Established 30 years ago this March, The Market is both a village grocer, providing healthy food options and personal care products, as well as a caf. Both areas of this Front Street shop offer organic ingredients and minimally processed (clean!) foods.

The Market was born from owner Shelly Scoggins desire to find a healthier way of living for her family. At the time she had a new baby on the way and finding a source for organic food options on the North Fork was nearly impossible. Thats when she knew it was the right time to open her market.

Today, youll find a wide variety of organic produce, vitamins, personal care products and gluten-free foods on the shelves. The Markets menu is creative and spans breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as smoothies and desserts. We chatted with Scoggin in the corner of her caf one afternoon at lunchtime and found out more about this gem of a health food store and eatery. (more)

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organic produce Archives - Northforker - Northforker (blog)

'A Service of Love in Song' at Fairview Chapel

Fairview Chapel will provide a midwinter worship experience at 7 p.m. Feb. 19. The Message Bearers from Wakefield Bible Church will present A Service of Love in Song.

The goal of the group is to minister and inspire a closer walk with Christ through personal testimonies and song. On this visit, it will bring additional friends in Christ, including singer Peggy Burrier-Flickinger. The service will include Scripture, poetry and prayer.

This love tribute will be presented by candlelight and oil lamp at this small restored 1847 stone chapel on the hill.

The chapel is at 6802 Boyers Mill Road, New Market, just north of the entrance to Lake Linganore. For more information about this and other weekly services at the chapel, call 301-606-3094.

Juliana Perez, who has facilitated mindfulness meditation, spiritual and grief groups for over 20 years, will lead the Interfaith Spiritual Discussion Group at the Frederick Meditation Center in downtown Frederick.

The group will meet for six sessions beginning Feb. 27 and ending April 3 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The first session on Feb. 27 is a free introductory workshop where participants can sample the class and choose to register for the remaining five sessions for $125. Those who wish to sign up for all six sessions at once are welcome to do so.

The sessions will incorporate meditation, poetry and readings from many spiritual traditions to help participants investigate their own personal belief system. Sample session themes will include What does it mean to have faith, to be spiritual? and Obstacles along the way: How have spiritual traditions of our youth affected us?.

Those interested may sign up for the free workshop only, or reserve their space for all six classes on frederickmeditation.com. For those who do not have a schedule that suits a morning class, Perez will facilitate an evening version of the Interfaith Spiritual Discussion Group starting March 9, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. This evening course is now open for registration as well.

Perez has led mindfulness meditation, spiritual and grief groups in the Seattle area for over 20 years and has a masters degree in social work and a certification in Interfaith Spiritual Direction from the Chaplaincy Institute, an interfaith seminary, in Berkeley.

The Frederick Meditation Center is at 1 W. Church St., above The Tasting Room in downtown Frederick.

Calvary United Methodist Church will host Bishop Latrelle Easterling, of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, as the honored guest and preacher on March 5. This will be a one-service Sunday to begin the season of Lent. Worship will be at 10 a.m., and Sunday school for all ages will be at 9 a.m.

Bishop Easterling is the first woman bishop to lead the 233-year-old Baltimore-Washington Conference. She was elected as a bishop in The United Methodist Church in July 2016 and began serving the conference in September.

An Indiana native, Easterling is an inquisitive, collaborative and transformational leader. She is married to the Rev. Marion Easterling Jr., pastor of Wesley Grove UMC in Hanover and the former pastor of Parkway UMC in Milton, Massachusetts.

Calvary United Methodist Church is at 131 W. Second St., Frederick. Visit http://www.calvaryumc.org for more information.

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Religion Notes: Fairview Chapel, Frederick Meditation Center, Calvary UMC to host events - Frederick News Post (subscription)

One of the early trailers for Logan featured a grizzled, older Wolverine with Johnny Cashs cover of Hurt playing. It was an evocative experience, a connection of music and tone, which perfectly sets the stage for this film.

Set in the near future, an older Logan (Hugh Jackman) is driving a limo, hes unkempt and sporting a scraggily beard. Hes self-medicating his pain with booze, his weathered face chronicling the hurt hes experienced.

