10 BANDS NO COVER! Unless you count the Bridge!

Bring the keeedz. Its Halloween, get your tricks and treats under the bridge. We have a PLETHORA of fun stuff and we are waiting for you!

RAM is going completely batty (once again). Please dress up, and vendors, please bring treats. We are going to be making a big impression on the children of our community. Lets give them a LOT OF LOOT! So they have fond memories of RAM (after their tummy aches subside).

Here is a letter from our ghoulish RAMfather:

The new RAM Halloween website is up, and there is so much going on this Saturday it is hard to take it all in!

http://www.riversideartsmarket.com

We've got

Zombies dancing on stage to "Thriller"!
FLU shots!
Trick or Treating for kids!
Our largest line up of street performers ever!
Georgia-Florida fans!
Thousands of costumes (you and your dog should wear one!)
Ten different musical groups!
A huge ad in the Times-Union on Friday!
A Costume Contest!
New RAM Artists of the Week with on-line music samples!
A Halloween poster you can print out!
and the usual plethora (I love that word) of amazing art, veggies, food, and stuff!

Please forward this RAM website link to everyone that you care about, and invite them to come with you this Saturday.

Thanks.

Wayne

Did you know the Art League features art classes on the river at RAM?

Classes beginning at 10 am - Noon and another from 1 pm - 3 pm.

Walk-up signs will be available for all classes at a cost of $20 per class - Six week session sign-ups will also be available for a cost of $80 (this provides a $40 savings for those who want to come each week) Students will bring their own materials and the Art League will supply the easels - For walk ups we want to have class materials available for students who were not planning on taking a class so we have created a watercolor package which will include a set of paints 3 brushes and a sheet of high quality watercolor paper as well as a backing board for a cost of $10. The student can obviously keep those materials for future classes/use. These classes would be open to all ages and Art League/RAM oversight maintained.

The Art League is located at a table off to the side near the river or on the north side of the Market.

We have a ton going on this weekend! Magician tournaments. World class entertainment, new farms, returning farms and friends, new artists, new food vendors, and an all around great time. Please make it down to RAM this weekend and you'll see once again, its never the same market twice.

Nyc

Sculptor

Nyc

Jazz in columbus circle

MOST IMPORTANT THING. EVER

I don't have a lot of time to write out all of the compelling reasons why you need to do this, please just do it. I will come back and explain everything later. Its about soccer, showing off our world class city (I know you think so or you wouldn't be on this blog), and economic impact. But MOSTLY its about hanging out with international soccer fans! COME ON! SIGN IT! GO JAX!

RADIOHEAD COMING TO JACKSONVILLE!

What would it be like if the world's biggest musicians came to Jacksonville and played a free concert for all? A reenactment of sorts is doing just that in Treaty Oak Park this Saturday at 4pm!

Go back in time (for free!) and find out what all that marching is about!

In 1908 Sousa played concerts in Treaty Oak and the Jacksonville Historical Society is bringing them back with the First Coast Wind Ensemble!

This awesome free event also has free adjacent parking! Click here for more info and make it out to this family fun event! Dress in period attire or come as you are one hundred years later!

Need a little audio enticement?

NYCPPSASAPPDQKTHXBYE

This weekend I will not be at RAM. I will be at the Project for Public Spaces workshop on How to Create Successful Markets. I have a new function on my phone and I hope to broadcast live from it. Stand by for more information on that. I am clearing tech and legal hurdles but feel I can make the most of my trip by inviting you along with me. We will see.

Ad space

Maybe it is not time to chime in? What the heck. This is my opinion alone and has nothing to do with any jobs, projects, or partnerships. (as always)

I do not have a personal problem with advertising on bus shelters.

I understand the slippery slope and I think it can be shored up and tight. And create shelter. I don't feel shelter ads are the real issue either. We have the worse ads on bus benches right now, where is the outrage? I feel this galvanized and focused effort to stop transit advertising should first make sure we do not have any current violations of the sign ordinance. Big or small. With all the lawyers and influential opponents of ads on bus shelters, surely we can knock out all illegal signs in no time. Right? What about all these terrible ugly house for sale signs, or Stein Marts disgusting 12 hour sale signs vomited all over Roosevelt? Or signs on all four sides of a building like times union. Or huge signs like WW Gay 3 or 4 signs above their warehouses and the electric pepsi orb by the stadium. Where is the outrage? These don't even cover anybody while they wait for public transit and reduce our city's carbon footprint.

I feel bus shelters with advertisements are aesthetically more attractive than wet and cold (or unshaded) people. I also think historically there has been some really cool and interesting out of house advertising. Especially turn of the century to 1950s or so. Check some out below. Celebrate history with a little capitalism? That may be a stretch but I do feel like we should tighten up our enforcement of current laws before we throw out an idea that brings a better quality of life for the family that uses public transportation.

all photos Florida Memory


How many ads in this pic? Ever wish you could go back in time?

How long would this last downtown?




I like his hands. I work under Fuller Warren!

Old Trolley Sign.

What if the slippery slope is that we find more things that help our people and help our environment by sponsoring public transit?

