Outdoor gathering to meet and thank our willows and our creativity and bid goodbye to this magical outdoor installation.
Join us to share stories and share food together at Thailicious Restaurant.
Dear Friends,
Spring is here, and with it comes the joy and warmth of Sizdah Bedar - a Persian tradition that marks the thirteenth day of the Persian New Year as a nature day. We are excited to invite you to our Sizdah Bedar event on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, from 1-5 pm at El Jardin del Paraiso community garden at 311 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10009. This event is open to both the NYC Iranian and West Asian diaspora and those outside of the diaspora.
Our theme for this year's Sizdah Bedar event is "Zan, Zendegi, Azadi" - "Women, Life, and Freedom." We want to celebrate the resilience, strength, and contributions of women to our community and stand with them in their struggles for justice and equality. We also believe that social and environmental justice are critical values that should guide our actions and decisions. We want to create a space where we can learn from each other, share stories, and build meaningful connections.
We will start the event with a potluck picnic, where everyone is welcome to bring a dish to share. We encourage you to bring reusable plates, cups, and utensils to help reduce waste and protect our environment. After the potluck, we will take a few blocks to walk to the East River, where we will collectively float our "sabzi," sprouted greens and make a wellness wish for ourselves, our loved ones, and our planet. This is a beautiful and meaningful tradition that symbolizes our connection to nature and our commitment to sustainability.
We ask that you support everyone's safety and well-being. We also encourage you to bring any games or activities you want to share with the group.
We are excited to celebrate Sizdah Bedar with you and create a space to come together as a community. Please feel free to invite anyone you think would be interested in joining us. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
With love and justice,
Aresh
@areshearth
Beloved friends, our fire-jumping companion,
Wellness and love you and all you hold dear to your heart. Chaharshanbeh Suri fire jumping is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14th, 2023, and we need your support.
In case we reach the venue’s legal capacity, we will make two events, one from 6-8 pm and the other 8-9 pm, allowing the opportunity for more of our friends to be able to fire jump.
Another requirement by the FDNY in order to participate in the fire jumping is that you must show your ID and sign a waiver form. You can print and bring it with you, or we will have copies you can fill and sign at the event.
Please Sign Up Here to our Mailing List and/or join us to help us Organize and Volunteer for the 2023 fire jumping celebration. Here is Donation Link to tell us how much you love to make this fiery-free event come to life!
We raise the flames of justice and solidarity, dedicating Charshanbe Suri 2023 to all the brave women and their supporters in Iran, Afghanistan, and beyond.
More Gardens and Aresh Javadi @areshearth
translated by Ralph Waldo Emerson
See how the roses burn!
Bring wine to quench the fire!
Alas! the flames come up with us,—
We burn up with desire.
Beloved friends, our fire jumping companion,
Wellness and love you and all you hold dear to your heart. We are sad to say with many challenges facing us, the March 15th, 2022 Chaharshanbeh Suri fire jumping is postponed to Tuesday, March 14th, 2023.
Please Sign Up Here to our Mailing List and/or please join us to help us with Organizing and Volunteering (there will be a picnic in mid-April for all those interested), for the 2023 fire jumping celebration. Here is Donation Link to let us know how much you love to make this fiery free event come to life next year!
More Gardens and Aresh Javadi @areshearth
Breakfast Press Conference for Children’s Magical Garden, More Gardens and individual NYC community gardeners’ civil rights lawsuit against real estate developer David Marom who sued us (all the above) for $20 million Dollars!
At: Children’s Magical Garden, 129 Stanton Street, New York, New York 10002
On: Tuesday, November 23rd at 7:15 AM
Contact: Children’s Magical Garden Director Kate Temple-West at 917-702-4171
Dear Friends and Community,
Please join More Gardens, Children’s Magical Garden and the Lower East Side Community for coffee, breakfast and urgently holding the line for gardener’s rights this Tuesday morning. Children’s Magical Garden, More Gardens, and concerned community members are speaking on Tuesday, November 23rd at 7:15 AM about their civil rights lawsuit filing Monday.
Real Estate developer David Marom sued individual gardeners, including parents of young children, for 20 million dollars as well as Children’s Magical Garden and More Gardens Fund for defamation simply for speaking up on behalf of the garden. This lawsuit on behalf of the garden, stating that this was a civil rights violation, will make any developer think again about trying blatant intimidation tactics against our community.
