AVERY ISLAND/JEFFERSON ISLAND WEEKEND – FEBRUARY 19-21, 2010

[CaroleMeckes]

LOUISIANA-GULF COAST CHAPTER OF THE
AMERICAN BAMBOO SOCIETY

AVERY ISLAND/JEFFERSON ISLAND WEEKEND – FEBRUARY 19-21, 2010
(please note: all this info is also available in microsoft word attached at the end of this post)

This year’s Avery Island/Jefferson Island Weekend we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of E.A. McIlhenny’s original planting of bamboo on Avery Island: that grove of timber bamboos that LGCC members have been lovingly clearing over the past ten years. To mark the occasion, following our Saturday work party we’ll return to Avery Island for a special birthday dinner and auction at Marsh House. Then on Sunday, we’ll finish off the weekend at Jefferson Island with some high-quality bamboo skills workshops and Mike Richard’s fabled hospitality. Coordinator for the weekend is Andy Ringle, who can be reached by phone at (337)560-1735 (home) or (337)380-2943 (cell), or by e-mail at andrew.ringle@gmail.com.

As in years past, the weekend is limited to LGCC members and to Avery Island Family members and their guests. While there is no registration fee for the weekend, we do ask that you pre-register, making firm reservations for any meals you plan to eat and paying for these by a check enclosed with your registration form. This is especially important this year in that seating for Friday and Saturday evening dinners is limited.

Our weekend will begin 6:00 p.m. Friday evening, February 19th, at the Comfort Suites, 2714 Hwy 14, New Iberia (phone (337) 367-0855), with drinks and registration followed by a buffet dinner at 6:30 p.m. There we will reintroduce ourselves and catch up on each others doings, conduct a brief LGCC business meeting, and organize our teams for the next day’s work.

Saturday morning, the 20th, we will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Jungle Gardens parking lot on Avery Island for the centerpiece of the weekend: clearing and cleaning the Island’s original 100-year-old moso grove and selected bamboo groves in Jungle Gardens. Each person working will receive a free pole to take home as well as the opportunity to buy additional poles at very reasonable prices. In the afternoon, we’ll have opportunity to relax and enjoy the groves we’ve cleaned. Then, at 6:00 p.m., we will gather for dinner—and auction—at Marsh House, the ancestral Avery/McIlhenny homestead and birthplace of E. A. McIlhenny and his siblings and his Avery cousins.

Sunday morning, February 21st, we will reassemble at Michael Richard’s Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island where, beginning at 9:00 a.m., Carole Meckes, of the Bamboo Arts and Craft Network, and others will be demonstrating various means and methods of working with bamboo. If you have bamboo artwork or crafts to show off, or skills to share, this is the time and place! Following these workshops, Michael Richard has some new surprises to show us! Lunch at Café Jefferson will close out the morning and the formal activities of the weekend. Carol Stangler, author of The Craft and Art of Bamboo, was planning on attending the event but is not able to do so.

EQUIPMENT: For Saturday’s work party, wear sturdy shoes and clothes, and bring gloves. February temperatures can be unpredictable, so dress accordingly. If you have a chain saw and are skilled in using it, please contact Andy Ringle. Other useful tools include pruning saws, loppers, hand shears, and general heavy-duty gardening tools. There may be an opportunity to dig a few designated plants. We will have liability waver forms for all to sign. You will need to be alert at all times to the proximity of chain saws, power equipment, and falling culms, and to observe caution in using any sharp tools. Please bring, and use, all recommended safety equipment including safety glasses, gloves and hearing protection, particularly when working near the chain saws. And don’t forget mosquito spray, sun screen and any other items and necessities to be comfortable.

VEHICLE ACCESS: Because traffic is restricted on Avery Island and parking at the bamboo groves is limited, we will be carpooling as much as possible and must limit the number of pulled trailers to FIVE. However, individual trailer spaces can be reserved (first come, first served) by calling Andy Ringle at (337)560-1735. Cars with rooftop carriers and trucks with racks are not subject to this limitation.

Please refer to www.lgcc-abs.org or www.bamboocraft.net for any last-minute updates regarding the weekend.


REGISTRATION FORM
LGCC-ABS AVERY ISLAND / JEFFERSON ISLAND WEEKEND 2010

ACCOMMODATIONS

We have secured a block of rooms for Friday and Saturday, Feb 19 and 20, at the Comfort Suites of New Iberia, 2817 Highway 14, New Iberia, LA 70560 (behind Ruby Tuesday’s Restaurant), with whom you should make your reservations and payment arrangements directly. Please call (337) 367-0855, speak to any Customer Service Rep (24/7), and mention that you are with the American Bamboo Society: our group rate is $85.00 per night plus tax, 30-item hot/cold breakfast included. You will be free to cancel your reservation any time up to 4:00 PM the day before your scheduled arrival.

(Alas, the three cottages at Rip van Winkle Gardens are already sold out for this weekend.)

MEAL RESERVATIONS

To facilitate the planning of meals arranged for the weekend, we require that you please register and pay for these meals in advance to ensure reserved seating for the Friday and Saturday evening dinners.

