Riverrock is This Weekend!
It’s finally here! This weekend, the third annual Dominion River Rock will roll into town and it couldn’t be a better weekend! If you’re ready to spend the whole day outdoors and witness some of the best athletes in outdoor sports all on Brown’s Island!
Ellwood’s will be there the whole weekend with an array of organic fruits and homemade granola for sale. We’ll also be offering Vita Coco and local bottled water to cool you off. Bring your kids down, we’ll have a “Name that Produce” guessing game with a chance to win a $250 gift card to Ellwood Thompsons! We’ll also be raffling off a brand new bike with all proceeds benefiting the Richmond Cycling Corps!
Check out our Facebook and Twitter feed all day for live updates, pictures, and tweets!
TONIGHT: Strength in Numbers
Tonight, Richmond’s historic Byrd Theater will be host to Red Bull’s long awaited Strength in Numbers mountain bike video. The fact that Richmond is getting this video just two weeks after it’s premiere is a pretty big deal. So if you’re a fan of bicycling in general, not just mountain biking, come out to The Byrd tonight! Doors open at 7pm and film start promptly at 7:30pm. Get there early and get a seat!
Wine & Cheese of the Month
For the wonderful month of May, we’ve decided to pair two of our Virginia favorites together for a flavor combination that represents spring in Virginia.
Introducing Tuckahoe & Ayrshire Local Beef
We’re super excited to bring in two new lines of locally, sustainably raised beef! It’s not often in Virginia that you get humanely-raised, grass-fed beef right at your front door, but today is an exception. Here’s a little break down on each farm.
Tuckahoe Lamb & Cattle is located in Catersville, Virginia, just 52 miles away from our front door. They are a multi-species, grass based family farm that practices sustainable, pasture focused farming without the use of hormones or antibiotics. We now carry their strip loin, ground beef, and ribeye.
Ayrshire Farms is located just outside of our local belt in Upperville, VA. Ayrshire Farm’s heritage breed cattle are certified organic and certified Humane® . This means that animals are raised without growth hormones or antibiotics, on organic pasture, and that these cows come from organically raised breeding stock. Heritage breed cattle are naturally hardy and thrifty animals, which do well on a variety of grasses but take longer to mature than their hybridized counterparts.
Ellwood’s Specialty Cakes
Looking for something special for Mother’s Day, our bakery team can certainly help. We do a wide variety of vegan, non-vegan, and gluten-free cakes that can satisfy any sweet tooth. Just give our bakery a call if you have something special in mind. 804-359-7525
Joel Salatin: Folk’s This Ain’t Normal
Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market is proud to have our friend from Swoope, Virginia come into the big city on Wednesday, May 30th. From farmer Joel Salatin’s point of view, life in the 21st century just ain’t normal. In FOLKS, THIS AIN’T NORMAL, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love. Salatin has many thoughts on what normal is and shares practical and philosophical ideas for changing our lives in small ways that have big impact.
Salatin, hailed by the New York Times as “Virginia’s most multifaceted agrarian since Thomas Jefferson [and] the high priest of the pasture” and profiled in the Academy Award nominated documentary Food, Inc. and the bestselling book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, understands what food should be: Wholesome, seasonal, raised naturally, procured locally, prepared lovingly, and eaten with a profound reverence for the circle of life. And his message doesn’t stop there. From child-rearing, to creating quality family time, to respecting the environment, Salatin speaks with a wicked sense of humor and true storyteller’s knack for the revealing anecdote.
FOLKS, THIS AIN’T NORMAL
Wednesday / May 30th / 5:30-7:00pm / FREE.
Today: Free Blood Pressure Screening
Welcome to the start of the first annual Carytown Health and Wellness Week – “Local Support for Living Well.” This week will be a celebration of health and awareness in Richmond! In partnership with the American Heart Association Go Red for Women and South University, Ellwood Thompson’s will be offering FREE blood pressure checks this entire week.
May is stroke awareness month and as such, Virginia Department of Health is aiming to get 1 million blood pressure checks completed – those acquired at ET’s will count toward that goal. I encourage each of you to get yours checked and encourage your employees to do the same!
Ellwood Thompson’s Blood Pressure Screening Dates & Times
Monday May 7 from 11-2
Tuesday May 8 from 5-7
Wednesday May 9 from 4:30-6:30
Thursday May 10 from 11-2
Friday May 11 from 3-5 or 4-6
Saturday May 12 from 12-3
How To Use A Paper Towel
It’s something we never really think about until numbers like this are presented to us. More paper towels are used per day than you could imagine. Often times, only a small percentage of that paper towel is actually used to absorb or clean up any mess. Joe Smith breaks it down for us and shows us how to use them the correct way.
