Help Locally: Corks & Crayons event to benefit Purple Asparagus is SUNDAY, AUGUST 26!

PURPLE ASPARAGUS ANNOUNCES ANNUAL

“CORKS & CRAYONS” BENEFIT

Foodies, Families and Farmers get together for a good cause

WHO:               Purple Asparagus, the non-profit that educates children, families and the community about eating that’s good for the body and the planet, will host its Eighth Annual Corks & Crayons Benefit.  

WHAT:              Corks & Crayons is Purple Asparagus’ annual signature event which is fun for all ages. The event takes place in the gorgeous Greenhouse Loft and will be hosted by Michael Moody, NBC's Biggest Loser Chicago Tour fitness expert. Corks & Crayons 2012 will feature tastings from over 25 of Chicago’s leading tastemakers,including Top Chef Contestants Heather Terhune (Sable) and Richie Farina (Moto), as well as Mindy Segal, winner of the 2012 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry (Hot Chocolate). The event will also feature Three Floyds brews, cocktails made with Templeton Rye whiskey, Candid Wines and delicious non-alcoholic beverages for the kids.

During the event there will be multiple activities to keep the entire family entertained including a mini farmer’s market, tours of the Green Exchange, a photo booth, art projects, a silent auction, raffle prize drawings and the revealing of the winner of Michael Moody’s Redefine Yourself Fitness Challenge!

Michael Moody of Revival Fitness, the Chicago tour fitness expert of NBC's Biggest Loser, is the honorary chair for this event. As owner and top personal trainer at Revival Fitness, Michael Moody is passionately dedicated in helping overweight adolescents lose weight, maintain a healthier lifestyle and gain proper nutrition the right way. To help accomplish this goal, Revival Fitness Personal Training has launched its first ever Redefine Yourself Challenge, aimed at Chicago teens/tweens, aged 12-18, who wish to ‘redefine’ themselves through exercise and wellness. The winner will receive one year of free personal training and nutritional guidance, a complimentary makeover by Robert Jeffrey Hair Salon, a Whole Foods in-store shopping lesson, expert nutritional guidance, a gift certificate to Karyn’s Cooked, and the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. The runner-ups will receive two weeks of free personal training, a nutritional consultation with a guide and a copy of In Defense of Food.

WHEN:             Sunday, August 26, 2012

4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

$70 for adults, $15 for ages 5-20, kids under 5 are free

Tickets can be purchased here

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WHERE:           Greenhouse Loft

2545 W. Diversey

Chicago, IL

About Purple Asparagus

Founded in 2005, Purple Asparagus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that educates children, families, and the community about good eating for the body and the planet. Purple Asparagus is the winner of the 2012 International Association of Culinary Professionals Culinary Youth Advocate of the Year Award. With a board of equally dedicated farmers, community organizers, advocates, and food aficionados, the aim is to change the way children and, by extension, families and communities, relate to food and all things associated with it. Purple Asparagus lead “Growing Healthy Kids,” a consortium of 30 plus organizations working in the schools to improve child wellness. The organization is also a key partner in Chicago Chefs “Move to Schools” program of the White House's “Let's Move” initiative. For more information about the event and Purple Asparagus, visitwww.purpleasparagus.com.

Got Your Passport to Chicago Yet?

Support Purple Asparagus with Passport to Chicago

Check out everything Chicago has to offer with The Local Tourist and they will donate a portion of the cost to Purple Asparagus or your choice of sixteen diverse and worthy local charities!

Enjoy exclusive events and deals across the city at various restaurants, shops, museums, and more!

Purple Asparagus is a non-profit that educates children, families, and the community about eating that's good for the body and the planet.

ChiIL Mama's stoked to be one of your hosts for Passport to Chicago.   It's a pleasure to be writing for The Local Tourist in addition to my own blogs.   The passports are good for a whole year, but don't miss out on the big kick off fun this Sunday.    Passports are available for purchase right here.

Passports can be picked up at the NEW Bleeding Heart Bakery Sideshow
June 1, 5 to 7pm
June 2, 10am to 2pm

Sign Up To Cook, Take A Worm Bin Look, Or Party With The Pickle People

Looking for something fun to do this Sunday?

Here's a release from Purple Asparagus, I'll pass along:

We're hosting a second Garbage to Garden class this Sunday from 1:30-2:30pm at The Kids Table.

Urban Worm Girl, Stephanie Davies, will show parents and kids how to transform their garbage into nutrient-rich compost for a garden or houseplants. Reading Tim Magner's Earl the Earthworm Digs for His Life, parents and kids will learn about the important role that worms perform for the soil. Finally, kids will learn how to use this black gold to grow an heirloom tomato seedling, which they will get to take home. $10.00 for a parent-child team. Space is extremely limited. Please RSVP to The Kids Table at 773-235-2665.

Garbage to Garden: Kids Composting Class

June 7 from 1:30-2:30pm

The Kids Table

2337 West North Ave.

773-235-2665

Then, when you're finished learning about composting and worm bins, you can spend the afternoon at The Healthy Kids Cook Off.

Free fun Iron Chef Kids 9-13 @ Kendall Culinary School!

The Share Our Strength Healthy Kids Cookoff, next Sunday, June 7th from 12-5pm at Kendall College Chicago, 900 North Branch Street.

The cookoff is an “Iron Chef®”-style cooking competition where two-member teams will be paired up with Kendall culinary students and challenged to create a tasty, healthy and low-cost meal or snack in the Kendall College professional kitchens.

Each kitchen will be led by a major Chicago Chef - we have Michael Kornick, Erick Williams and Mindy Segal on board - and Share Our Strength Operation Frontline(c) nutritionists. The action in the kitchen will be filmed by camera crews, the teams will be interviewed by kids from the Beard Award-winning Spatulatta.com website and all of the action will be broadcast on site for friends and families to watch. Winners of the preliminary competition will compete in The Main Event with the Chicago celebrity chefs in front of a live studio audience in Kendall’s state-of-the-art 5th-floor auditorium.

Registration is FREE, no cooking experience is necessary, everything is provided and we’ll have activities for the kids and the parents alike.

It is going to be a fabulous day for kids who love to cook - one little girl said it was “her dream come true” - but we are very under-registered at the moment.

If you happen to know of any children 9-13 who like to cook, or parents of children 9-13 in the Chicago/suburban area, I would be very grateful if you would pass along this information to them. There will be no other kids event in the Chicago area that will come so close to the format of these popular cooking shows, so it truly is a rare opportunity to have a very unique experience! And it’s FREE - our fundraising goals are being met by our generous sponsors!

Kids can register at www.strength.org/cookoff. More information can be found there, or by calling 773.550.8570.

This Sunday is also the kick off for The Logan Square Farmer's Market. Come party with The Pickle People and pick up some great, local fresh produce, too.