Downtown Junkie

Downtown is buzzing as numerous volunteers and workers are getting things set up for 2009 Celebration of the Arts. 

This year is proving to be challenging, given that Centennial Plaza is under construction.  While the artists’ booths will still be inside the Midland Center, the outdoor concessions, kids’ activities, entertainment, and art displays will be in an L share from Main Street to Wall Street.  I think it will look great, and I’m looking forward to things being more spread out, as opposed to squeezing into Centennial Plaza.

The street concert will be on the corner of Wall and Colorado, with the stage set up in front of the Courthouse.  Heard this, too, was proving to be more difficult than planned.  The murder trial involving Karen Isbell accused of murdering her boyfriend is underway, and security is very tight.  It’s hard for the stage setup crew to get in front of the courthouse to get the stage setup.

This is when I think things turn out the best!  I like a little excitement, and a challenge always brings out the creativity in people. 

If you haven’t been to Celebration of the Arts, please come out!  There is something for all ages, and the quality of artisanship is always surprising.

Email from Farmer Matt about this weekend’s Farmers Market:

Farmer Matt here, You there,

Is everbody doing well? Splendid.

We had a fabulous market last Saturday, and I thank you all.

As always at the market we will have fresh locally grown produce, baked goods, coffee, arts and crafts. And the search for new vendors continues. This week we will have two new vendors: Pam Johnson of Blessed Indulgence - Catering body, mind, and soul. Pam will have body polishes and scrubs, creams, lotions, and perfumes. Also, Carol Anderson w/ Bohemian Chick will have saudered charms, necklaces, and bracelets.

We will also have face painting for the kids, and of course the adults.

Next week, May 23rd: LIVE MUSIC.

http://www.myspace.com/tiedupinlife.

The following is an excerpt from my farmer friend Stephen Porter. You need to incorporate Stephen’s farm as part of your Saturday ritual. He has a beautiful space that is a shining example of perserverence and hard work.

“You making the choice to buy locally shows what incredibly intelligent, beautifully sensitive and shockingly attractive people you are.

Have a great day and hope to see you Saturday 9a.m.-12p.m.,

Stephen

5401 South County Road 1140, 79706 for map quest or google map directions.”

I couldn’t say it any better. Thanks Stephen.

Forward this along. Tell everyone you know. Share the wealth. Savor the Local Flavor.

Peace Out,

Farmer Matt

Because it Matters!

I, for one, am relieved to know that quality healthcare facilities will be in the near future of Midland for my family, friends, and me.

Thank you to the MRT and Ruth Campbell for keeping Midland informed.

http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/05/11/news/top_stories/doc4a0642b6f1f91179576215.txt

Yesterday, the Midland Chamber held their Business Expo all day at Midland Center.  The theme was Business Expo goes 70s, and believe me… they did!  The vendors really got into the theme and were really decked out for the event.  Groovy costumes, tie-dyed shirts, peace signs, and disco balls reigned the ambiance for the day.  It was a great way to break the ice and really get the energy jazzed up for the event.  Jennifer Birkla, a local recruiter and Chamber volunteer, spent the entire day on roller skates!  Kudos to her for the totally cute costume and especially for wearing those skates on her feet all day.  I’m sure she’s feeling it today.

LiveMidland had a booth as well, with Natalie and Tracy manning it for the entire time.  I showed up around 4:00 to work the neighboring Young Professionals of Midland booth, but was very pleased to see that they were able to talk to numerous people throughout the day about this website.  We definitely need more interaction with them community, especially on Cafe Live, so maybe having booths out in public gatherings will help. 

Midland Development Corp receives 2009 Workforce Development Best Practice Award

Pat Jamison, TEDC Workforce Committee Chair, Tracy Dau, Doug Henson, and Mike Hatley

Jim Sharp, former Comptroller, State of Texas, and Laura Roman

The 2009 TEDC Spring Conference is from April 29 - May 1, 2009, and is being held in our great city at the Midland Hilton Plaza.  Members of various Texas economic development and legislative groups have arrived to network and strategize about the development of economic and employment opportunities in Texas.

Yesterday, I was asked to co-facilitate on a panel discussion regarding efforts to revitalize downtowns.  Other cities represented on the panel were New Braunfels (and boy, am I ready to head down there soon to check out what they’ve done!), Eden, and Paris, Texas.  It was a great round-table discussion and certainly demonstrated that all cities were concerned about improving their downtowns.

This morning, the TEDC Spring 2009 Awards Breakfast was held.  Jerry Morales, Midland City Councilman, welcomed the 150+ group to our city and the TEDC Chair, Danny Booth, did a great job on summarizing what was going on now in Texas economic development and initiatives taken with their PAC.  Most exciting for me, the TEDC honored the Midland Development Group with its 2009 Workforce Best Practices Award for Cities 100,000 and up in population.  That means Midland (pop. 103,000) was competing against the likes of our largest cities, i.e. Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin.  Such efforts as the initiatives taken by the workforce development group to bring in new workers into a city with the lowest unemployment rate in the state were noted.

After the awards ceremony, the group was treated to the musings of the keynote speaker, Mr. John Sharp,  former Comptroller for the State of Texas.  Talk about food for thought!  While he described that Texas has always lead the country in development of natural resources (cattle, cotton, and oil & gas), he pointed out that our next “natural” resource was our human resource.  Because the number of people coming in to the workforce is shrinking compared to those planned to exit in the next several years, employers will be scrambling to find where the most available human resources are.  He essentially summarized that Texas has had the highest birth rate and we lead the country in new employees soon to enter the workforce.  So, if that workforce is skilled and educated, we can count our people as our 4th success in natural resource supply.  He enforced how important our public education system is to developing that future human resource.  It was a great speech and lots to take away and think about, and I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet Mr. Sharp afterwards.