Bring your children and your inner children to illuminate how showing up for justice can be fun and life-affirming!
We will have hot beverages and breakfast (donuts and bialies and fresh fruit) and share good energy to show how important our precious garden is to the community.
Your presence will make it so special.
Below are all the details.
Looking forward to seeing you Tuesday at 7:15 AM!
Gratefully,
Kate, Tiffany, Lissette, George, and members of Children’s Magical Garden
Aresh Javadi, Director and JK Canepa President of More Gardens Fund
The details:
Monday Children’s Magical Garden, More Gardens and individual community gardeners will file a civil rights lawsuit against real estate developer David Marom for his unlawful attempts to intimidate and silence community members defending and preserving our beloved Garden. Below is a summary of our claim.
For nearly forty years, Children’s Magical Garden has provided a safe haven for children to play and learn about nature across the street from P.S. 20 elementary school. Yet, since 2013, David Marom has tried to seize a piece of our Garden and bulldoze it so he can build his own private residence. We have vigorously been defending our rights to preserve the Garden in court. When the Garden and community members spoke the truth to the media about egregious attacks and the Garden’s rights, David Marom tried to silence us by bringing a $20 million defamation lawsuit.
In many cases, the burden and enormous expense to defend against such suits are too much for community gardeners and working-class people. We stood our ground, and thanks to securing pro bono lawyers from Sidley Austin LLP and Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, we successfully defended ourselves. New York Supreme Court ruled that Marom’s claims against the community violated New York Civil Rights Law protections for individuals and community groups exercising their constitutional rights to speak out on issues of public importance.
With today’s lawsuit, the Garden, More Gardens Fund along with volunteers and neighbors, are sending a strong message: if you try to intimidate, harass, or harm our community, especially the children in our community, there will be consequences. We are asking the Court to impose fees and damages on Marom for his, civil rights violations.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Dear friends of Chaharshnbe Suri
With hearts filled with the loving fire of gratitude for all of our community, we have decided to cancel our event until next year’s Spring Eve of 2021. This difficult decision was made after looking deeply into our hearts and wanting the best for our youngest newborns, our beloved elders, and all of those in-between’s wellbeing and consideration. (Please see www.flattenthecurve.com for more epidemiological details of how this strategy is the most sound and informed one for keeping all of us safe and well at this time.)
Despite our sadness, the red fire of our community is transforming us anew! We are poised to make our event even more magical than ever next year, with plenty of room for everyone at a bigger park. This was the first year we have gone fully visible, with support and backing by our elected officials. This year our two Chaharshanbeh Suri communities in the LES led by Simin Farkhondeh of La Plaza Cultural Center de Armando Perez and Aresh Javadi of More Gardens Fund and their communities joined forces together to overcome our original challenge of being unable to use our LES community gardens due to ongoing lease negotiations with the Parks Department. Amazingly our team negotiated by Simin was able to get approval for the Sarah Roosevelt Park with great support from GreenThumb’s Deputy Director Carlos Martinez, working along with Sam Biederman, Assistant Commissioner for Community & Partnerships and finally Anthony Sama director of Park’s Special Events. Carolina Rivera’s office and particularly her budget director Katie Loeb went out of their way to advocate for our event to the Parks Department and was helping us figure out the logistics of insurance and other more complex park requirements. Her office fully supports our decision to cancel and looks forward to supporting the realization of our event next year.
In adversity, the LaPlaza and More Gardens team came together, and in unity were able to create a new possibility of the larger Park space to accommodate the ever-growing enthusiasm and number of both the Iranian, Afghan, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, and Zoroastrian diaspora and the many new fans who have been enchanted by this transformative event.
As we leap over our little candles in our separate spaces on Tuesday, we hold all of us together, singing and leaping the flames in joy and celebration of the coming year, and all of our prayers and wishes for wellness the fire brings us will surely be felt amongst us all.
Please stay in touch, send us your pictures of candle jumping to gladden our hearts, and please sign up to be a part of next year’s planning.
Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and joyous Spring and Norouz/New Year,
Simin Farkhondeh, Events Committee and Board Member of La Plaza Cultural Center &
Aresh Javadi, Executive Director of More Gardens Fund
Chaharshanbe Suri, the Persian kick-off to the Spring Equinox gathers hundreds of Iranian Americans and members of the Persian diaspora, along with their friends and family, who are joined by community gardeners from the far reaches of the globe in the community garden on NYC's Lower East Side for this fire festival. Check out several videos covering our events of the years:
2016: Village Voice News
In this 20th year memorial, we will gather to thank all of the people who gave of their hearts and laid their hands on the broken earth to foster Esperanza’s flowering on the Lower East Side, along with so many activists who joined the gardeners and rootedly stood by her Coqui for justice and love!
It is exciting to share with our community "Esperanza Garden of Hope", a children's comic zine from the magical hands of artist Sasha Hill!
Our intention is for our story to act as a support and inspiration to a new generation of earth protectors.
Please bring your stories, pictures, drawings, songs, ... to share with the community. Please RSVP, Tickets are Free
We'd like to have this gathering as a possible seed to plant for an Esperanza fundraising memorial in the Fall with music, performance, and art of Hope to raise funds and buzz around printing the zine in a children’s book format.
The Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, which can be translated as « forest bathing », consists of gentle wellbeing walks, designed to help the participants to bathe in the environment and energy of the nature around us, allowing them to slow down, breathe, focus on their body, while using various senses, especially the ones we do not use as much in the daily life.
Such a walk allows us then to feel more relaxed, awake our creativity, find better focus, greater mental clarity and be more present in our bodies.
Donation 20$ to More Gardens and Sane Energy Project.
Saving the planet one community garden at a time.
A most magical day of international puppeteers, musicians and art at the legendary Rubulad.
7.00 PM - 1.00 AM
All funds will go to regenerating and telling the stories of 3 community gardens through arts, puppetry and replanting in the Lower East Side, one of which was brutally attacked by a developer a week ago.
Come celebrate and dance as More Gardens thanks all her blessings in her 20th-year!
Puppetters:
Pablillo, Paola & Cielo are a family of puppeteers, jugglers, dancers, street performers and social justice activists from Puerto Rico. They are a gentle, sweet, fun, beautiful family who will brighten your lives.
Daniela is a textile artist, costume maker, and general genius of fabric and good will. She is originally from Puerto Rico, but is now a citizen of the world, traveling all over, working on community art projects & spreading hope and wonder.
Daniel is a national treasure, a master puppeteer and showman from Minneapolis who has traveled the world, freely sharing his ample gifts, skills and homespun wisdom.
Adam, the founder, and janitor of Jawbone Puppet Theater, lives on a little island in the Puget Sound, where he makes iconoclastic puppet shows with his 11-year-old son, teaches mask & puppet making, and likes to make things happen that help creates more magic in the world.
Music:
Morley, Morley weaves the threads of jazz, soul, and folk traditions into a singular tapestry of vocal and acoustic splendor — the sound wave of a life lived with uncommon devotion to human rights and environmental justice.
More musicians to be announced
Event Date: April 13, 2019 | 10:00AM–7:30PM
A Blade of Grass Assembly is a biannual day-long learning exchange and magazine launch for creative changemakers to investigate the methods, ethics, challenges, and joys of practicing art that advances social justice. Socially engaged art projects frequently bring together a unique ecosystem of community members, city agencies, business owners, and community-based organizations, among other stakeholders. What can we learn together about creating thriving and sustainable project ecosystems that positively impact communities?
We’ll focus on questions like:
How do artists and curators listen to, understand, and respond to their collaborators’ opinions, creativity, labor, and leadership in the project?
How can artists navigate power differentials and misunderstandings or conflicts when working with communities outside of their own?
How do artists manage partners or participants’ expectations of project outcomes or political/social impact?
How have commissioning/host organizations learned from their past experiences to restructure artist residencies or commissions to enable more equitable, transparent, and successful partnerships?
Assembly attendees will be able to choose amongst six experiences specially curated by the following host sites: Abrons Arts Center, FABnyc & Downtown Art, Loisaida Center, Magnum Foundation, University Settlement, and a tour of Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA)
Mobilizing the Loisaida Resident
Host: The Loisaida Center
The Loisaida Center’s Artistic Residency Program is a platform for artists and cultural producers to develop and present new work and provide the Loisaida community access to the contemporary art world’s independent creators. Reflecting the immigrant ethos of adaptability and diasporic history of the Lower East Side, the Artistic Residency Program’s selection criteria favors projects that examine the challenges and diversity of the neighborhood, explore or reflect Latino/a/x sensibility, or incorporate Spanish or multi-lingual aspects. Past and present residents Alva Mooses, Antonio Serna, Aresh Javadi of More Gardens, Daniela Fabrizi, and Jeca Rodríguez-Colón will present their residency projects on a panel moderated by Program and Outreach Manager Andrea Gordillo and supported by Loisaida Director and Chief Curator Libertad Guerra. We will also learn about sustainable practices in nurturing productive relationships between The Loisaida Center’s core community of artists, cultural organizers, local residents, and researchers to inspire conversation and innovation throughout the city.
