Mark Meckes
30th December 2003, 01:52 PM
Mark your calendars! Avery Island Weekend: Feb. 11-12-13, 2005
----------------------------------
2004 Avery Island Get Together.
----------------------------------
The annual Avery Island Work day and Get Together begins on Friday, February 6, 2004 - at 6 pm with supper at the Best Western Motel on Highway 14 in New Iberia, Louisiana.
After supper Marler Spence will give a presentation (in the conference room at the Best Western) on bamboo in China. Marler Spence will share his experiences of the five weeks that he enjoyed visiting China in a presentation titled "Anji, China--- "Bamboo Hometown"
Marler holding a culm of the world's largest bamboo
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/519/thumbs/430Dsinicus.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=789)
- one of the many slides that Marler will be showing. Marler visited many people, places, bamboo groves, bamboo product factories etc while in China. His presentation will be an eye-opener for those of us who have not lived in a bamboo cultured society.
An exhibition of `Things Bamboo' will also be on display representing works by members of the Bamboo Arts and Craft Network. Bring pictures or examples of your bamboo works . WE WANT TO SEE what YOU have been doing with bamboo!
Bamboo Music! An array of bamboo musical instruments will be on display. For the musically inclined, there will be opportunities to fill the air with the sounds of bamboo music!
There will be a brief overview of Saturdays Workday schedule of activities, and time permitting an introduction and discussion on `Grove Management Techniques - Practices and Principals', which will continue with hands-on experience in the following two days.
----------------------------
Saturday Februrary 7th 2004:
Members meet at Jungle Gardens parking lot at 8:30 am for our annual workday in the 1910 moso grove that we have been tending for the past several years.
SATURDAY will be a workday in the privately owned and historic 1910 Moso grove at Avery Island. Andy Ringle, who lives on the Island, and his brother Ken, the owner of the grove, will be our hosts.
We will meet at the Jungle Gardens parking lot at 8:30 am for a briefing
and orientation before proceeding into the private area to the Moso grove. Although this is WORK it has always been a unique, fun experience in past years and we anticipate the same this year. We have many people coming from out of state to participate, some as far away as Virginia!
Please come prepared to work at some task. Wear sturdy shoes, bring gloves and safety glasses and dress accordingly.
The weather may be cool this early, but the work needs to be done prior to the bamboo shooting season when serious damage might occur if we worked throughout the grove.
Each family group will get one Moso pole free, plus the opportunity to purchase others at prices ranging from $5.00 for large-diameter canes to $1-2.00 for smaller ones.
A few chain saws-three or so-will be needed. If you have one and have some skill using it please bring it.
Other useful tools to bring would include shovels, loppers, pruning saws, machetes, and general heavy gardening tools. We will have available 6-8 sharp cane knives for trimming branches, but these are not for the novice.
There should be an opportunity to dig a few small moso plants. If you plan to do so, please bring a bag of garden soil to fill the hole: no dirt, no plant!
We hope to finish about 3:00 pm. At that time we have arranged to visit an even older moso grove, the oldest, in fact, in Louisiana: the Edwards grove in Abbeville, planted in 1904 and celebrating its 100th birthday this year. After that we will gather for dinner at Black's, a well-known Cajun (what else?)
restaurant in Abbeville to celebrate and re-cap the day.
FOOD & DRINK: You may want to plan on bringing your own sack lunch and drinks for Saturday. However, we will also be taking orders first thing Saturday morning for po-boys and drinks from the Tabasco Deli ($3.00 for po-boys, $1.00 for bottled soft drinks), deliverable during the morning work break.
VEHICLE ACCESS: As much as possible we will seek to carpool from Jungle Gardens to the Avery Island grove so as to minimize vehicular traffic to and at the grove. Because parking space at the grove is limited, we are limiting the number of pulled trailers at the grove to FIVE. Individual trailer spaces can be reserved--first come, first served--by calling Andy Ringle (337-560-1735). Cars with rooftop carriers and trucks with racks are not subject to this
limitation.
-------------------------------
Sunday, February 8th 2004: 9am to 3pm - Marsh House, Avery Island
Bamboo Arts and Crafts Workshop.
SUNDAY is a watch-and-learn, plus try-your-hand-at-crafts day using
bamboo materials. Mark and Carole Meckes (with the help of others attending this workshop) will conduct a craft workshop from 9am to 3pm at the Marsh House on Avery Island using materials harvested from the grove. (Marsh House itself will hold a fascination for many. It dates from 1820 and is an example of early architecture in the area. This will be a rare opportunity to visit a historic home normally closed to the public.)
You will learn various techniques tips and tricks of working with bamboo.
