Tag: Ounce of Hope

Categories
We Recommend We Recommend

Experience Memphis Gardens

Photo: Courtesy Experience Memphis Gardens

America’s largest garden walk with over 300 gardens takes place every summer in Buffalo, New York, bringing in more than 60,000 visitors from all over the U.S., Canada, and beyond. Kim Halyak, co-chair of the Cooper-Young Garden Club, wants Memphis to be the Buffalo of the South. “I want people to say I’m tired to go to Buffalo,” she says. “I’m going to Memphis.”

And Halyak’s goal isn’t too ambitious, it seems. Already, this year’s Experience Memphis Gardens citywide garden walk, which Halyak helped organized, will be the largest garden walk in the South at some 270 green spaces in neighborhoods across the Mid-South. The walk, which kicks off on Saturday, May 18th, with the annual Cooper-Young Garden Walk, will span over six weeks through June 30th, on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

“Nine years ago, we started [the Cooper-Young Garden Walk] with only 23 gardens,” explains Halyak. “At the time that we were only a one-day event, but we have really grown. And then last year we decided to go citywide, so we reached out to the city and said, ‘Hey, show us your gardens.’ And there were people from neighborhoods all over Memphis [who volunteered] — Colonial Acres, Berclair, Central Gardens, Frayser, Raleigh, High Point Terrace, I mean all over.”

The tour will showcase a wide range of spaces — beginner gardens, highly manicured lawns, farms, community gardens, nurseries, vegetable gardens, and so on. “We have a tour of Ounce of Hope’s aquaponic farm,” Halyak says. “We have a Master Gardener garden tour. We have gardens in Raleigh that we’ve never had [on our tour]. We have Cancer Survivors Park, and, I have to tell you, I’ve lived here 40-some years and I had never been there before. So what we really want to do is say to people: ‘You live in Memphis, go explore Memphis, go see what Memphis has to offer.’ … I really do want people to fall back in love with Memphis.”

The walk, in a way, is an incentive to beautify the city, Halyak adds. “Everybody gets aware of, hey, we have company coming. They just go crazy with excitement, and you cannot believe the community [that comes with that]. People have gotten to know their neighbors. … I don’t want to reinvent the wheel and I want us to make Memphis better. So this year, we’re giving away $10,000 to the neighborhoods that were on the walk last year. And when this walk is over, then I hope to give $20,000 away to the neighborhoods that were on the walk for beautification projects.”

Tickets for the Experience Memphis Gardens walk can be purchased at the Cooper-Young Gazebo on the day of the Cooper-Young Garden Walk sponsored by Urban Earth (May 18th-May 19th), at Urban Earth, at Ounce of Hope, at the Women’s Exchange, and online at experiencememphisgardens.org, where you can find a full schedule and more information.

Experience Memphis Gardens, Various Locations, May 18-June 30, $26.

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

We Saw You: Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee at Grind City Coffee Xpo

Having a spot of tea with Joel Borton and Matt Baudo at the Rishi Tea & Botanicals booth at Grind City Coffee Xpo

I’m proud to say I’ve attended and covered all three Grind City Coffee Xpo events since it began in 2019.

I love coffee. I drink it black like a film noir reporter. And I make it on the stove in an old-school percolator with the little glass thing on top.

So, attending Grind City Coffee Xpo, held November 5th at Wiseacre Brewing Co. downtown, was like being in coffee — and tea — heaven. I drank carbonated coffee at Comeback Coffee’s booth and tea at the booth for Rishi Tea & Botanicals out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And lots of little cups of hot and cold coffee at other stations.

Dante Baker, Joseph Jenkins, Noah Randolph, and Raegan Jenkins at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ken and Mary Olds and Averell Mondie at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Amy McPherson at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
David Lambert, Drew Smith, Teagan Griffith, Kim Lambert at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Tamer Younis at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)

This year’s event featured 18 vendors, says founder Daniel Lynn. “It was awesome,” Lynn says  “I think we’re going to end up with around 600 people. It was incredible.”

He doesn’t yet have the final amount of how much they raised for their charity, Protect Our Aquifer.

Alden Schmidt at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
MIcah Dempsey and Daniel Lynn at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)

They didn’t feature tea at their first Xpo, which was held at the old Memphis College of Art.  

The event now features “anything in the coffee community,” including tea, Lynn says.

The Xpo also included Ounce of Hope. “I’m  a big believer in wellness, health. And CBD in coffee is a really nice thing.”

