THE BROOKLYN BLOGADE VISITS THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDENS ON OCT.12

Crape-Myrtles in full fall regalia in November 2006 at the Lily Pool Terrace of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This photo and post created by: Xris of Flatbush Gardener

On Sunday, October 12, 2008, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) welcomes the Brooklyn Blogade!

The Blogade is a "traveling roadshow" that meets each month in a different location in Brooklyn. It's a way for bloggers who live or work in Brooklyn to visit different parts of Brooklyn and meet each other, and for residents of the communities we visit to connect with Brooklyn's online world.

Inspired by the out-of-doors experience of the July Blogade in Prospect Park, I contacted Dave Allen, BBG's Web Manager, about the possibility of hosting a Blogade. Dave is responsible for some of BBG's Web content you may have already enjoyed, such as the timelapse videos of this year's Hanami, the Cranford Rose Garden, and the Lily Pool Terrace. He and I have spoken informally in the past about how to foster greater connections between BBG and the online world. This seemed like a good fit, and October is a great time to experience some of our beautiful fall color at BBG.

Schedule of Events:
11am to 12noon: Food on your own at BBG's al fresco Terrace Cafe. Blogade attendees can sign in and get their name tags at the Blogade registration table near the Bonsai House.

12noon to 2pm: Main program in the Member's Room of the recently landmarked Laboratory and Administration Building. Meet Dave Allen, BBG's Web Manager! There will be some brief presentations, time for Q&A, and of course, the shout-out.

2pm to 3:30pm: Continue schmoozing as you explore the gardens on a guided tour of BBG just for those attending the Blogade

RSVPs REQUIRED:
BBG is offering free admission - and parking - to those attending the Blogade.
Space in the Member's Room is limited.
For free admission, please provide your real name.
RSVPs will be fulfilled first-come, first-served.
RSVP to blogade.rsvp@gmail.com

Related ContentA Picnic at Prospect Park (the Brooklyn Blogade), July 28, 2008Blogade (Blog posts)Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Blog posts)Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Flickr photo collection)
LinksBBG has several different online resources and personae which you can explore:Web site.

Be sure to explore the Visit section for directions, maps, what's in bloom, special exhibits, and so on.Vimeo (High-def Video)YouTube (Video)Flickr (Photos)Facebook (Social networking)MySpace (Social networking)

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Posted by Xris (Flatbush Gardener) at 9/30/2008 05:57:00 PM

GARDEN TOUR WITH AN ART SHOW

Ann Simkins, the newest member of The Brooklyn Blogade, is participating in this event:

NEXT BROOKLYN BLOGADE: JULY 27 IN PROSPECT PARK

What: Brooklyn Blogade Picnic In Prospect Park

When: Sunday, July 27thTime: 12:00 noon - 3:00pm (walking tour @ 11:00 am)

Who: Brooklyn bloggers, prospective bloggers, their family and friends

Brenda of Prospect: A Year in the Park and Dave of Dope on the Slope are co-hosting this month's Brooklyn Blogade Roadshow, which will be held in Prospect Park near the Music Pagoda (map).

Brenda will be offering a guided walking tour of the park prior to the picnic (meeting point TBA). Learn why the park serves as an "oasis for the city soul," the title of a recent New York Times article describing Brenda's labor of love.

There is no charge for the event, although we are soliciting volunteers to bring food (see below) and will be passing the hat to defray expenses.

Come share Brooklyn's backyard with your fellow bloggers. Friends and family welcome, but please let us know you're coming so we can gauge how much jello salad to bring.

Please RSVP at blogade.rsvp@gmail.com.

If you are interested in helping with food, please e-mail me.

Posted on Monday, 14 July 2008 at 12:32 PM in Brooklyn Blogosphere Permalink

Photo by Brenda Backer of Prospect: A Year in the Park

BROOKLYN BLOGGERS ARE BUILDING COMMUNITY

Three years ago, when I moved to Brooklyn with Mike, I had a very clear goal: to build community here. I wanted to lay down some solid roots in the way of relationships, and I was open to the forms they could take – creative collaborations, friendships, work partnerships, neighborhood acquaintances.

Writing a blog has turned out to be an excellent vehicle for building community. First, there are the people that I interview: I gathered some of those folks and started a monthly goal-setting group for women artists. Then there are other bloggers: I found them in 2006 when Louise Crawford of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn organized the First Annual Brooklyn Blogfest. From there, a group of us decided that we Brooklyn bloggers would meet monthly. So we formed The Brooklyn Blogade .

Here’s what the Blogade does: In order to promote geographic diversity, we rotate the job of hosting the monthly get- together. So far bloggers from seven different areas of Brooklyn have hosted the brunch in a neighborhood restaurant or café. We also created a Google group so that we can communicate online. We talk about everything from how to get more folks involved to how to handle attacks from readers.