Here is where you will learn to make beautiful and clever items using only bamboo and skill!
Again this is a free workshop, but all participants need to be members of the ABS/LGCC.
You may choose to be a "watcher" or a hands-on participant.
For hands-on work you will want to bring any of an assortment of small
hand tools, such as safety glasses, fine-tooth saw, hammer, chisels, rasps, files, sandpaper, knives, pencils, Dremel tools, wood-burning pencil/tool, propane torch, cordless drill, bits, hole saws, splitters... any tools that you usually use to work with bamboo.
Note:If you have any bamboo craft objects that you wish to display or photographs of such, please bring them. There will also be an opportunity to display them on Friday evening before/after the presentations.
FOOD AND DRINK: Sandwiches and drinks for Sunday lunch will be
available for a nominal charge.
--------------------------
IMPORTANT NOTICE: These events are limited to ABS/LGCC members only.
Non-members may join Friday evening or first thing Saturday morning.
Dues are $40 for one year with $25 for ABS that gets you six issues of the Bamboo magazine plus a Bamboo Species/Source List. The remaining
$15 is for membership in LGCC with four publications per year, together with meetings such as this.
If you are already a member of ABS and another local chapter then $15 will make you an LGCC member for 2004.
Note these rates are for a family membership, two adults in the same household/mailing address (you get only one of each publication - must share). This means that two adults from the same household will be covered for this meeting by one membership fee.
ACCOMMODATIONS: The Best Western of New Iberia is located at 2714
Hwy 14 (not Hwy 13 as was given previously). Reservations may be made by calling 337-364-3030 or toll free 1-800-840-7147; please tell them you are with the "Bamboo Garden Club Society" (don't ask me to explain this one) for our SPECIAL rates.
Standard rooms for us are $52 single, $58 double; rooms with microwaves and small refrigerator are $61 single and $67 double. Large suites that will sleep up to 4 are priced at $80, and there are other choices in between. When you leave the motel for Avery Island you will turn left (that is, east), cross the railroad tracks and turn right (south) onto Hwy 329 and follow the signs to Avery Island and Jungle Gardens.
Gerald Morris, LGCC Secretary/Treasurer 985-643-8035
American Bamboo Society / Louisiana Gulf Coast Chapter
http://www.lgcc-abs.org/
Discuss this event at the `Bamboo 24/7 - Members Get Together' Forum (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=605)
----------------------------------
2004 Avery Island Get Together.
----------------------------------
The annual Avery Island Work day and Get Together begins on Friday, February 6, 2004 - at 6 pm with supper at the Best Western Motel on Highway 14 in New Iberia, Louisiana.
After supper Marler Spence will give a presentation (in the conference room at the Best Western) on bamboo in China. Marler Spence will share his experiences of the five weeks that he enjoyed visiting China in a presentation titled "Anji, China--- "Bamboo Hometown"
Marler holding a culm of the world's largest bamboo
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/519/thumbs/430Dsinicus.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=789)
- one of the many slides that Marler will be showing. Marler visited many people, places, bamboo groves, bamboo product factories etc while in China. His presentation will be an eye-opener for those of us who have not lived in a bamboo cultured society.
An exhibition of `Things Bamboo' will also be on display representing works by members of the Bamboo Arts and Craft Network. Bring pictures or examples of your bamboo works . WE WANT TO SEE what YOU have been doing with bamboo!
Bamboo Music! An array of bamboo musical instruments will be on display. For the musically inclined, there will be opportunities to fill the air with the sounds of bamboo music!
There will be a brief overview of Saturdays Workday schedule of activities, and time permitting an introduction and discussion on `Grove Management Techniques - Practices and Principals', which will continue with hands-on experience in the following two days.
----------------------------
Saturday Februrary 7th 2004:
Members meet at Jungle Gardens parking lot at 8:30 am for our annual workday in the 1910 moso grove that we have been tending for the past several years.
SATURDAY will be a workday in the privately owned and historic 1910 Moso grove at Avery Island. Andy Ringle, who lives on the Island, and his brother Ken, the owner of the grove, will be our hosts.
We will meet at the Jungle Gardens parking lot at 8:30 am for a briefing
and orientation before proceeding into the private area to the Moso grove. Although this is WORK it has always been a unique, fun experience in past years and we anticipate the same this year. We have many people coming from out of state to participate, some as far away as Virginia!
Please come prepared to work at some task. Wear sturdy shoes, bring gloves and safety glasses and dress accordingly.
The weather may be cool this early, but the work needs to be done prior to the bamboo shooting season when serious damage might occur if we worked throughout the grove.
