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“Get ya peanuts heah! Get ya peanuts!”

The Concord Indies will be taking part of Concord’s 375th birthday celebration which will be going on in different ways from now through September. So what’s this about peanuts?

First up:  Sunday, May 16 “Family Fun Day” at Emerson Field!  This will be a fundraiser for September’s birthday events. So what about the peanuts, you ask?

Activities include a Flea Market, Carnival Games, Train Rides, Craft and Business Booths, a Prize Raffle, a “50-50″ Raffle, and a Benefit Baseball Game featuring the Concord Police and Fire Departments vs. the Concord-Carlisle Varsity Baseball Team. Gates open at 10 a.m. The Baseball game starts at 2 p.m. Wait, now we’re getting to the peanuts!

What’s a ballgame without proper, regulation refreshments? The Concord Indies will have bags of roasted, in-the-shell, peanuts available for purchase all day, right up to just before the start of the the game.

More info on Concord’s 375th here:  http://www.concord375.org/

By Marie Foley and Debbie Bier, Concord Indies President and Vice President

We’re just back from the incredible “Indie Power 2010: The Recovery Starts at Home” conference held by AMIBA (American Independent Business Alliance) in Tampa, Florida.  Over 60 attended the conference, with representatives of IBAs across the country and into Canada.

Our heads are still whirling with all the ideas, creativity, conversations, presentations, best practices, written materials and people we met!  New Indie organizations, IBAs many years into their success — all together it was truly a learning pow wow! There is no question that this conference will help sustain both our local economy and the Concord Indies into the future.

And the food!! Four meals a day of lovingly prepared and presented, healthy, delicious, all-local foods.  We were wined and dined by local hospitality all through the long weekend. We’ve never been taken care of at a conference as beautifully as we were at the Tampa Quorum — an Indie hotel, might we add! (The photo above was only 1 of 9 local meals we were served.)

Once we are able to come back down to earth, the Concord Indies will have a lot more to say about  future plans and programs. Whatever those will be, be assured they will be super-charged by the many Indie Business Alliances from around the country and beyond.

Join us for the fun at the

Indies Winter Meeting & Potluck Dinner
Date: February 25
6 PM start.

Independent business owners, representatives of Concord non-profits, and supportive residents, are invited to join the Concord Indies at their Winter Meeting and Potluck Dinner to be held Thursday, February 25 at 6 PM. At this meeting, the Indies will be reviewing their past year’s accomplishments and discussing their future direction and campaigns. There will also be special presenters who will explain the potential impacts on Concord’s downtown village areas of several warrant articles coming up at Concord’s Annual Town Meeting in April. To register for the meeting and potluck (and find out the Concord location for the event), email us from the link at the bottom of this page or call Debbie at 978 369-8454.

Join us for the fun at the

Indies Winter Meeting & Potluck Dinner
Date: TBA
6 PM start.

WOW – what a year we’ve all had!  Let’s celebrate the start of 2010 and discuss future directions for the Indies. We need your input!  If you, as a local indie or community member, would like to attend this event, please email us using the “contact” link at the bottom of this page.

Please note that the meeting and dinner will not be happening on the originally scheduled date.  A new date will be posted soon.

The Indies’ first annual “Silent Night Auction” was held at member retail locations throughout the Concord business centers. Merchandise, services, and gift certificates were donated by Indie members, with the bidding closing on the evening of December 17.  All of the $1161 proceeds went to Beacon Santa.

We want to thank the businesses that donated the auction items, and the people who bid on them! Congratulations to everyone for a job well done, and for helping this worthy local cause.

———–

The Concord Indies ”Silent Night” silent auction benefitting Beacon Santa will come to an end on Dec 17th at 8PM.  Get your bids in for these wonderful items:

• Albright Art & Craft- Bohemian silver pendant necklace  valued at $150
• Caring Companion Connections- 4 hours in home care  valued at $110
• Harness Shop- Concord throw valued at $52
• Cynthia’s Cosmetics- $100 gift certificate
• Quilter’s Way-Twin size quilt  valued at $300
• Concord Hand Designs-An Ugly Doll Family of Four valued at $90
• Anderson Imaging- Crumple Camera Bag valued at $130
• Concord Flower Shop- A year of flowers valued at $360
• Maximum Image- Hot Stone Manicure valued at $63
• Rude Bridge Construction-2 hours of carpentry valued at $130 (bidding at Concord Flower Shop)
• SpiralBeading.com- Necklace and ear ring set valued at $48 (bidding at Concord Hand Designs)
• Main Street Market- gift basket which includes a $25 gift card- total value of $75
• Fairbank and Perry Goldsmiths- Handcrafted silver Artful Heart Pin valued at $195
• Frame-ables- Limited Edition Photograph “Meditation” Matted, framed valued at $275
• Mane Escape- Spirited Escape Package, Manicure, Pedicure. Facial  valued at $135
• Journey Financial Planners- Gift Certificate for Portfolio Review- valued at $500 (bidding at Concord Flower Shop)
• West Concord Liquors-6 pack of special wine valued at $75
• Vanderhoofs Hardware- Black & Decker Handi-Saw -valued at $50
• Concord Cheese Shop- Gift Certificate
• Montague Gallery- Wee Forest Folk Figurine
• Concord Lamp &  Shade / Renjeau Galler- Lamp with Concord Print shade valued at $330

Participating Indies donated these items from their place of business.  The items are displayed at the businesss along with a sheet where you can place your bid.  Non-retail Indies will display their donated item at one of the retail members’ locations.

On December 17, the last day of bidding, the involved Indies will stay open until 8 PM, at which time the bids will close. The winners will then be contacted, and the funds collected will be donated to Beacon Santa benefiting local individuals and families in need.

Get your bids in and support those in need!

“…Hundreds of new neighborhood businesses that have opened in the last few years in what might be both the beginnings of a revival of small retail and one of the more important strategies we have for countering global warming….”

Here’s a wonderful article in Grist about how shopping as locally as possible is an overlooked approach to reducing global warming. Author Stacy Mitchell of The New Rules Project (http://www.NewRules.org) is an expert on the impact of Indie businesses on both local economies and on community-building, sustainability, and other applicable subjects.

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-19-neighborhood-stores-strategy-for-fighting-global-warming

We are having our Indies Fall Potluck Dinner gathering this week. Afterwards, we’ll have lots more about our Fall programs and activities.  Look in the September 10th Concord Journal for news about the 10% Shift and $2 Bill campaign.