Cat Brooks, Collin Bercier, Kyle McFarland at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Ounce of Hope at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)

I asked Lynn what it is about coffee that gets people so excited. Besides caffeine, of course. “It’s so welcoming,” he says. “It not only tastes good, but there’s some incredible science behind it, too. Anyone can make a cup of coffee, whether you’re a novice and you just like your drip machine with your Community Coffee in it. Or you want to get crazy into it and you’re doing a Chemex pour over where you measure out the water and the coffee in grams. It’s a multi-step process. You put the timer on and start the pour and its super relaxing.”

You “let the coffee bloom and then come back and pour the rest of the water over the coffee.”

Making coffee is universal. “Anyone can do it. From the novice to the super nerd. I think it’s very approachable.”

Jessica Diaz, Scott Jackson, Erica Mathis at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Magnolia Pelous and John Cook at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Brian Miller and Wood Rodgers at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Bram Bors-Koefoed, DJ Superman, Eric Scott at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Julie Digeronimo and Evan Winburne at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Will Sexton, Johnny Dowd, Amy LaVere at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Spencer Kaaz and Matthew Burdine at Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Grind City Coffee Xpo (Credit: Michael Donahue)
We Saw You
Categories
News News Feature

Shop Local: Midtown

This holiday season, we’re asking readers to support local and consider these and others for their gift-giving needs.

Arrow Creative
Arrow is back in action in their new space with a full schedule, and they know that some of the greatest pride comes from being able to say, “I made that.” So why not give someone admission to one of their classes ($65-$85)? Ceramics, jewelry making, paint nights — you name it, they have a class for it. Visit Arrow Creative at 653 Philadelphia or arrowcreative.org.

Oothoon’s
This metaphysical shop offers a variety of items for your spiritual needs: candles, crystals, oils, and more. We love The Southern Gothic Oracle Deck by Stacey Williams-Ng ($54). The cards feature hand-painted images recognizable in Southern traditions, myths, and culture. Plus, the deck comes with an interpretation book that will guide you through how to use it. Visit Oothoon’s at 410 N. Cleveland, 816 S. Cooper, or oothoons.com.

Ounce of Hope
This aquaponic cannabis farm and shop has you covered with its oils, gummies, and more. If your giftee is a dessert enthusiast, put the delta-8 brownie bites ($15) on your list. Moist and chocolatey, they conceal the taste of the hemp extract while not taking away from the alluring side effects that make you smile from ear to ear. Visit Ounce of Hope at 553 Cooper, 5101 Sanderlin, or ounceofhope.com.

Categories
News News Blog

CannaBeat: CBD Sales Surge Sevenfold

CREDIT: Jani Moore Photography courtesy of Ounce of Hope

Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association

CBD flower from The Bold Team, Arkansas’ supplier.

Sales of CBD grew 700 percent over the last 12 months, according to a new report from the Brightfield Group.

The group is a market and consumer intelligence firm for the legal CBD and cannabis industries. It says sales have been pushed largely by national retailers like Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger, and the market is set to skyrocket.

Jani Moore Photography courtesy of Ounce of Hope

Brightfield’s report says the CBD market is on pace to grow to $23.7 billion through 2023.

“The CBD market has been growing rapidly, but we will see unprecedented growth in 2019,” Brightfield managing director Bethany Gomez said in a statement.

Those national retail chains only got into the CBD market this year. CBD products can now be found in Tennessee-area Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger, though they are (for now) largely offering topical products like creams and lotions. However, the Brightfield report said those chains will dominate the CBD market over the next year, owning as much as 57 percent of it.

Here are some other key highlights from the Brightfield CBD report:

• Although tinctures still dominate the market, driving 25% of sales, they are losing their lead as more mainstream consumer-friendly products surge

• Topicals (17% of market) and skincare and beauty products (8%) have gained tremendous traction as mass retailers have signed on to carry these products first, since they are considered the safest bet under the current regulatory regime.

• Natural food and smoke shop CBD revenues continue to grow and thrive — with increased uptake across the country and some level of saturation now that vendors feel more secure and confident carrying product.

Notably, though the CBD market is no longer dominated by cannabis users, dispensaries and recreational shops have also seen an uptick in CBD-oriented traffic.

• 1% of CBD companies were in the top tier (with sales of $40+ million or being sold in greater than 1000 stores) while 92.9% of companies were in the low tier (with sales of <$1 million or being sold in 0-100 stores)