Names for badges: ________________________________________________

Address, phone number: ___________________________________________

Email address: ___________________________________________________

Friday Night Buffet – Comfort Suites/New Iberia: ___ person(s) @ $10.00 =$_____
Saturday Bag Lunch & Drink – Avery Island: ___ person(s) [Donated/Paid For]
Saturday Evening Dinner – Marsh House/Avery Island: ___ person(s) @ $30.00 =$_____
Sunday Lunch – Café Jefferson/Jefferson Island: ___ person(s) @ $10.00 =$_____

(If Vegetarian, please so indicate: ___ person(s)
and name ____________________________) TOTAL = $_____

T-SHIRTS

Each worker will receive a free T-shirt for the weekend. Please specify number and sizes:
(Child) ___S ___M ___L ___XL (Adult) ___S ___M ___L ___XL


Remember all events for the weekend are free (meals are extra & optional), and you may choose only to attend selected events.

Please mail completed registration form, together with meals check payable to LGCC, to Elizabeth Edwards, 400 Fairview St., Abbeville, LA 70510-3602 (phone (337) 898-1469). Deadline for receiving pre-registrations will be Friday, February 12, 2010.

Louisiana-Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Bamboo Society

MEMBERSHIP & DIRECTORY INFORMATION FORM

This application is for a:
 New Membership
 Renewal
 Gift Membership (we will notify the recipient)
 Check this box if you DO NOT want to be in-
cluded in the ABS Membership listing
 Digital (Conserve resources and download the
Publications from the internet)

Date ______________________________________
Name(s) ___________________________________
Company__________________________________
Address 1__________________________________
Address 2__________________________________
City ____________________State ____Zip_______
Home Tel __________________________________
Work Tel __________________________________
Fax _______________________________________
Other _____________________________________
E-mail ____________________________________
WWW ____________________________________

 Annual: $40 Digital, $50 Print - Includes a
1-year Primary Chapter membership
 3-year: $110 Digital, $140 Print - Includes a
3-year Primary Chapter for U. S. members; additional Chapters: $40 each per 3-year period
 Lifetime: $600 Digital, $800 Print - Includes ABS membership only
 Supporting: $60 Digital, $70 Print - Includes a 1-year Primary Chapter membership
 Patron: $120 Digital, $130 Print (tax deductible) -Includes a 1-year Chapter membership
 International: $40 Digital, $55 Print (outside U.S.; no Chapter membership included)
 Additional Chapters: $15 per year for each Chapter (Please check Chapter listing at right)

TOTAL $ _______________________

Send this completed form, together with your membership check made payable to LGCC, to:

Elizabeth Edwards
LGCC Secretary-Treasurer
400 Fairview Street
Abbeville, LA 70510-3602

Each year’s membership includes:
• A subscription to the newsletter of your primary chapter (and those of any additional chapters you join)
• 6 issues of BAMBOO: The Magazine of the American Bamboo Society
• An annual edition of the ABS Journal: Bamboo Science and Culture
• The ABS Species Source List
• The Annual ABS Membership Directory

Choose your Primary Chapter membership, and any Additional Chapter memberships
P A
  Florida Caribbean Chapter
  Hawaii Chapter
  Louisiana-Gulf Coast Chapter
  Mid-States Chapter
  Northeast Chapter
  Northern California Chapter
  Pacific Northwest Chapter
  Southeast Chapter
  Southern California Chapter
  Texas Bamboo Society Chapter
  Tierra Seca Chapter


LOUISIANA-GULF COAST CHAPTER / AMERICAN BAMBOO SOCIETY
AVERY ISLAND MOSO GROVE CLEANUP
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2010

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Welcome, and many thanks for coming! Your volunteered time and efforts over the past several years have made a critical difference in the condition of the groves you will be visiting today, and we are profoundly grateful for your help. The following procedures will, we hope, make for a highly productive and enjoyable day for all of us.

1. SAFETY FIRST, LAST, AND ABOVE ALL! The tools we will be working with require careful, focused attention. Make use of all suggested protective equipment, including safety glasses, work gloves, and earplugs. Know at all times who is working near you and where they are, and make certain they are out of range of any blade you may be using and of any falling culm. A first aid kit and water cooler will be available at a designated location adjacent to each grove.

2. Please hand in your signed and witnessed Waiver of Liability and any unpaid membership dues at Jungle Gardens on Saturday morning.

3. Please follow the directions of your team leader and the designated coordinators both when working in the groves and when bringing material out of the grove into the clearings.

4. Lunches will be delivered in time for our half-hour lunch break at 12:00 noon. After lunch, we will continue working until 2:00 PM or our work is done, whichever comes first.

5. Each worker will have the opportunity to pick out a free moso pole from among those harvested. If you need to leave before 2:00 PM please let us know ahead of time so that we may arrange to set your free pole aside. The remaining poles will go on sale at 2:00 PM. If we finish our work earlier this time may be moved up, but in any case we will give you 15 minutes’ warning before starting the sale.

6. A limited number of free moso plants will also be available for digging. Please backfill any holes using the mulch available in the piles nearby.

7. Please have your vehicles packed and ready to leave by 4:00 PM. Place all your trash in the designated blue containers.

8. As to Calls of Nature, the groves welcome your nitrates! For those who find sitting necessary, however, there are restrooms available—the coordinator at your grove site will direct you.

[Jim Radio]

Hello!
We are looking forward to another fun-filled weekend in LA!
We would like to know who else from Austin, besides Karen, Carole and myself, are planning on attending.
Thanks! jim ellinger & karen horan

[CaroleMeckes]

Out of 60+ people who attended the event at Avery Island this year it looks like Jim and Karen and myself were the only "Austinites" there...



Here is a link to the pictures that I took over the 'bamboo weekend'.

Enjoy,
Carole

[CaroleMeckes]

Daphne Lewis videotaped the Saturday workday at Avery Island February 2010- check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e2comTK0-8