pumpkins, picking out a perfect pumpkin is often a daunting task. Do you want one that’s tall and skinny, or fat and squat? Whatever your pumpkin-preferences are, there are a variety of pumpkin patches in the Corvallis area to choose from.
Muddy Creek Pumpkin Patch, photo courtesy of www.muddycreekmaze.com
Muddy Creek Maze, located on Hwy 99W, which is known for his gigantic corn maze, boasts a gorgeous 2-acre pumpkin patch. They don’t take cards, however, so make sure to bring cash. Click here for directions and more information.
Davis Family Farm, located on 4380 NE Hwy 20, is open daily from 9 am to 6pm. Hot beverages are offered to pumpkin-seeking visitors before they are taken out on a tractor to the pumpkin patch, Davis Family Farm accepts cards, checks, and cash and can be reached at 541-752-0697.
Heavenly Harvest Farm, photo courtesy of www.heavenlyharvestfarm.com
Heavenly Harvest Farm, located on 5757 NE Hwy 20, runs a Harvest Festival from Oct.1st-31st. They also have a corn maze along with hayrides for pumpkin-seekers, corn cannons, apple launchers, and all other sorts of fun and entertainment. Heavenly Harvest is currently in the process of becoming a Certified Organic farm and accepts cards, cash and checks. For hours and directions, click here.
Need more choices? If you want to expand your horizons and take your search to patches outside of Corvallis, click here.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Midway Farms
Autumn has “fallen” upon us, whether you like it or not. Instead of mourning the loss of summer, why not take advantage of the seasonal bounty that comes with this season of multi-colored trees, funky gourds, and cool temperatures? For those looking to take advantage of the unique produce that comes with fall, head over to Midway Farms located on Hwy 20 between Corvallis and Albany.
Midway Farms is a small, organic farm that is open year-round. According to the website, owner Cynthia Kapple started the farm in 1998, originally working 2.7 acres to supply her family and farm stand with fresh produce, cut flowers, and eggs. Now, Kapple works the farm with her husband and children and offers a place for others to sell their produce and homemade goods as well, so there are a wide variety of products (besides produce) to choose from such as soaps and jellies, crafts, garden art, and gluten-free baked treats. There are also a ton of different organic, free range eggs to choose from, sometimes including duck, turkey, or goose eggs.
Being a small, local farm that is open year-round, Midway Farms needs the support of its community members. So now that you know about it, go visit! Resist the urge to zip to Freddie’s next week and, instead, turn your weekly grocery-shopping trip into a fun excursion. Concord grapes, apples, Swiss chard, kale and collards are all in season right now along with potatoes, winter squash and herbs. For directions and more information, visit the Midway Farms website at www.midwayfarmsoregon.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I will leave Corvallis Tourism in a couple of days, which means I have to say goodbye to you guys, but our blog will be still continued. Please keep checking this wonderful site as it provides so many valuable information about the funs you can enjoy in local settings.
At last, I will especially thank Melinda Claire Stewart, the Public Relations Manager of Corvallis Tourism. She helped me a lot with blog ideas and corrections for English grammars and sentences. Without her help, my blog would not appear as nice as right now.
I am also very grateful for John Hope-johnstone, the President of Corvallis Tourism. It’s him who brought me to the Corvallis Tourism and let me have chance to make contributions to the blog. John is a very intelligent and experienced tourism communication expert. Corvallis Tourism would not have today’s achievements without his efforts.
So good-bye, my friends! Please continue to support Corvallis Tourism Industries, and I may also see you some time in the future!
Where can you get fresh farmer’s products at the reasonable price? The Corvallis Farmers’ Market might be the primary choice for you. Every Wednesday and Saturday at the Riverfront, you can pick up your favorite green food from local famers and have fun by participating in various wonderful related activities.
Photo by Michelle Marie
You have a wide range of fresh products to choose in the Farmer’s Market including purple eggplants and grapes, red tomatoes and apples, green cabbages and beans, orange carrots and pumpkins, and a lot more. These foods are fresh with the morning dews and nicely displayed in rattan baskets. It will be very enjoyable to walk through lovely booths and pick these beautiful vegetables and fruits yourself.
These high-quality products are all grown by the local farmers and gardeners in mid-Willamette Valley and Coast Range. The Farmers’ Market is trying to protecting our air quality and the environment by shortening the distance food travels from farm to consumer, and is supporting small family farmers and related small-scale economic activities. You can learn about how the food is grown and processed from these friendly farmers.