More Gardens' Summer residency at Loisaida Center culminates in an Open Day where Aresh Javadi and Kate Temple-West working along a team of amazing interns, and volunteers will be presenting:
1-4pm at the Loisaida Center, 710 East 11th Street:
The first window to 20 Years of More Gardens Art and the work of artist Aresh Javadi
- Xiaoyu Owen Chen, Diletta D'Antoni, and Aresh Javadi
Upcoming Upstate Ecovillage Architectural & Business Plan
Architect - Miranda Schmidt and Dani Fernandes (remote)
Business - Ben Gillen, Tiffanie Leon, & Jaelyn Ma
4- 7pm at Children's Magical Garden, 129 Stanton Street:
Ongoing Art and After Party at Children's Magical Garden 5-8
Jiayue Wang, Jordi Pedroza, and Aresh Javadi
2018 Summer Environmental Education Presentation
Karen Hinata, Claudia Davis, Anna Baggett, and Brittany Wong
We have come into this exquisite world to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom, and light! - Hafiz of Shiraz
UPDATE please read important:
Exciting news: for the first time in NYC history, More Gardens is about o receive permission from city administration (Parks & FDNY) to approve a Chaharshanbeh Suri.
We are asking people to donate at the below ticket link as we are going for this for the long haul!!! This is a free event for all and we are only asking for donations that make your heart happy :)
https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=550a9450e4b0a5f4ac37a561
Description:
Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden celebrating the Festival of Fire to usher in the spring!
Amir Vahab Ensemble will be performing
Fire performance by Cinder Petrichor
Contact: Aresh at aresh@moregardens.org 917-518-9987
Food is a potluck, so please bring traditional food and refreshments to share. Please Email me aresh@moregardens.org or call 917-518-9987 if you are bringing any food or like to help.
Those wanting to jump over the fire:
You must wear sturdy pants to easily jump in such as jeans.
There will also be a waiver form to sign for all participants.
Your generous donation brings this wondrous tradition alive. Please give wholeheartedly on the "Ticket" link.
Below information is from last year and it is to be confirmed:
Location: El Jardin del Paraiso Community garden, Entrance at 311 East 4th Street (btw Avenues C & D)
Time: 6pm till 9pm
There will be fire, the music of Amir Vahab Ensemble (to be confirmed)
More Insights:
Châhârshanbe Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه سوری) is a fire jumping festival celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 17th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.
Literally, the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).
Our annual Winter Celebration
HONK NYC! & MORE GARDENS!
2017 East Village Parade for More Gardens!
Honk NYC, in association with More Gardens! comes to the East Village Sunday, Oct. 15th. We are recruiting people of all ages to carry puppets, banners, & props in our Honk for More Gardens! Street parade to celebrate & raise awareness of community gardens. For more info on participation, see below.
Everyone is welcome to join the day's events starting at Children's Magical Garden at 129 Staton St. near Essex at 12 noon, where we'll have craft & prop making time accompanied by music from Damas de Ferro of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
-At 2pm our procession steps off on Stanton to Pitt St, and we march/dance up Ave C, ending at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden on Ave C & 9th Street at approximately 2:45pm. This is a permitted street parade.
-At 3pm Liberation Drum Circles will lead a one-hour workshop, free to all, at La Plaza.
-At 4:15pm Batala New York returns for a performance of Northern Brazilian samba reggae drum rhythms, at La Plaza.
-At 5:00pm all welcome to join the procession from La Plaza to DROM on Ave A, for the HONK NYC Closing Party at DROM.
Follow this Facebook event for any updates.
