Show ring bound

We’re headed to the big city this weekend. White Violet Farm Alpacas staff members will be attending the 3rd Annual Heartland Classic alpaca show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis Oct. 2-3. It’s sponsored by the Indiana Alpaca Association.

We won’t be showing alpacas at this one, but we’ll have a booth where we’ll be sharing information about our farm and selling our handmade alpaca items such as yarn, hats and scarves. We’ve been participating in alpaca shows for many years and it’s always a good time to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Stop in and see us this weekend if you’re in that area.

The competition begins at 8 a.m. both days and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. There will be two show rings (one for females and one for males), a silent auction, short seminars and lots of alpacas to admire. The photo is of Linden when he brought home a blue ribbon from this show a couple years ago.

Then on Oct. 23-24 we’ll be in Grayslake, Ill., for the 9th Annual Northern Illinois Alpaca Extravaganza at the Lake County Fairgrounds. We’ll be showing three alpacas at that show.

The staff always looks forward to opportunities like these to learn, share our workshop and alpaca sales opportunities and spread the word about this ministry of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Alpacas looking forward to your visit

The weather forecast is good and we’re all geared up for our National Alpaca Farm Days open house this Sunday afternoon. It’s 1-3 p.m. at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

You won’t want to miss seeing our newest cria, Providence Vincennes, or “Vinnie,” running around the pasture.

We’ll have fiber demonstrations and alpaca items for sale. Look for the small tent set up near the female alpaca pasture/barn, which is close to Owens Hall.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve visited Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., or you’ve never visited and need directions click here. Plugging this address into your GPS will get you to the north entrance: 3850 U.S. 150, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. Here are the GPS coordinates for near the alpaca barn: N 39º 27’ 58.5” W087º 27’ 09.5”

White Violet Farm Alpacas has 63 alpacas at this time with Samantha due to give birth around Oct. 12.

Attend our open house AND two other local alpaca farms, Aris Farm Alpacas (4 miles south of Clinton) and Lookout Farm Alpacas (just north of Terre Haute) this weekend and get your name entered in a drawing for a basket of alpaca socks, gloves, yarn and alpaca manure (Alpaca Gold).

Aris Farm Alpacas is down the road from us at 129 West 1800 South, Clinton, Ind., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26.

Lookout Farm Alpacas is at 5665 E. Rosehill Ave., Terre Haute, Ind. Their open house is 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26.

U.N. International Day of Peace Sept. 21

A Million Minutes for Peace
At noon on Tuesday, Sept. 21 there will be a multi-faith movement...mobilizing the power of prayer.

People of different faiths from all over the world will stop at noon and pray for peace for one minute — each in their own way — the U.N. International Day of Peace.

Sign the pledge:
"On Sept. 21, I will pause at noon and, in my own way, pray for peace.
May my one minute, magnified a million times, begin to change our future."

A Million Minutes for Peace is an initiative of Odyssey Networks, a service of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, Inc., established in 1987.

Wabash Valley Going Local Food Fair 2010

If you were unable to attend the Going Local Food Fair at the Vigo County Fairgrounds on Sept. 9 (or didn’t know about it) hopefully you’ll find this post full of useful info.

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice participated by having a table and talking with folks about our CSA, participation in the Terre Haute farmers market, and answering questions about organic gardening, our farm, and such. We also had our handmade alpaca fiber items for sale. (Pictured: Candace Minster, left, talks about our ministry with two women.)

L&A Family Farms and CSA of Paris, Ill., had a table and was promoting their pasture raised meats, eggs and produce. Learn more about them at www.lafamilyfarms.com

Marta Shelton’s and Amelia Vallely-Compton’s Harvest Bakery, llc, of South 34th Street, Terre Haute, sold their homemade goods. They offer artisan breads, specialty pastries, special occasion cakes and delicious cookies. Give them a call at 812-235-7515.

Life of Riley Honey Farm had a corner full of soaps, lotions, candles, and honey. Perry and Beverly Riley are at 13239 S. Sullivan Place in Terre Haute. Email them at riley.honey.farm@gmail.com and check out their blog at rileyhoneyfarm.blogspot.com.

Swiss Connection’s cooler truck of meat and dairy was popular. The Yegerlehner’s family farm is in Clay City. Their cows are 100 percent grass-fed…absolutely no grain supplementation. All the milk cows are moved to fresh grass twice a day. Find them at www.swissconnectioncheese.com or give them a call at 812-939-2813.