Thanks!

photo credit: my photo blog :)

The partners of Gallery Restaurant Group, LLC and all of the employees of Uptown Market at 3rd and Main in Historic Springfield wish to thank everyone for coming out to our Grand Opening weekend celebration.

We especially want to thank all of our neighbors and businesses in the area and in the urban core. Much love.

Main Street!

Jazz brunch!

Open!

20 minutes. 6 to 9 free wine. Food. Beer. Uptown

WHAT A WEEKEND! GET OUT THE HOUSE SON!

VIVA! Cinema :60 Commercial from TigerLily Media on Vimeo.

Just up the skreet from the Riverside Arts Market (which is going to be OFF THE HOOK) is the Latino Film Festival Mang. HUGE PROPS TO WINN DIXIE FOR SPONSORING TWO HYPER LOCAL ULTRA COOL AND INCLUSIVE CULTURAL EVENTS!

I support my Winn Dixie just because of sponsorships like this and I hope you do too. Plus, they are LOCAL! Local jobs!

So this weekend is also the Grand Opening of Uptown Market at 3rd and Main in Historic Springfield. Never heard of it? Dang. Tough room. Uptown Market features FREE WINE TASTING and BEER PAIRING and SAMPLE FOODS tonight from 6 to 9pm with live local music! Hit that before you go out!

Then! Tomorrow Uptown Market features FREE BURGERS AND BEERS from 4 to 7pm! City Kidz Ice Cream will have fun stuff for the family and kids as well! Make it happen!

I know, I know, this is up against Viking Day at RAM! YOU CAN DO IT ALL! The high is going to be in the 70s and I can see you hitting up all the events on your bike of choice. Come on, enjoy your city. RAM will also be connected by the Riverwalk to Art in the Park! How fun! It is one of those weekends made to explore the urban core (tm).

Also Uptown Market's Grand Opening weekend celebration will feature a Jazz Brunch with FREE MIMOSAS!

Here is another reason to check RAM out:



And don't forget to purchase a BIKE JAX Tshirt at the Free Bike Valet at RAM!

Swift Update

photo: Audobon.org
From the good Doctor:

Pardon my enthusiasm. In case you did not read the article in the Times-Union last week or receive the notice I sent out a couple of weeks ago (see below), the chimney swifts have returned to Riverside in enormous numbers. The last few nights the number of birds has been getting steadily larger. Last night there were well over a thousand of these tiny birds birds circling overhead at the Riverside Avenue Christian Church (2841 Riverside Ave), and between 7:15 and 7:20 they all flew down the chimney!

This is an extraordinary natural phenomenon, and I hope you will come out tonight at 7:00 to see this astounding pageant in the sky. If you saw it last week, you'll definitely want to come see it again with the greatly increased number of chimney swifts filling the sky overhead.

Guarantee: You will be totally amazed.
I hope to see you there! (The birds may be around for another week or two, or they may be totally gone in a few days. There is no way to predict.) So don't miss this neighborhood spectacle.

Wayne

Good to be King

Congrats to my buddy Joey Marchy, co host and founder of Urban Jacksonville Weekly for his threepeat. Joey's blog UrbanJacksonville.info won best blog again, his third time since ripping it from my trophy cabinet like a grand theft auto avatar. I'm not bitter. No one puts as much effort or creativity into their daily publishing as Joey. Ok, maybe JaxScene puts more effort in, they could have won it, but the king is the king. And we all love eachother anyway. Joey mentions JaxScene of course in his victory post. He even shouts out TUC and some other worthwhile blogs. Including Whacksonville which I enjoy reading but had to 86 from the JaxReader. First blog ever banned. I like Whacksonville and I think it has a great creativity energy and um, humor behind its writers who clearly don't give a crap. We do need more audacity. And I hate to censor anything. But I think I would rather not have them on the reader than them change anything, not that they would. The cawk to content ratio is just too high. I will just have to keep linking them on TUC.

Back to the point. Great job Joey. I think this city has improved every year you have won and I think the two things are related.

More info on free wine and beer coming. Check this page often.

Don't ever give up

Uptown Market this weekend! More info coming Soon!

Look for info on our wine tasting, beer pairing, tailgate packing, free food grilling, face painting, jazz brunching, and Main Street changing GRAND OPENING soon!

HUGE WEEKEND IN SPR!

More details and coupons to come at Uptown Market.

Gettoin busy

Speedgun!

Farm to table

What's going on? Plenty.