Each family group will get one Moso pole free, plus the opportunity to purchase others at prices ranging from $5.00 for large-diameter canes to $1-2.00 for smaller ones.
A few chain saws-three or so-will be needed. If you have one and have some skill using it please bring it.
Other useful tools to bring would include shovels, loppers, pruning saws, machetes, and general heavy gardening tools. We will have available 6-8 sharp cane knives for trimming branches, but these are not for the novice.
There should be an opportunity to dig a few small moso plants. If you plan to do so, please bring a bag of garden soil to fill the hole: no dirt, no plant!
We hope to finish about 3:00 pm. At that time we have arranged to visit an even older moso grove, the oldest, in fact, in Louisiana: the Edwards grove in Abbeville, planted in 1904 and celebrating its 100th birthday this year. After that we will gather for dinner at Black's, a well-known Cajun (what else?)
restaurant in Abbeville to celebrate and re-cap the day.
FOOD & DRINK: You may want to plan on bringing your own sack lunch and drinks for Saturday. However, we will also be taking orders first thing Saturday morning for po-boys and drinks from the Tabasco Deli ($3.00 for po-boys, $1.00 for bottled soft drinks), deliverable during the morning work break.
VEHICLE ACCESS: As much as possible we will seek to carpool from Jungle Gardens to the Avery Island grove so as to minimize vehicular traffic to and at the grove. Because parking space at the grove is limited, we are limiting the number of pulled trailers at the grove to FIVE. Individual trailer spaces can be reserved--first come, first served--by calling Andy Ringle (337-560-1735). Cars with rooftop carriers and trucks with racks are not subject to this
limitation.
-------------------------------
Sunday, February 8th 2004: 9am to 3pm - Marsh House, Avery Island
Bamboo Arts and Crafts Workshop.
SUNDAY is a watch-and-learn, plus try-your-hand-at-crafts day using
bamboo materials. Mark and Carole Meckes (with the help of others attending this workshop) will conduct a craft workshop from 9am to 3pm at the Marsh House on Avery Island using materials harvested from the grove. (Marsh House itself will hold a fascination for many. It dates from 1820 and is an example of early architecture in the area. This will be a rare opportunity to visit a historic home normally closed to the public.)
You will learn various techniques tips and tricks of working with bamboo.
Here is where you will learn to make beautiful and clever items using only bamboo and skill!
Again this is a free workshop, but all participants need to be members of the ABS/LGCC.
You may choose to be a "watcher" or a hands-on participant.
For hands-on work you will want to bring any of an assortment of small
hand tools, such as safety glasses, fine-tooth saw, hammer, chisels, rasps, files, sandpaper, knives, pencils, Dremel tools, wood-burning pencil/tool, propane torch, cordless drill, bits, hole saws, splitters... any tools that you usually use to work with bamboo.
Note:If you have any bamboo craft objects that you wish to display or photographs of such, please bring them. There will also be an opportunity to display them on Friday evening before/after the presentations.
FOOD AND DRINK: Sandwiches and drinks for Sunday lunch will be
available for a nominal charge.
--------------------------
IMPORTANT NOTICE: These events are limited to ABS/LGCC members only.
Non-members may join Friday evening or first thing Saturday morning.
Dues are $40 for one year with $25 for ABS that gets you six issues of the Bamboo magazine plus a Bamboo Species/Source List. The remaining
$15 is for membership in LGCC with four publications per year, together with meetings such as this.
If you are already a member of ABS and another local chapter then $15 will make you an LGCC member for 2004.
Note these rates are for a family membership, two adults in the same household/mailing address (you get only one of each publication - must share). This means that two adults from the same household will be covered for this meeting by one membership fee.
ACCOMMODATIONS: The Best Western of New Iberia is located at 2714
Hwy 14 (not Hwy 13 as was given previously). Reservations may be made by calling 337-364-3030 or toll free 1-800-840-7147; please tell them you are with the "Bamboo Garden Club Society" (don't ask me to explain this one) for our SPECIAL rates.
Standard rooms for us are $52 single, $58 double; rooms with microwaves and small refrigerator are $61 single and $67 double. Large suites that will sleep up to 4 are priced at $80, and there are other choices in between. When you leave the motel for Avery Island you will turn left (that is, east), cross the railroad tracks and turn right (south) onto Hwy 329 and follow the signs to Avery Island and Jungle Gardens.
Gerald Morris, LGCC Secretary/Treasurer 985-643-8035
American Bamboo Society / Louisiana Gulf Coast Chapter
http://www.lgcc-abs.org/
Discuss this event at the `Bamboo 24/7 - Members Get Together' Forum (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=605)