ANNAPOLIS GREEN - local environmental info for good decisions

March will be a "Bloomin' Green Drinks"
back in the "green" house of Homestead Gardens

We've been invited back back to celebrate the arrival of spring by Homestead Gardens during its Garden Show 2010, "Kaleidoscope of Color," March 13 - March 21. Our Green Drinks will be held right in the middle of the show week, on Thursday, March 18. Remember what a terrific time we had there last year and how wonderful it was to be among the flowers at the end of winter. And don't we need that now after two blizzards!

With the show's theme being color, sustainability is brought into the picture by showing how plants of all kinds can provide pops of color in your landscape, including vegetable gardens -- which will be displayed this year -- and colorful perennials and natives that add texture and color to your bedding annuals. Color is great because it really can encompass everything!

Appetizers will be provided by Herrington on the Bay Eco-Lifestyle Events, the first Chesapeake Bay Caterer in Maryland to achieve Green Certification as awarded by the nation's Green Restaurant Association. They will delight us with Tomatoes Caprese Skewers: Marinated tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and basil leaf served on a bamboo skewer. They also will offer Raspberry Cheesecake Lollipops which are dipped in dark organic chocolate.

Level: A Small Plates Lounge will surprise us with sustainable appetizers that they are not yet ready to reveal.

And Homestead Gardens' new cafe will debut with Maryland-grown products including cheeses and yogurt from Chapel Country Creamery, a dairy farm in Easton. They will also present Hydroponic Lettuces from Chesapeake Greenhouse in Sudlersville with Tessemae's dressing from Annapolis and Little Rhaggi's Crackers from Ocean City. There also will be sheep cheese from the Cherry Glenn Goat Cheese Company in Boyds. If Homestead's tomato crop is still producing we'll enjoy their home-grown hot house tomatoes too.

We'll have more details for your soon. Save the date!

April Green Drinks
Our Second Annual Green Drinks for the Chesapeake Bay

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, Green Drinks chapters throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed will come together for the second annual Green Drinks for the Chesapeake Bay to concentrate on action our grass roots movement can take to influence to legislation and government regulation to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay -- while having fun with our eco-awareness, of course.

Annapolis Green Drinks along with Virginia Beach Green Drinks are the at the helm of the coordinated "toast" and call to action, with each Green Drinks group from Pennsylvania to Virginia meeting simultaneously from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., each in its respective location.

The effort also is an attempt to top the Green Drinks world attendance record, currently held by a group in Australia.

Green Drinks Annapolis is returning to the Severn Inn for its event, where attendance last year topped 200 people. Stay tuned for details & save the date!

January Green Drinks Wrap-Up

Thank youj to Level: A Small Plates Lounge, 69 West Street, for hosting our January 12 Green Drinks event. Our gathering was better than ever. The 100+ crowd was in a great mood -- happy to be in the cozy, hip atmosphere of Level and the tasty appetizers and cocktails were outstanding, as was the organic wine by Bonterra. What a great way to start the new decade!

We were very happy that the City of Annapolis chose to present Level with a Certificate of Sustainability during our event. We tasted Level's special Herradura Organic Cucumber Margarita, their Housemade "Outlaw" All Natural Tonic with Finlandia Vodka & Hendrick's Gin, and Wines by Bonterra -- organically produced in Mendocino County. And bartenders/owners John Miller and John Hogan created three special cocktails just for us: Herradura Cucumber Margarita, House Made Tonic & Gin or organic Vodka, and Wild for Wheatgrass with organic Brazilian rum (They made the wheatgrass into a foam!). All the cocktails were like nothing else we've ever tasted. John and John truly are artists behind the bar. Chef Freddie prepared a fabulous Bison Satay with local meat and Over Roasted Head-On Shrimp from a local seafood farm.

Level arranged for an incredibly generous raffle. Five of our Green Drinkers won the following: a wheeled duffel bag valued at $125 and a jacket valued at $65 thanks to Herradura; two bottles of wine courtesy of Bonterra; and, thanks to author Paul Abercrombie, one Green Drinker won a signed copy of Organic, Shaken, and Stirred.

Read about Level's eco-friendly practices. It's quite impressive!

What is Green Drinks Annapolis?

Green Drinks is a happy hour that gives the environmentally minded a chance to get to know one another in a fun informal way facilitating working together for a common cause: The Health of the Chesapeake Bay. There are over 600 Green Drinks organizations around the world. More about Green Drinks International.

It's free and no reservations are required. Cash bar.