Terre Foods Cooperative Market had a table and spoke with people about the progress of what will be the first food cooperative in Terre Haute and becoming a member. Terre Foods needs 800 members to secure a store location. Membership is at 354 now. See their website for more info at www.terrefoods.org.

Appleseed Farm, of Fairbanks, Ind., participated in the Food Fair by selling their jars of Pour-A-Pie and other yummy things. They can be found at the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers Market (as can many of the others who participated in this event) every Saturday 8 a.m. to noon, in the Clabber Girl parking lot at Ninth and Cherry Streets. Call Charlotte and Jennifer at 812-382-9189 or find them on Facebook at appleseed farm.

Deanna Franklin and Jim Luzar of the Vigo County Purdue Extension office were there with information about planting, growing and cooking autumn produce. They had a big pile of pumpkins and were giving tastes of pumpkin soup and pumpkin bars. Click here for extension office info.

Thank you to Jim Luzar for pulling the event together. Hopefully it will become an annual gathering of sharing information and products.

It's a boy!

A new alpaca cria was born at White Violet Farm Alpacas today. Providence Vincennes, "Vinnie," was born this morning to Providence Providentia, "Tia." He was up walking and nursing by noon.

Vinnie is light fawn in color and was 13 1/2 pounds at birth.

The Sisters of Providence have had a ministerial connection with Vincennes since the Congregation's founding years dating back to 1840 and the time of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, the Congregation's foundress.

More than 60 alpacas have been born at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods since the herd was introduced in 1998.

He sure is a cutie!

14th & Chestnut Community Center volunteers

Some volunteers from 14th & Chestnut Community Center in Terre Haute spent a couple of hours with us this morning. The 6th-grade and up girls group weeded around tomato plants in the garden, assisted with pruning trees in the John Delahaye Antique Apple orchard and assisted with the daily care of the alpacas. Thank you to the girls and their leaders, Courtney and Lovey, for spending time working and learning with us today!

Going Green with Artwork

White Violet Center participated in "Going Green with Artwork," presented by Art Totality and the Swope Art Museum, on June 26. About 70 people were pre-registered for this family event.

Upon arrival, the families participated in a self-guided inspiration tour. Then everyone participated in the activities at Halcyon Contemporary Art, next door to the Swope.

The Swope provided boxes and boxes of recycled materials where children and their parents could make sculptures. What creativity!

White Violet Center provided the opportunity to make alpaca masks by gluing real alpaca fiber to a printed alpaca face that could be cut out. "You mean I'm touching alpaca?!," said 6-year-old Avery.

Keaton, age 2, is shown in the photo at the right having fun with the mask he and his mother made.

It was fun spending time with these families who also made button bracelets with Emily Brown; sanded wooden bowls with Jeff Wilkinson and Bob Tidd; made newspaper pots for seedlings and decorative boxes from used holiday cards with the ISU Recycling Center; made banana paper note cards and newspaper hats with Art Totality; and made Origami cranes and cubes with Yoshimi Fuqua, a River City Art Association artist.

Reflection Garden is glowing!

The Reflection Garden looks awesome thanks to volunteers like Sister Teresina Grasso, who will celebrate her Golden Jubilee as a Sister of Providence this Saturday. She was found pulling weeds in the Reflection Garden near the greenhouse this morning. Did we mention there was a 101 degrees heat index? Yikes!

Seton Hill University group visits

A group from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., is visiting White Violet Center for Eco-Justice and White Violet Farm Alpacas today.

They tell us they're trying to set up a sustainability program and eco-conference center, so they came out to learn more about this ministry of the Sisters of Providence.

Part of their visit here today also included speaking with Jim Speer of Indiana State University, Mark Minster of Rose-Hulman School of Technology and Sister Mary Lou Dolan of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to learn about sustainability efforts at those institutions.

Pictured above, from left are, Sister Maureen Freeman, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Frank Klapak, of Seton Hill, and his wife, Sharon Klapak, Sister Mary Elizabeth Lawrence, Sister of Charity, Michael Cary, of Seton Hill, and his wife, Eloise Cary.

A cleaner energy direction

The Environmental Defense Fund has a page on their Web site with a letter to Senators about leading us in a new direction with cleaner energy choices. Click here to go to the page that allows you to fill out your information and send the letter.

Also on that page, the EDF has provided a video that sends a powerful message about the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf. See video below. If you have trouble viewing below, click here.