Those interested in helping with making puppets and banners
there will be workshops at Children's Magical Garden 129 Stanton Street on:
This Saturday 1-6pm
Call Aresh at 917-518-9987 or aresh@moregardens.org for more info
Our free environmental day summer camp in the Lower East Side: Going into its fourth summer, we provide an outdoor nature summer camp in July and August for twenty-five local youth. Campers learn organic gardening, identifying wild edible plants, creating environmental art, music, and theater games. They enjoy wholesome outdoor play, develop leadership skills, and are inspired to eat healthy food that they harvest and prepare themselves. This year a core feature we are creating is “Family Saturday” to bring in valued parents/guardians and siblings outside of the age range into this celebration of community. Family members of campers will be asked to participate each Saturday. Our program is free of charge in order to be accessible to all. We also accept sliding scale donations to those who are able, and fundraising assistance to
make sure that every child has the same opportunity to thrive in nature!
Our camp staff and support: Kate Temple-West and Aresh Javadi are seasoned environmental educators who have collectively directed summer programs and worked in schools for close to twenty years. The camp also brings in internationally known gardening and nutrition experts, artists, storytellers and musicians. We visit other community
gardens where campers learn from some of the most experienced, dedicated (and fun!) urban farmers and earth advocates. Our camp is gifted by our highly talented team of college and high school interns, volunteers, and parents.
We have a child to adult ratio of 4:1, providing a lot of individual attention and care. We value each child’s creativity, individual learning style, and aim to make every activity so much fun that the learning happens effortlessly. We create a safe space with many observant eyes, while stepping back and allowing campers to discover many wonders on their own.
Our camp values are: honor everyone’s wisdom, find the wonder and mystery, discover beauty in nature and art, develop cooperation and collaboration, and empower each other through supportive community.
Our 12th annual summer camp out of the South Bronx, gives access to the great outdoors to families providing free outdoor education and environmental arts in local community gardens and parks every year in the month of July. The urban youth and their families who join our free summer camp live in Mott Haven, Bronx that has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and poverty in the country. Our campers understand the impact of pollution and environmental destruction firsthand. They are given the opportunity to enjoy nature, and they also want to get a chance to advocate for a healthier neighborhood and planet.
Celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 15th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden ushering in the spring! Free.
Location: El Jardin del Paraiso Community garden, at 309 East 4th Street (both entrances btw Avenues C & D)
There will be fire, music of Amir Vahab Ensemble, Fire Performance by Cinder Petrichor, FalGoosh/fortune telling Kate Temple-West, and yummy potluck traditional food. Please bring fresh *food and refreshment to share,
*Food is potluck so please bring food and refreshments to share.
Please Email me aresh@moregardens.org or call 917-518-9987 if you are bringing any food or like to help - PLEASE JOIN THE PLANNING MEETUP.
Facebook Page
Your kind donation will brighten our fires:
https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=550a9450e4b0a5f4ac37a561
Presented by Aresh Javadi of More Gardens! organization's with much thanks to El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, and fortune telling by Kate Temple-West.
More Insights:
Literally the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).
Some practicalities: The fire is high in the beginning, and low near the end, so you get to choose how high you wanna jump!
Fal-Gûsh
Iranians believe that certain days are especially good for divination. During the Chaharshanbe Suri, divination, especially by listening to the conversations of the passers by and interpreting that which is heard (fālgūsh) as a sign is quite common. Kate Temple-West is a witch, which is close enough (and married to a Persian!)
HONK NYC! & MORE GARDENS!
2016 East Village Parade for More Gardens!
The third annual collaboration between More Gardens! and HONK NYC in support of all that is green & beautiful in New York.
Celebrate the rich history of public space...the alchemy of gardeners....the shared experience of neighborhood and commmunity with us.
DAY OF INFO: Stop by Lucky at 168 Avenue B (between 10th and 11th) for answers to all your questions!!!
SCHEDULE:
12 noon to 2pm:
Meet us in Children's Magical Garden Community and Supporters at 129 Stanton St. (near Essex) for a kid's craft workshop with Calling All Parties, followed by a tour of the gardens led by Aresh Javadi, and visiting artists, Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band(founders of the original HONK! Festival in Somerville, MA) and La Fanfare Invisible from Paris.
2pm - 4pm:
Drop in to La Plaza Cultural Community Garden for a feast of percussion! Featuring Ricardo Torres and Sambata, The Lower Eastside Girls Club's Seriously Noisy Marching Band, and a workshop at 3pm by Scott Kettnerof Maracatu New York.