Last month, I helped organize the Third Annual Brooklyn Blogfest. What was great about this Blogfest is that at least half of the Blogade members, plus non-bloggers, stepped up to the plate and took on jobs to make the Blogfest a big success. My friend Pete Solomita, who I had interviewed for my newsletter, volunteered to be the DJ. Julio of E-String Technologies was the stage manager. Joyce Szuflita made the signs. Adrian Kinloch organized all of the technical aspects of the evening.

I’m talking about the world of Brooklyn bloggers because I want you to know that it possible to create community wherever you are. You can build community around your faith, your paid work, your work as a parent, your love of dogs, or your love of hiking in upstate New York. Start making in-person connections with people who share similar passions and concerns and watch the quality of your life skyrocket.

TEN TIPS FOR BUILDING COMMUNITY

1. Use the internet to create or join a community of people who share your interests or concerns. Meetup.com is a great vehicle for doing that.

2. Take it beyond the internet: Get out there and meet face-to-face with people you’ve met on the internet. Nothing replaces human contact. The Brooklyn Blogade (see pics above) is a monthly gathering of Brooklyn-based bloggers and friends which meets in the various neighborhoods of the borough. The Blogade is a great example of using the internet to build human relationships.

3. Walk your block. Every morning, I pass by and say hello to the same neighbors, shopkeepers, and crossing guards whose names I make a point of knowing. If people have a “fixed point” – e.g. behind the store counter, in front of their house, by the crossing walk – it’s easy to greet them each day.

4. Participate in local, ongoing projects – e.g. park cleanups, a community garden, meetings with local merchants. Strong communities are based on relationships that are built over time.

5. Make friends with people across (artificial dividers of) age, race, class, strengths, and life experiences. Do you remember adults from your young life who encouraged you and paid thoughtful attention to you, even for a few minutes? Do that for a young person you know.

6. Fundraise for causes you believe in. Fundraisers are a great way to get to know other people and to bring people together. They don’t have to be fancy.

7. Address what keeps you back from being part of groups. Most people have some unpleasant memories associated with being part of groups. Some people had a rotten time in school. Some people grew up in harsh family lives. Some people were dragged to religious services every week. So, there is fear about losing individuality or having our individuality discounted or disrespected.

Know that it is possible to shape groups so that they honor both a collective life and the amazing contributions and strengths of each individual, including you.

8. Keep in touch with individual people. If you see Suzy Q at a neighborhood association meeting once a month and you’d like to get to know her better, call her to go have lunch sometime. The life of a community is as strong as the relationships that individual people have with each other.

9. Speak, read, write and paint about the things that matter most to you. The more you put yourself and your interests out there in the world, the more chances you will have of finding people who share those interests.

10. Decide what your community-building goals are and start strategizing your plan to get there. Many of us are encouraged to have goals for our career, family, financial, or love lives but we’re not really taught that community is important or how to build it for ourselves and our families. Instead, we’re encouraged to prize geographic or career/economic mobility over staying put and developing relationships and community over time.

Some examples of goals:

1. I’d like my family to be part of a community of ten other families who share friendship, outings, meals, and childcare responsibilities.

2. I want to create a community of fifteen women artists who support and track each others’ progress over a three year period.

3. I’d like to have a group of five to seven close-knit friends who get together regularly for lunch.

4. I’d like to coach an athletic team for my son or daughter and bring together the families as much as possible.

5. I’d like to organize college students in my city/borough/state to help register people to vote in the next presidential election.

Where do you want to be in one year? In five, ten, and twenty years? Do you want to be surrounded by people that you respect and care about and who respect and care about you? Think about your big goals and start taking small, daily steps to reach them. Over time, our lives either contract or expand. Our world gets either bigger our smaller. It’s up to us to decide and shape how we want our lives to be.

BRIT IN BROOKLYN HOSTS BROOKLYN BLOGADE ON JUNE 22ND

JUNE BROOKLYN BLOGADE

Sunday June 22nd at 12 nOON • Root Hill Cafe •
4th Avenue and Carroll

(Take the R Train to Union)

Adrian Kinloch of Brit in Brooklyn is hosting this month's blogade so naturally the emphasis will be on photoblogging. Anyone who regularly posts images will find it useful and Adrian will be on hand to answer your questions.

If you are thinking of starting a blog you'll be in great company as there'll be bloggers around who'll be happy to chat with you about setting something up.We'll also talk about copyright, fair use and backing up your work.

There will be the regular 'shout out' where eveyone gets to talk a bit about their blog and the chance afterwards to share your blogging experiences, gripes, groans and news.With or without a blog *everyone* is welcome, and we're especially keen to meet new bloggers in less represented turfs!

The Brooklyn Blogades are a monthly meet and greet for bloggers, blog readers, and people who are thinking about becoming bloggers. It's a great opportunity to network and to learn a thing or two about blogging. It's also a great way to learn about new blogs.