4th Annual Child Abuse Prevent-A-Thon
Join us in Ellwood's Community Room for the 4th Annual Child Abuse Prevent-A-Thon. GR SCAN is collaborating with Ellwood Thompson's to offer a FREE Stewards of Children training during the 4th Annual Prevent-A-Thon. Stewards of Children, developed by Darkness to Light, is a child sexual abuse prevention training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibility to child sexual abuse.
To Some Hindus, Modern Yoga Has Lost Its Way (NPR)
About 20 million people in the United States practice some form of yoga, from the formal Iyengar and Ashtanga schools to the more irreverent “Yoga Butt.” But some Hindus say yoga is about far more than exercise and breathing techniques. They want recognition that it comes from a deeper philosophy — one, in their view, with Hindu roots. Many forms of yoga go back centuries. Even in the U.S., the transcendentalists were doing yoga in the 1800s.
William Broad, a reporter for The New York Times and author of The Science of Yoga, has been practicing since 1970. He says people pursue yoga for all kinds of reasons, from achieving health and fitness to seeking spirituality, energy and creativity. Read the rest of this article via NPR.
Love Your Mother: Earth Day at Ellwoods!
Join us Sunday, April 22nd to celebrate the one and only, Mother Earth with the 42nd year of Earth Day! In honor of our beautiful mother, we’re doing a few neat things to really make a mark. You’ll be able to bring your electronics to e-cycle, enjoy solar powered ice cream from Urban Grid‘s Sweet Solar Scoop and get your bike tuned and adjusted for free by Carytown Bicycle Company! The outdoor activities are from 11-3:30 but the fun will continue in-store from open to close.
In addition to these events on Sunday, we’re discouraging the sale of ALL PLASTIC BOTTLED WATER by blocking off the ENTIRE section! Reach in if you dare! Learn the best alternative practices to drinking plastic bottled water.
What’s our reason? We’ve got plenty! Water bottles aren’t going anywhere and we all know that. Once a plastic bottle is made, it’s here to stay. What we do know is that when they’re not recycled, they create a large amount of waste. By not selling plastic bottled water for one day, we’re eliminating nearly 2000 plastic bottles from being thrown out. Last year, Americans used over 50 billion plastic water bottles, nearly 40 billion ended up in landfills. This is a crisis that we as consumers can easily stop. By simply following these basic rules, you as an individual can greatly reduce your impact and keep plastic out of our landfills.
1. Reuse: Reusable bottles are the best possible choice for water consumption. They greatly limit your waste and make a statement to others to do the same. The life of a stainless steel water bottle is nearly endless and can be cleaned and used over and over again.
2. Refill: You’ve purchased a bottle of water and now it’s all gone, but the thirst isn’t. Refill your bottle and use it again. Did you know we offer FREE water refills at the front of our store?
3. Recycle: You have an empty water bottle and are headed to the trash. STOP! If you’re truly done with the bottle and it’s at the end of it’s lifeline, make sure you take an extra second and don’t overlook a recycling station.
Just In From Tricycle Gardens
We just got in a ton of locally-grown, organic starter veggies from Richmond’s own Tricycle Gardens! Tricycle Gardens is a grassroots, environmental nonprofit organization focused on bringing agriculture, nutrition education and healthy food access to the urban core of Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 2002 by three architects living in Church Hill who believed community gardens, and the simple act of growing food, were the fastest ways to transform the overall health of their community – both for the residents and the environment.
These starter herbs are available now for just $3.99 for a 6-pack. They’re a great way to start your summer harvest off right! Nothing’s better than a fresh, summer salad with locally grown greens! Come get ‘em!
Hardywood x Midnight Brewery
MIDNIGHT BREWERY and the HARDYWOOD crew! from RVABUZZ on Vimeo.
We’re looking forward to this!
First Book of Greater Richmond – 5% Donation
On Sunday, March 25th, we raised just over $2,500 to The First Book of Greater Richmond! First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, each year First Book distributes millions of free and low-cost books to disadvantaged children and the programs that serve them.
Thanks to customer support from you, our money continues to go directly back to the community that supports us. To learn more about our 5% days, click here.
New Ellwood’s Canvas Tote Bags!
Tired of using paper bags? We are too. Our new organic canvas tote bags are now available at the store for just $5.99 each. Not only are they grown with US organic cotton but unlike most bags these days, they’re also manufactured in the US too! They’re available at the checkouts.