3pm - 6pm:
Tompkins Square Park is the place for all things brassy!
Featuring performances by
Environmental Encroachment (Chicago)
Kings County Pipes & Drums - Brooklyn's very own.
Kenny Wollesen & The Tigers
Le Pompier Poney Club (Marseille, FR) - making their NYC debut.
Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band
plus more surprises!
Children’s Magical Garden Free Day Summer Camp 2016
Dates: July 11th to August 13th (5 weeks)
Time: 12 PM - 5 PM, Monday to Friday
Ages: 7-12
Super Fun Outdoor Environmental Education
Growing Fresh Healthy Food and herbs in the Garden
Build our new Community Chicken Coop
Team-building though nature games; Community Arts Tree-climbing, Permaculture; Leadership-skills
Free to all! We welcome sliding-scale donations and sponsorships
Ratio of child to adults 5:1
All activities take place at Children’s Magical Garden 129 Stanton Street, corner of on Norfolk Street as well as on field trips to urban farms and other community gardens. Rainy days, come inside our cedar shed or do activities at Essex Market!
Application Contact: Feng Chen at fengc24@yahoo.com, (646) 732-9462
Children’s Magical Garden: 129 Stanton Street, Lower East Side, New York, NY 10002
Our summer camp gives access to the great outdoors to families providing free outdoor education and environmental arts in local community gardens and parks every year in the month of July. The urban youth and their families who join our free summer camp live in Mott Haven, Bronx that has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and poverty in the country. Our campers understand the impact of pollution and environmental destruction firsthand. They are given the opportunity to enjoy nature, and they also want to get a chance to advocate for a healthier neighborhood and planet.
The youth will gain hard skills learned from adaptive rock climbing, hiking, and camping. They will also gain valuable skills such as communication, discernment, critical thinking and foresight to help them thrive in the challenging environment of the South Bronx.
The tactile dance with nature through rock climbing creates a portal for personal and community accomplishment, responsibility, and self-acceptance. Our program helps the campers to take this shared sacred state in the outdoors back to NYC to empower our urban communities.
Celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 15th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden ushering in the spring! Free.
Location: El Jardin del Paraiso Community garden, at 309 East 4th Street (both entrances btw Avenues C & D)
There will be fire, music of Amir Vahab Ensemble, Fire Performance by Cinder Petrichor, FalGoosh/fortune telling Kate Temple-West, and yummy potluck traditional food. Please bring fresh *food and refreshment to share,
*Food is potluck so please bring food and refreshments to share.
Please Email me aresh@moregardens.org or call 917-518-9987 if you are bringing any food or like to help - PLEASE JOIN THE PLANNING MEETUP.
Facebook Page
Your kind donation will brighten our fires:
https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=550a9450e4b0a5f4ac37a561
Presented by Aresh Javadi of More Gardens! organization's with much thanks to El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, and fortune telling by Kate Temple-West.
More Insights:
Literally the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).
Some practicalities: The fire is high in the beginning, and low near the end, so you get to choose how high you wanna jump!
Fal-Gûsh
Iranians believe that certain days are especially good for divination. During the Chaharshanbe Suri, divination, especially by listening to the conversations of the passers by and interpreting that which is heard (fālgūsh) as a sign is quite common. Kate Temple-West is a witch, which is close enough (and married to a Persian!)
Come celebrate the return of light on the Solstice.
Bring beeswax candle, bulbs to plant in the earth, bright smiles, a beat, a bite to share and your bright visions
Program
3.30pm Opening
3.45pm Children's Dream Bulb Planting
make a wish for yourself, for the future of our community garden & plant cover crop seeds and bulbs!
4.00pm Sing to our apple tree to thank the tree for our harvest this year, and encourage the tree to give us another great harvest next year.
Live Music: Rude Mechanical Orchestra!
Free Snacks & Hot Beverages provided by Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop and Children's Magical Garden!
Bring a bite to share :)
Date: Monday, December 21st 3 - 6 pm
Location: 129 Stanton Street, Corner of Norfolk and Stanton, Lower East Side, Manhattan.
HONK NYC! & MORE GARDENS!
