we need you...

We have begun planning a community shopping night at Just Creations. This fair-trade store offers local shoppers products from artists around the developing world, including a few products from Ethiopia. All sales help provide a fair wage for the artisans. I can personally testify that many of the products available make wonderful Christmas gifts.

FACE2FACE will sponsor the 12/02/09 community shopping night from 6 PM to close. Just Creations will donate 15% of all sales made during this time to Arise for Children in support of Ethiopian projects. (More to come about which project(s) we will be supporting specifically.)

So what can you do? Contact me for print materials promoting this event. We would like to have each member of FACE2FACE to announce this event in their places of worship, work places, and to as many friends and family members we can contact between now and then. The idea is to get as many shoppers as possible out to the store this evening. Also, we will have an informational table at the event about FACE2FACE and Arise for Children. Please let me know if you are interested in making refreshments for the table, or in dedicating a portion of your evening to working the table.

October 10th Gallrein Farm gathering...

Please join us for our October event at Gallrein Farms Saturday, October 10th at 1:00 pm. There is a petting zoo and a corn maze. There will be food for purchase, live music, and a horsedrawn wagon to take us to the pumkin field. The group rate is $6, and this includes the cost of your pumkin--whatever size you can carry home! Please feel free to invite grandparents too.

Gallrein farms is located in Shelbyville, KY at 1029 Vigo Road. Please visit their web page at http://www.gallreinfarms.com/ for directions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

New Year's celebration a success

Thanks to everyone who attended the New Years party this past Monday. We had over 70 people help us celebrate Ethiopian culture, food, and of course New Year’s traditions.

Please join our new Yahoo group

Please join our new yahoo group for the latest information regarding FACE2FACE, our outings, and our plans for the future. Simply go to Yahoo groups, face2face_ky and request group membership. This BLOG will continue to be updated as well, and you can find a link to this blog from the Yahoo group. The group site, however, will allow all members to post and participate actively in our online community.

Our main goal continues to be to create face-to-face, in-person community for our children and our families. However, we have started the yahoo group as part of our recognition that in today's society online community is a vital component to many social groups. Please consider joining today.

New Year's celebration to begin at 5, not 5:30

Thanks to everyone who RSVP'd for the Ethiopian New Year's Celebration. We are going to have a very full house! Salem has asked that we begin at 5 rather than 5:30 to better accommodate everyone given the activities planned.

Also, please be sure you have some change in your pocket. This will be needed to complete an Ethiopian New Year's tradition. (This will all become very clear the night of the party, and your children will be very pleased!)

Looking forward to seeing you all there.

August play-date was a hit!

Thanks to everyone who attended our August play-date. A BIG special thanks to Amy and her family for hosting us. The kids had so much fun playing, and it was also a great chance for the adults to come together in community.

Melkam Addis Amet

Ethiopian New Year Celebration, September 14th

We welcome you to celebrate Ethiopian New Year with us, September 14th at The Queen of Sheba. Doors will open at 5:00, and dinner will be served buffet style. Salem, our wonderful hostess, will have traditional Ethiopian games for the older children and traditional music for the enjoyment of all. We encourage those with traditional Ethiopian attire to come dressed their best!

If you and your family are interested in attending, please contact me, Melissa Patrick, at 502-592-3246 before August 28th so that I can confirm our final headcount and instruct you on how to purchase admission. Please note, the restaurant is open only to Face2Face families for this event.

We hope to see you there!