Mayor’s Message - An Overabundance of Sun, GridRewards™ Alert, baby trees that need you, and lots to put on the Calendar for July.

Dear everyone,

 

As the sweltering skies envelope our Village please do take care and remember the JHCC serves as a cooling center for those who need it (see HERE)!  Those of you who signed up for GridRewards™ will have received a message that today is “a GridRewards event” (which is a bit of an ominous thing …) more on that below.  We need volunteers to water the new baby trees and shrubs in Hillside Woods and by Farragut Parkway.  And as always, there are flyers for our upcoming July events on the Destination Hastings webpage HERE and Facebook pages HERE, or just scroll down for more information.

 

GridRewards™ Alert – TODAY, 4 to 8 pm

Those of you who signed up for GridRewards™ received an alert yesterday that today is “a GridRewards event” which makes it sound rather innocuous … in fact today is a “very bad day” to be using electricity especially between 4 and 8 pm. As I write, over 70% of our electricity is coming from carbon producing fuels  – dirty, expensive, fossil fuel burning “peaker plants” are in full swing.  The goal of GridRewards™ is to encourage people to reduce usage on peak days like today so we can eventually obviate the need for “peaker” plants all together.  The price of electricity is pegged to peak usage days, so by reducing our usage on those days, in theory we can actually influence the price of electricity (this is aspirational …).  Whether you signed up or not, you can make a difference. So …. if at all possible, don’t run the washing machine or dishwasher (or if you must do a wash hang your clothes out to dry), turn down the AC (or if you can bear it turn it completely off), cool fewer rooms, unplug devices you aren’t using etc.   All these small actions will really make a difference if enough of us do them.  And don’t forget, you can still sign up for other climate smart community campaigns including Community Solar, EVs and EnergySmart Homes – see HERE for more info.

 

Our amazing Village Naturalist, Haven Colgate, and lots of volunteers have planted hundreds of baby trees and shrubs along Boutillier’s Brook (near Farragut Parkway) and in Hillside Woods. Students at the school were an integral part of the effort, and seniors volunteered to work with second graders to get everything planted (see HERE for the story!). Now we need to keep the baby plants alive during the rest of the summer, especially during these major heat events. Please reach out to Haven at hillsidewoods@hastingsgov.org or protectourwoods@gmail.com if you want to help.  Most watering sessions only take 30 minutes.  Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this important effort to date, and if you see Haven please thank her too!!!

 

There are a number of fun events at the Library throughout July, starting with Storylining: Making Maps with Stories for kids 7 to 17 (see HERE) and a reading of The Three Little Engines by author Bob McKinnon on Saturday July 10^th at 10 am in Fulton Park outside the Library (see HERE).

 

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than listening to an archetypal American art form – Jazz!  Sunday July 4^th, Hastings On Jazz will be performing at the VFW Plaza on Warburton Avenue from 3 to 5:30 pm. Hastings On Jazz is a weekly concert series from the Hastings Jazz Collective (and the occasional special guest…) that is taking place every Sunday from June through September. Bring a chair/blanket, grab a drink and/or food from Paul at Boro6 across the street, or an ice cream from Penny Lick and enjoy the show!

 

This will be the second iteration this summer of the enormously popular South by Southside event. If you missed the first one you absolutely have to put this on your calendar! The event features live music from the Kat Gang Jazz Band as well as food and drink specials from Maud’s Tavern, Saint George Bistro and the Good Witch. There will also be fun activities from the River’s Edge Theatre Company, Dana Dash and others. See you on Southside Ave!

 

On July 10^th right after South by Southside, fun in the Downtown will continue with a Welcome Back Saturday event. Warburton Avenue will be closed for outdoor dining with music provided by Matt Turk at the VFW Plaza between 6 and 10 pm. Many of our merchants will be open and enthusiastic to welcome you, so it’s the perfect time to browse. As always, don’t forget about Destination Hastings Downtown Dollar$ – our very own local currency which can only be spent right here in the Village.

 

Tuesday, July 13, will be the first of our Sunset Concerts at MacEachron Waterfront Park, 100 River Street from 7 to 9 pm. The Sunset Concerts will happen three Tuesday’s in a row through the end of July.  The first concert will feature Caravan of Thieves (July 13^th), the second Damn Tall Buildings (July 20^th) and the third Hazmat Modine (July 27^th).  The concerts are free – bring a blanket, a picnic and enjoy the show!

 

Stay cool!

 

Sincerely,

 

Nicola Armacost

Mayor