Teach For Us!

Teach For Us!

Calling all teachers of sustainability and art—WE WANT YOU!! We're gearing up for a season filled with educational opportunities designed to encourage a more sustainable, creative future. It starts with you! betterArts seeks educators in all crafts, from music and painting to pottery and writing. Better Farm is looking for sustainability specialists, builders, master gardeners, beekeepers and more!

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The War of Art: Je Suis Charlie!

The War of Art: Je Suis Charlie!

Twelve people on Wednesday were shot to death in the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical and controversial newspaper in Paris that features cartoons, articles and jokes. The attack is thought to be in backlash to cartoons considered offensive to Islam. Among the dead were Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier, the newspaper's editor and head cartoonist. The day after the attack, remaining staff members at the paper announced that publication would continue, with next Wednesday's issue spiking in production by more than 30 times its normal run to bring up to 3 million copies to the public.

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Annual 'Heart of Winter' Art Show Seeks Submissions

Macsherry Library slated its 11th Annual Heart of Winter Art Show and Chocolate Reception, which will take place  Saturday, Feb. 14, in the library's community gallery.

Art in any medium representing aspects of winter in the north country is welcome. There is no fee, and the show will be on display through Feb. 28. Written works, including poems and essays, will also be accepted. There will additionally be a craft table for the creation of Valentine's Day crafts. Chocolatiers are also invited to bring in their delicious creations for a friendly chocolate competition.

The public votes for their favorite artworks, written works and chocolate desserts. Bragging rights are the prize! 

To submit artwork, email sehb@hillwoman.com for a contract and further information. Deadline for admission is Feb 4; all work must be at the library for hanging by Feb. 11. 

Macsherry Library is located at 112 Walton St., Alexandria Bay NY.

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Nicole Caldwell

Nicole Caldwell is a self-taught environmentalist, green-living savant and sustainability educator with more than a decade of professional writing experience. She is also the co-founder of Better Farm and president of betterArts. Nicole’s work has been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader’s Digest, Time Out New York, and many other publications. Her first book, Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living, is due out this July through New Society Publishers.

Movie Night: 'Fed Up' Screening 12/18

We're kicking off educational movie night season at Better Farm at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, with a screening of Fed Up.



This documentary takes a scathing look at the sugar industry, exploring how our brains and bodies react to sweeteners, why the calories-in, calories-out method of dieting doesn't work ,and the truth behind low-cal, low fat-foods. The film ventures that everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. Fed Up is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar-winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth) and director Stephanie Soechtig, Fed Up will change the way you eat forever.

There is no charge to attend Better Farm's educational movie nights. Please pre-register by emailing info@betterfarm.org. Learn more about Fed Up here.
Comment

Nicole Caldwell

Nicole Caldwell is a self-taught environmentalist, green-living savant and sustainability educator with more than a decade of professional writing experience. She is also the co-founder of Better Farm and president of betterArts. Nicole’s work has been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader’s Digest, Time Out New York, and many other publications. Her first book, Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living, is due out this July through New Society Publishers.

Better Radio Wants YOU!

BetterArts is seeking reporters, musicians, show anchors, volunteers, story tellers, gardeners, savantes, and local personalities for its new station, Better Radio WBTS 88.5 FM.

The low-power FM station, set to go live at the annual Better Festival June 20, 2015, is getting ready for its launch by archiving content throughout the winter months.

Better Radio will feature an NPR-like format that showcases everything going on in the North Country; from original music to gardening advice to fishing and hunting reports, conservation efforts, news and weather, political roundups, health and wellness programming, and much much more.

A series of workshops will be slated throughout the winter to offer free training to any interested volunteers in the basic mechanics of sound engineering, editing, uploading, and syncing files for use on-air. Anyone interested in renting a recorder to create sound files (original music, funny jokes, personal narrative, or interviews) is welcome to do so free of charge as long as he or she has had a basic training session in how to use the equipment.

Here is a list of programming planned so far. If you have interest in contributing as a guest, musician, interview subject, reporter, sponsor or otherwise, please email

info@betterarts.org

. Until we go on-air in J

une, we will be pre-recording segments, renovating o

ffice space to s

erve as station studio, and creati

ng connections with local organi

zations. This is a great time to get in

volved

with th

is exciting new project! We are also accepting

betterArts res

idents

interested in

New Me

dia, broadcast journalism

, or sound engineering. Musicians applying to the residency program additionally now have the opportunity to host their own show

during their

time here or contribute their music to the station for airtime.

Daily Programming

  •  
  • “On the Spot” interviews and coverage of local events
  •  
  • Upcoming events listings for area organizations, school performances, etc.
  •  
  • “On This Day in History” tidbits
  •  
  • Daily Farmers Almanac
  •  
  • Weather
  •  
  • News

Music Exchange

  •  
  • Local bands' original tracks
  •  
  • Trade our local music with music from other LPFM stations and artists around the world

Better Health & Wellness

  • Eating local and in season
  • Recipes
  • Diet and lifestyle advice
  • Herbals, homeopathy
  • Encouragement, Inspiration

Spirituality Programming

  • Worship services
  • Yoga sessions
  • Guided meditation
  • Inspirational stories of synchronicity and coincidence

Outdoor Show

  •  
  • Interviews with reps from outdoors-based organizations in the North Country
  •  
  • Fishing/Hunting Report
  •  
  • Water temps in local lakes, river
  •  
  • Survival/wild edible plants/foraging

Kids Broadcasting

  • Naptime storytelling/reading children's books
  • Interviews with children
  • Programming for kids(sing-a-longs, re-aired public use kids' segments)

Open Mic

  •  
  • Recorded poetry readings
  •  
  • Interviews with Local Authors
  •  
  • Storytelling/Personal tales
  •  
  • Jokes, puns, listener quetsions and call-ins
  •  
  • Interviews with local artists

Love Line

  •  
  • Dear Abbey Advice
  •  
  • Call-in advice with guest panel

Green Thumb

  •  
  • Interviews with gardeners
  •  
  • Interviews with farmers for growing tips and tricks
  •  
  • Guest speakers from Cornell Cooperative Extension, local nurseries, etc.
  •  
  • Composting
  •  
  • Planting Guides
Comment

Nicole Caldwell

Nicole Caldwell is a self-taught environmentalist, green-living savant and sustainability educator with more than a decade of professional writing experience. She is also the co-founder of Better Farm and president of betterArts. Nicole’s work has been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader’s Digest, Time Out New York, and many other publications. Her first book, Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living, is due out this July through New Society Publishers.