2015 East Village Cavalcade for More Gardens!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2015, Noon to 6
Hosted at LA PLAZA GARDEN, 9th & C
with PARADES THROUGHOUT THE EAST VILLAGE
ON OCTOBER 17, MORE GARDENS!, a leading community organization for the protection, celebration and expansion of gardens throughout NYC, joins HONK NYC with local and global street bands to host an annual East Village/LES garden & neighborhood parade and creative community summit.
The creative blood and spirit of NYC runs deep through the East Village, the LES, and its lifeline of community gardens. Join us as we parade to these oases and stay with us for a celebration--a crescendo of revelry, incantation, action & 15th anniversary memory of Esperanza--at one of NYC's great garden spaces.
Come costumed or as you are. Carry a flag or handmade puppet as you wish. The community is invited to join the bands on a 45-minute parade from La Plaza through the East Village visiting gardens enroute. The LES is poised to be zoned as a "GARDEN COMMUNITY DISTRICT." After years of sweat, love & vision, let's help bring this all the way HOME!
2:00 @ LA PLAZA. Join us for marvels of live full-bodied music, theater, arts & crafts and garden lore.
Global and local featured acts:
The Human JukeBox Brass Band - soulful, smooth, just right
Seriously Noisy - the Lower Eastside Girls Club band!!!
Les Vilains Chicot - bringing funky grooves and beats from Paris
Ken Field-and-20-person theater troupe brulesque performing ”Hello Folly” by Pat Oleszko
Kings County Pipes & Drums - an infusion of bagpipes fills the land
New Creations Brass Band - from New Orleans, bringing IT
Environmental Encroachment - Chicago's performance brass
Batala New York City - our own all female full power samba force
Registration at Padres Plaza Community Garden from 3-5pm on Wednesday, June 24th
The first day of Camp to get ready for our trip is on Saturday, June 27th at 9 am - day ending at 4 pm
Sunday, June 28th - 9 am all family members going on the trip are invited to come and prepare for the next day's trip to the Catskill mountains.
Monday, June 29th - Sunday, July 5th - Board two vans and head to our Upstate climbing destination in the Minnewaska State Park & Mohonk Preserve:
The youth will gain hard skills learned from adaptive rock climbing, hiking, and camping. They will also gain valuable skills such as communication, discernment, critical thinking and foresight to help them thrive in the challenging environment of the South Bronx.
The tactile dance with nature through rock climbing creates a portal for personal and community accomplishment, responsibility, and self-acceptance. Our program helps the campers to take this shared sacred state in the outdoors back to NYC to empower our urban communities.
Our summer camp gives access to the great outdoors to families providing free outdoor education and environmental arts in local community gardens and parks every year in the month of July. The urban youth and their families who join our free summer camp live in Mott Haven, Bronx that has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes and poverty in the country. Our campers understand the impact of pollution and environmental destruction firsthand. They are given the opportunity to enjoy nature, and they also want to get a chance to advocate for a healthier neighborhood and planet.
The campers and their family members are taken for a 7-day camping trip upstate in the Catskill Mountains. The camp offers free tuition, use of camp equipment, as well as free organic lunch and snacks, and all meals included for the camping trip. We provide campsites, tents, sleeping bags, canoes, and gear for all our campers, as well as teaching tools, identification books, gardening and art supplies, creating the best possible safe, supportive adventure and learning experience.
Campers, counselors, and parents teach and share what they learn with the wider community throughout the year at Padre Plaza community garden, sharing their love of the outdoors through plays and interactive presentations to hundreds of community members at the local farmer’s market.
Through games, creative arts and nature excursions campers, parents and junior counselors learn:
Nature awareness including plant, animal, and insect identification
Creative arts such as book-making, theater, and puppetry on environmental themes
Outdoor Education such as swimming in the ocean and in lakes, tree climbing, hiking and canoeing
Outdoorspersonship including tenting, fire building, wilderness first-aid
Cooking and learning healthy eating for and by campers, parents, & staff
Come Celebrate the First Day of Spring!
Seed starting, arts and crafts, visioning
for our community garden & free food!
This Equinox celebrates the start of the Iranian New Year: Nowruz.
Châhârshanbe Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه سوری) is a fire jumping festival celebrated by Iranian and Iranic peoples in Iran and across the world. The event takes place on the eve of the last Tuesday Night, March 17th (Wednesday Eve) to usher Nowruz New Year, celebrated on the Vernal Equinox.
Join us for a transformational fire jumping night, in a Lower East Side community garden celebrating the Festival of Fire to usher in the spring! Free.