I’m not a big fan of just outright complaining, but I’m going to do it.  DOWNTOWN MIDLAND NEEDS MORE AVAILABLE PARKING. 

Today, I met a friend for lunch at Cancun Grill.  I was about 5 minutes late for lunch because I couldn’t find a parking space.  Now I should have walked from my building, but I like to wear very high heels, so I drove instead.  I parked in a spot that probably wasn’t the best choice, and was lucky coming out of lunch that my car didn’t have a ticket or worse, had been towed.  My friend, on the other hand, was about 15 minutes late, due to lack of parking.  Nothing was available. 

The owner, Joe Torres, was afraid I had been stood up for my lunch appointment, but when I told him about the parking issue, he suggested behind the library.  I might as well walk from my building.

The point is, I want to see Downtown restaurants and retail not only survive, but THRIVE downtown.  But is it possible if it is so inconvenient to just be able to park?  We need a solution.

Family Fun at the Children’s Museum

Saturday, May 2

6:30 – 8:00pm

Free Admission

The Museum of the Southwest Children’s Museum is hosting an Opening Celebration for its newest exhibit, THE SPACE SPOT!   Interactive exhibits will include weighing yourself on other planets (kids will love, mothers will not go near J), connecting the stars, Swirl World, Planet Shuffle, Indoor Planetarium Show, Touch a Meteorite, and much more!

Food will be available at $3 per person for Astrodogs, Moon Pies, and Tang.  Feel free to bring your blanket and picnic on the beautiful grounds of the Museum of the Southwest.

The Young Professionals of Midland (YPM) is hosting their 2nd Annual Membership Bash sponsored by Key Energy Services.  All young professionals in Midland are invited to come out and get to know more about the group.  Last year, several hundred came out to enjoy the evening, and a great time was had by all!

For those that are members of YPM, this morning we were treated to a great roundtable discussion and breakfast with Mayor Wes Perry.  The event was sponsored by the Midland Chamber of Commerce, and gave YPM members an informal opportunity to discuss their questions and ideas with the Mayor regarding events transpiring in Midland today and in the projected future.  Thank you so much to Mayor Perry for making this such a truly delightful and insightful discussion.

    

Also, as most people know, one of my favorite happenings in Downtown Midland is the Downtown Farmers’ Market.  While it was supposed to start beginning of April, Farmer Matt has apparently gotten anxious and decided to start two weeks early. So, this Saturday, March 21st, the Downtown Farmers’ Market will open, from 9am to 1pm, at 501 W Texas Avenue under that green awnings.  Here’s a brief description of what will be out there:

·         Enjoy fair-trade organic coffee from Big Bend Coffee, tea and hot chocolate all in Support of the Midland Downtown Farmers’ Market.

·         TBA farms with loaclly and sustainably raised tomato plants, greens, herbs, and quite possibly much more.

·         Regional photography from Briley Mitchell with DustDevilDiver Photography.

·         Miss Bunny’s Bake Sale baked goods.

·         Soyescents handmade soy candles.

·         Bridges of Hope will have handmade African arts and crafts in support of mission work in Africa.

·         Hand-knitted wearable art from MAK’s.

Have a great weekend!

I’m generally a very positive and optimistic person, but the last few months have been pretty tough.  None of this directly relates to Downtown Midland, but I do feel a responsibility to share (without becoming too personal) about why its been hard for me to write blogs.

I love Downtown Midland and can see the potential it has for becoming a stronger economic center and a viable entertainment area.  I work here 5 days a week, and am usually down here at least one day during the weekend.  However, lately, I’ve just been in a funk, and its been hard for me to sound enthusiastic about anything, and I didn’t think it was fair to “spread my bleakness” on to Downtown, so I just kept away.

Well, I’m going to try to do better.  I’m going to honor my commitment to blog on this website, regardless of my fears of being ridiculed by anonymous posters or without feeling the pressure about always having to have something positive to post, even when I’m feeling a little blue.

Just thought I owed you an explanation.

I’m happy to say its going to be a busy weekend downtown!  Plenty going on, and something for everyone!

If you like to shop, I HIGHLY recommend Midland Junior League’s Spring Fling at Midland Center.  Running from Friday through Sunday, numerous vendors from all over the state will be displaying their booths with items ranging from fashion, decorating items, accessories, foods, and everything else you could want! 

Also, Midland Community Theatre will be performing Half a Lifetime at the Yucca Theatre for a limited engagement only.  The show will only be this Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28 starting at 8:00.  For more information, contact the MCT Box office at 570-4111.

Also, today I made my first stop at The Ground Floor, the new coffee house downtown.  The people were friendly, and the prices were VERY reasonable.  Three of us went for iced coffees and lattes (and I had a cookie) and the total was just a hair over $8.  They are open until at least 10:00 each night and have live music during the weekends.

Saturday, February 28, is the Museum of the Southwest’s major fundraiser Auction 2009, An Evening with the Classics.  Tables are still available, and rooms are decorated to project the classic films, South Pacific, Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Lawrence of Arabia.  I was up there today and the place is decked out!  If you are interested in attending the black tie affair, contact the Museum at 683-2882.

Okay, last thing.  This one is not directly downtown this weekend, but will be!  Auditions for Midland Community Theatre’s production of RENT will be March 1 and 2 at 6:30 at the Cole Theatre on Wadley.  The production of RENT will ultimately be performed at the Yucca Theatre.  This is my favorite musical of all time, and I hope that everyone (with talent )will be encouraged to audition for the show.  For more information or questions, contact Tracy Alexander at 682-2544 or Carl Moore at 697-0115.

Okay, so no excuses that there’s nothing going on.  Hope to see you downtown this weekend!