Cleaning up the city!

Doin’ the right thing
Woodstock’s Pizza is rounding up volunteers for its first-ever Woodstock’s Community Clean-Up Day on Mar. 31, from 1 until 3:30 p.m., which it is hosting in conjunction with the city of Chico’s Park Division, Recology and ChicoBag. An after-party will take place at Woodstock’s starting at 4 p.m., featuring the music of Swamp Zen (the band is donating its time for the event).

“We’re trying to do a huge cleanup for Chico,” said Woodstock’s General Manager Jeff Davis. “Right now, we have about 400 people who have volunteered so far.” The ambitious event will take place in 10 locations throughout Chico, including along Lindo Channel near the bridge adjacent to S&S Organic Produce & Natural Foods, and near the bridge at The Esplanade and Cohasset Road, as well as along Big Chico Creek in Bidwell Park’s One-Mile Recreation Area and along Nord Avenue near the Chico State campus.

“Having a good time, community fellowship and cleaning up” are what participants should look forward to, said Davis. He is encouraging both individuals and groups to sign up to join in the fun. “We’re just trying to be involved in the community. Chico’s very much into ‘green,’ and we said, ‘Hey, what can we do for that?'”

And, of course, there’s the after-party, which will offer pizza samples and free drinks for cleanup volunteers, as well as a raffle for a number of prizes from local businesses, including Klean Kanteen, ChicoBag and Pullins Cyclery, which has donated a bicycle. The general public is also invited to the party, though they will have to purchase raffle tickets (volunteers will each get a free ticket); all proceeds from the raffle will go to the local Boys and Girls Club.

“We want to make it an annual event,” Davis said. “We want to get it so big that soon the after-party will be in the plaza!”

Volunteers are encouraged to sign up by Mar. 28 via Woodstock’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/woodstockschico), by walking into Woodstock’s (166 East Second St.) or by calling Steve Hoffman at 893-1500. Volunteers will be given trash bags and rubber gloves.

St. Patrick’s Day, extended
As part of its 12 Tastes of 2012 wine-and-food-pairing series, Farwood Bar & Grill in Orland (705 Fifth St., 865-9900) is offering a tasting featuring Irish whiskey, Orland Farmstead Creamery cheese and other locally sourced treats from 2:30 until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 24. Cost is $15 per person. Go to www.farwoodbarandgrill.com for more info. Learn more about Orland Farmstead Creamery at www.orlandfarmstead.com.

School-garden market
Local food activist Laurie Niles apprised me of Hooker Oak K-8 Open-Structure School‘s new school-garden farmers’ market, which started up on Mar. 15, offering lettuce, red chard, broccoli, herbs, flowers and plant starts. Next one will be held Mar. 29 from 2:30-3:30 p.m., with future markets occurring every other Thursday. School location: 1238 Arbutus Ave. Phone: 891-3119.

“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” —Elwyn Brooks White, Essays of E.B. White, 1977

“Economic advance is not the same thing as human progress.” —John Clapham, A Concise Economic History of Britain, 1957