Location: El Jardin del Paraiso Community garden, Entrance at 706 East 5th Street, as well as 311 East 4th Street (both entrances btw Avenues C & D)
Time: 5.30 pm till 8.30pm
Contact: Aresh Javadi, 917-518-9987
There will be music, FalGush/fortune telling, and traditional food. Please bring fresh food and refreshment to share, and more ...
Presented by Aresh Javadi of More Gardens! organization's with much thanks to El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, and fortune telling by Kate Temple-West.
More Insights:
Literally the eve of 'Red Wednesday' or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places with the help of fire and light, enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year are called in. People leap over the flames, shouting: Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to (Give me your beautiful red color; And take back my unhealthy pallor).
Some practicalities: The fire is high in the beginning, and low near the end, so you get to choose how high you wanna jump!
Astrology
Much of the symbolism of this act links to astrological connotations associated with sign of Pisces or Esfand, or the 12th House related to the subconscious mind, hidden resources, hidden problems, social responsibility. The human has to face his ultimate fears and does so by jumping over the fire. That cleansing act is necessary before the advent of the Spring at the Vernal Equinox. ( is chosen because of its ancient association with being the fourth day of Mercury or Kherad, and Mercury being the messenger of Gods.
Fal-Gûsh
Iranians believe that certain days are especially good for divination. During the Chaharshanbe Suri, divination, especially by listening to the conversations of the passers by and interpreting that which is heard (fālgūsh) as a sign is quite common. Kate Temple-West is a witch, which is close enough (and married to a Persian!)
As the banner says send out a call to Mayor de Blasio. Simple: "Return Boardwalk to Original Site!"
Bulldozed on December 28th 2013, more info.
Join the Perma-Blitz as More Gardens! are Pushing Through the Pavement: A Permaculture Action Tour. We will have several hands on projects, skillshares, performance pieces and a pot-luck lunch to join and participate in. So come get your hands dirty, feed your mind, and break bread with community as we mobilize to create abundance in our city.
In addition to all the magic listed above, we will be painting banners and at 2pm, we will mobilize and have a subway processional from Smiling Hogshead Ranch to Coney Islands Boardwalk Community Garden at West 22nd Between Surfside Ave and Coney Island's Seaside Boardwalk map. Our rally is to highlight the return of this bulldozed community garden to its original location and call for "preservation and self-governance" of the entire community gardening culture here in NYC.
So join us early to plant fruit trees, build a hugelkuture and paint some banners. Bring a dish for the potluck, we eat at 1pm. Then enjoy more conversations and conviviality on the subway with tons of friends as we ride to meet up for an action in the afternoon. It will be a full day of fun and activism as we fertilize and pollinate our grassroots movement. One Love!
This Saturday, October 18, More Gardens & HONKNYC is presenting the East Village Cavalcade for Community Gardens from 2-6pm.
More Gardens! and Honk NYC are collaborating on an exciting community garden parade/s. Weaving through the Lower East Side and East Village community gardens.
HONK is an international activist brass band extravaganza and for the third collaborative year with More Gardens! they are marching through to the Lower East Side to highlight preservation and self-governance of community gardens worldwide.
Bring family & loved ones; it's going to be a special day.
Wear your greenest clothes, turn into a bright red tomato or a beaming sunflower. Bring a banner, sign and your dancing feet.
Three brass bands will march from three different community gardens en route to Tompkins Square.
Cavalcade # 1 will begin at Oasis community garden (map 370 E 8th Street) be there by 2:00 pm;
Cavalcade #2 will start at El Jardin del Paraiso (map 704 E 5th Street) be there by 3:30pm and
Cavalcade #3 will begin at Children's Magical Garden (map 129 Stanton St.) be there by 3.15pm.
These international bands will cavalcade to various community gardens with you and converge at Tompkins Square Park for a finale to behold.
Come early for banner making and face painting at 11 am at Children's Magical Garden, (map 129 Stanton St.).
If your garden would like to host additional bands contact Aresh at aresh@moregardens.org, 917-518-9987.
All greening groups and neighborhood organizations are invited to participate and table at Tompkins Square. Please Call Aresh at 917-518-9987 to confirm or just bring your table. This is a continuation of the Climate Change March, support Mother Earth and celebrate our community gardens! United we Grow!