There are also a variety of other events going on around the Farmers’ Market such as cooking demo and gardeners’ experience sharing. You might be able to enrich your food knowledge after enjoying a good presentation or communication. You can also visit the Corvallis Artisans’ Market right next to the Farmers’ Market every Saturday morning. Select jewelries, appreciate artworks or listen to the music played by the talented bands! Have more fun at a relaxing market tour morning.
Corvallis Farmers’ Market will be held on Saturdays, 9 AM to 1 PM, April 18-Nov. 21, 2009 and at Wednesdays, 3 to 7 PM (3-6 PM in Nov.), April 22-Nov. 25, 2009. Don’t forget to take advantage of the last two months of this great event in town!! If you want to learn more, please click here.
Filed under: green, organic | Tags: corvallis, First Alternative Co-op, green, local, Oregon, organic
Eat Organically, live greenly and have a healthy life is the goal of many people living in polluted modern society. But it is hard to find all green food you desire in regular grocery store. However, in Corvallis there is a lovely local store-First Alternative Coop-that provides a full range of organic food and products you might need in your household.
Photo by Le Silly
First Alternative Co-op provides high quality, nutritious foods at competitive prices, with a special emphasis on organically-grown, locally produced, and minimally-packaged products. Its two natural food stores carry the largest local food selection in town.
Walking into the First Alternative Coop, you can feel the green atmosphere immediately from the painting of fresh flowers and vegetables on the wall and the neat florist at the door. More pleasantly, you will find numerous choices to fill your kitchen including community-produced green vegetables, hormone-& antibiotic-free meat, over 700 different organic bulks, and more than 300 different cheeses from around the world—including plenty of local cheeses made right here in the Willamette Valley.
More conveniently, First Alternative Co-op also offers a wide range of well-cooked food for your meals and picnics. They contain a full salad bar, grab & go case and a full line of baked goods and an endless selection of fresh deli meals. First Alternative’s talented chefs use organic and local ingredients as much as possible, and they are constantly experimenting with new recipes. You can always find new entrees, salads, wraps and desserts alongside your old favorites.
Only looking at these colorful foods and smelling their temping scents make your mouth watering. Imagine you are going to a picnic, you might like to have a Beer Battered Cod, a deli slice of Tillamook Cheddar cheese, deli olives and sun-dried tomatoes, a couple slices of locally-made cheesecake or chocolate brownies, Mo’Beta fresh and organic juice and a bottle of local Chardonnay white wine. The abundance of choices will go beyond your imagination.
After choosing all of your treats, you can go upstairs to eat on the roof top of the store. It is a comfortable and cute place to meet with friends and enjoy some sun lights. You can even see the sun set when dusk is coming.
So, friends, don’t forget to stop by the First Alternative Co-op when you are in town, for high-quality foods, delicious delis, fun roof top meetings and a healthy and green life style!
Corvallis is a wonderful community known for its bike-friendliness, great outdoor activities and the green landscapes. If you visit Corvallis, the best way to tour this town is probably not hastily driving by, but leisurely enjoying the green and serene neighborhood. In this aspect, Corvallis Pedicab may be your best choice.
Corvallis Pedicab was founded by Corvallis resident Dan Crall on March 26, 2009. It offers tours around town, chauffeur and taxi service, and is also available for events such as weddings, parties, and festivals. Corvallis Pedicab can also be used for parades, grand entrances or mobile protests when fun vehicles are expected.
The theory behind Pedicab is simple: Environmental-friendly and leisure. Besides the current consideration of energy security, Pedicab is a great way to relax and soak in Corvallis. Riding in a pedicab enables you integrate into the environment and enjoy the community as fully as possible.
You can take a number of tours of Corvallis, for rates as low as:
• $45 per hour
• $25 per 1/2 hour
• $15 per 15 minutes
Tours include (not limited to):
• Downtown and Willamette Riverfront
• Oregon State University
• Corvallis Neighborhoods (any part of town except for the steep hills)
• Corvallis Beer Tour
• General Tour (one hour, covers most of town)
• Extended Tour (two hours or more, covers more of town)
• Historical and natural tours available.
If you want to learn more about Corvallis Pedicab, please click here.
Enjoy the ride!