Before we jump right into my newsletter, I thought I would tell a quick story. This last Wednesday was art walk. I was involved, started, directed, some would say invented, art walk in November of 2003 (6th birthday coming up!) with Downtown Vision under the direction of Terry Lorince. I have watched it grow from a couple venues to more than 20 to almost 40. I've only missed two in my life. It has gone from a small arts community night out to a major event where almost all of the community comes out. I am so proud and happy with the way it is managed and promoted by Downtown Vision I could almost find no place to improve. On Wednesday I was waiting for the Toyota folks to arrive and set up a free herb booth and couple of hybrids to promote RAM (They are also at the Hemming Plaza Market today). An artist friend of mine came up and asked if the band he was with could set up in front of the burrito. You should know that I am pretty flexible but an hour before art walk is ludicrous. I said no way. I already help (and dj) with the alley across the street, help some at the burrito, and otherwise have enough going on without having to deal with a homeless band looking for a last minute spot. The band's following seemed real disappointed, especially one very large man. Sorry bra. Well it turns out they found a nice home on the Haydon Burns Library front steps on Ocean across from the London Bridge. As soon as I turned the corner I knew exactly who the band was. It was Greenhouse Lounge. I had just heard them play for 4 hours at the Marine Corps half marathon. Their set up was right at the market in front of Red Cross. I enjoyed them immensely but not as much as I did Wednesday night. I am declaring it right now. Greenhouse Lounge is going to be huge. Ok, they are a jam band so they will be a huge jam band. They are very fun, very positive, and clearly very flexible with regards to venues. All the musicians are accomplished and I would say the guitarist is one of the best I have heard in the city. I am working on booking them for November Art Walk. Wish me luck. I just hope they don't remember me (rejecting their proposal). It was hard to walk away from those guys but I am glad I did because I made it down to TSI and caught the Airport Factory. Their last jam included a step dance(?) stomp the yard kind of thing to my favorite jam by them about my favorite town. I will let you guess what jam. I love the Airport Factory and I love my city. Thanks for everything.

I digress, what is happening Saturday? Oh yeah.

The best arts market of all time, ever (tm) is back this weekend with a major promotion this October 10th. The Toyota Farm to Table Tour will be an amazing day for all of us. Some of the city's top chefs will be showcasing their culinary art utilizing our RAM farmers. Urban Jacksonville interviews one of the chefs lists the chefs in recent posts. RAM was selected as one of the few markets in the country to be a part of this promotion and we are super proud. There is so much to come and see, click the links above to explore and prepare for a great day by the river. There are lots of free (sample sized) eats from these superb restaurants: Chew, Uptown Market, Eleven South, Taverna, Pastiche, Richard Nunn, Biscottis, Burrito Gallery, Orsay, Cafe Du Marche, and Bistro AIX.

Checking out the chef's and their farms, taking a Hybrid (Prius or Highlander) test drive, and earning a free herb start will be a lot of fun Saturday, but it is not nearly all you can do!

In addition to Dr. Wood's always phenomenal 17 ring circus of entertainment (including Dot Wilder and world record magicians and jugglers!) we have the...

Jacksonville University Lacrosse Teams coming to do a really cool Lacrosse demonstration, bringing game schedules and a goal; to get you into JU Lacrosse (cool website)! Do I need to be pun-ished for writing like this? Perhaps the pun-itentiary? I digress. Support your local sports especially the ones on our awesome river! That reminds me. Did you notice all the people at the Jaguars game when they waxed the Titans? ME TOO! And that is probably because we now sell JAGS TIX at RAM! Saturday catch them in booth 509! Buy your Jags Tickets at the RAM (always selling the hometown products!)

ALSO! THIS IS THE LAST WEEKEND FOR PROJECT BACKPACK! Please don't forget to bring your new backpacks and gift cards for Project Backpack. A few more artists brought their donations last week- You can win Jags tix AND a parking pass! - THANK YOU EVERYONE!

We want to thank the four vendors who moved to make room for Toyota!

Jamie Cook booth 501
Cindy Guy booth 503
Mary Allegretti booth 713
Samantha Johnson booth 818

Be sure to give them a big hug and buy some local art!

Tony & Brandy & Shannon & the Crew

PS- We always need new volunteers! Shannon's new email is volunteer.ram(at)gmail.com. Let her know when you want to join the best volunteer group in the nation! Our vols get the only currently available RAM tshirts and invites to exclusive special events. Not to mention the awesome feeling one gets helping us pull off the best thing to happen since the river.

Ocean side

Greenhouse lounge

Art Walk Flyer and I Can't stop playing these songs...

full art walk details here


Makes me think of Chicago

Makes me think of NYC

Makes me think of Duval County

Stand by for info on how to work towards free movies at 5 points theatre. For life.

Panaramic

Rainbow seafood. Fresh Croker, jumbo, and super jumbo mayport shrimp!

Kings country

Marine corps half marathon is no joke. Expect delays

HUGE WEEKEND STARTS Tonight. Starts in 35 minutes. Runs until tomorrow.

Biggie Tea and Wesley out back of BG until close. Lots of great sschtuff going on this weekend. Art shows, festivals, plays, and RAM. Good times.

Be about it. Get out and do things.

Almost forgot, first friday in 5 points! WHAT UP 5 POINTS?!

MEGA THURSDAY! DJ THERAPY OUT BACK AT KICKBALL THURS AND UPTOWN DELI OPENS Y'ALL!

Super DJ Therapy from ABs, Asamov, Perceptionists, etc will replace Triclops I for one night only at KickBall Thursday tonight at the BG. I can't tell you how incredible that is no cover. Srsly. Make that happen.

Also, go to the uptown market facebook page and join. You will also see the menu. Hot stuff. We open the market/deli tonight for real with real deals.