Filed under: green | Tags: Benton County, corvallis, Oregon, Vineyard, Winery
Have you ever imaged yourself standing on a wrap-around terrace, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying a glorious view of vineyards. Then Corvallis is the place to fulfill your dreams. It’s the home of over a dozen wonderful wineries dotted throughout Benton County.
Benton County’s wine region is famous for producing premium wines such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer. Airlie Winery’s Pinot Gris has been reviewed as one of the extraordinary whites by Wine & Spirit magazine (June 2006). The lean, complex and aromatic Pinot Gris has been impressing tasting panels for several vintages running. The most popular wine produced in Benton County is Pinot Noir, one of the most complex of all varietals and can be intense with a ripe-grape or black cherry aroma. Chardonnay is another popular dry white in Benton County. It is the America’s number one selling white wine varietal, boasting the fresh fruit flavors of apple, pear, tropical, and melon. A spicy wine, Gewurztraminer, is also widely produced in Benton County, possessing a range of flavors such as spicy, floral and citrus. Different wines are made to pair with different food. You can sample wines with recommended food in stylish tasting rooms at the wineries.
Most Wineries in Benton County have their own vineyards. Winery owners believe the winery magic lies in the beautiful, carefully farmed grapes grown under the best conditions. The finest wines are able to showcase the natural flavors of the grapes and the environment in which they are grown.
If you tour the wineries, you will also have chance to learn about the wine producing process. Take Pinot Noir, for example. In order to extract the juices and colors from fresh grapes, the fermentation process takes about 11 or 12 days. In the meantime, a cap is manually punched down to the grapes to enhance the extraction. Upon completion of the fermentation, wines are channeled into the barrel room through a chase in the floor. Then the wines are stored in French oak barrels for the next ten-plus months before they are ready to be released.
Wine tasting is regarded as a sub-culture in the U.S. Since you are already in wine country, why not start getting familiar with some wines. Check the tasting rooms, hit the wine parties and pour yourself some fine wines. Have a happy wine time with your friends!
Hi friends, my name is Lin Zuo, a recent Mass Communication graduate from the University of Oklahoma and a former marketing communication professional in Beijing China. I am currently living in Corvallis with my aunt and her family – an adventurous guy, two naughty boys and a cute puppy.
I am a big fan of travel. One of my favorite quotations is “The world is a whole big book. If you don’t travel, you just read the first page of the book.” It is the reason why I came to US in the first place-to the see the world and to explore how people enjoy life in different places. I have been travelled a lot of landmark cities in US such as New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami. But when I came to Corvallis, I was still impressed by Corvallis’ green landscapes, various outdoor activities and diverse artistic and cultural events. Corvallis is a great place to live. We have so many beautiful things to appreciate in our everyday’s life. I like to be waken by a bird in the morning, ride a bicycle to my office, shop the local craft stores, check the different cultural events and go camping and hiking on the weekend. Life is healthy, relaxing and enjoyable here.
I have a wonderful time in Corvallis, and like to share my views with anybody who might love the lifestyle of Corvallis. I will start to post my experience in Corvallis Tourism’s blogs and expect to have more chat with you guys.
Lin Zuo
Filed under: Recreation, Relaxation, green, tourism | Tags: Art, corvallis, Gilded Glass, Glass Art, Glass Blowing, Jan Maitland, Skip Horton
Sun Dance Martini Gilded Glass by Jan Maitland
Corvallis is known for being a city of art and culture. We also take great pride in the diverse ways that people choose to express themselves. Two artist who take this to a new level are Skip Horton and Jan Maitland. Their unique style of mastering glass artwork has created a new definition of sustainability in art.
Skip Horton is what you would call an all around artistic guy, he has been a potter, custom furniture maker, and a luthier. His interest in glass blowing started in 1978 and has since grown. Skip and his wife Donna’s interest were so profound that they opened Gazelle Glass, which has been around for more than 30 years. Their unique passion for creating glass blown items (mostly salt and pepper shakers) has brought their art to people all over the country.
Jan Maitland is an internationally awarded pastel artist, however a true passion of hers lies in gilded glass. Her work in glass is a take on the art of many others from all over the world. However, it is also complemented by her own style, a style that has evolved to the use of gold and silver gilding, enamel painting, reverse painting, and the use of millefiori beaded accents. More information about both her pastel and glass work can be found on her website.