Its a departure for the roguishly handsome Jackman there are no costumes here or quippy lines to distract from his sense of defeat.

Hes working to get money for actual medication to help his old friend Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who is living in a remote location in Mexico, where he is cared for by a mutant named Caliban (Stephen Merchant). Xavier is kept medicated to keep him from having seizures, with his once impressive intellect savaged by age and his powers out of control.

The movie hints at a past tragedy and no new mutants have been born in years, though Xaviers delirious rantings speak of a new mutant.

Her name is Laura (great newcomer Dafne Keen) and shes quickly jettisoned into their lives. Shes a child, low on communication, but strong on action, and shes got some similar abilities to a certain X-Man. Keen, in her cinematic debut, is a pint-size powerhouse, turning out a strong performance in what is no doubt a difficult role, requiring extensive physical and emotional work.

Laura is being tracked by a mechanically enhanced killer named Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook, who makes his lackadaisical Southern drawl menacing), and theres only one mutant who can keep her safe. And just how is Laura connected to Logan?

At its heart, Logan is a road movie, a Western of sorts, with the drifter plodding from town to town with his young charge, working to find a better life and unable to avoid getting caught up in battle after battle.

Oh, and there are tons of battles here, bloody and visceral, almost animalistic. It does get over-the-top at times have fun counting the beheadings but there is an undeniable jolt of adrenaline when the claws come out.

Director James Mangold, working off a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Green and Scott Frank, creates a dusty, sun-soaked future with stark scenes in the desert, long shots of caravans of trucks marching down highways and urban decay.

Logan marks Jackmans ninth turn as Wolverine and Stewarts seventh as Professor X. These are superb actors who know intrinsically these roles and its great to see them be able to really explore the furthest reaches of the characters. These arent the self-assured combatants from earlier movies, but rather broken vestiges of past greatness.

Much like the fourth-wall-breaking Deadpool was a new direction for Foxs Marvel mutant movies, Logan is as well, though in the other direction. This is a mature film, almost a meditation at times, of growing older, losing hope and coping with ones own mortality.

Jackman and Stewart have danced around whether theyll return to these roles in the future, but even if this is the last we see of them on the big screen, it sure is a great curtain call.

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Hugh Jackman's 'Logan' a powerful meditation on mortality - amNY

Ellen Bahm, Getting healthy in the water 7:00 a.m. ET Feb. 17, 2017

Water Aerobics(Photo: Christopher Futcher, Getty Images)

Tired of sitting in front of the tube feeling like a slug? Want something to do that makes you feel great, is fun and is good for you? I've got just the answer - water aerobics at the YMCA.

Participating in water aerobics at the Y feels like playing for grown-ups.No more dread of being hot, sweaty and miserable.You stay cool while you exercise in the pool.Movement in the water is also great for joint and arthritis issues.

Worried about wearing a bathing suit in public in front of strangers?No sweat. At water aerobics, we are all shapes and sizes, both young and old. Besides, your body is underwater and nobody cares what you look like. There are very few Barbies.

Did I mention the class is fun?My favorite water aerobics class, Aqua dance, incorporates music. Our instructor, Angie, plays everything from "Respect" by Aretha Franklin to "Cake By The Ocean" by DNCE. We jam, sing and burn calories all against the resistance of the water.

Water aerobics improves flexibility and is a good all-around cardiorespiratory workout. You can expect to burn 30 percent more calories than a conventional floor workout.

So get up off that couch, join the Y and try water aerobics. Warning: it's addictive.

Whats The Best? Let us know in 300 words or less. If we publish your article, youll get a $50 gift card. Send submissions to Kathryn Gregory, kgregory@courier-journal.com, or to Kathryn Gregory, Best Editor, The Courier-Journal, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431.

EllenBahm is a physical education teacher at Coral Ridge Elementary School in Fairdale, Ky. When she isn't in the water, she likes to watch UK basketball and play with her grandson, Cal.

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Water aerobics at the YMCA | Review - The Courier-Journal

"The Museum Workout" is a lively workout at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, staged amid some of the worlds masterpieces. (Feb. 17)

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.

APs commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. AP is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.

Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content - we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress

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Fine Art Meets Sweaty Aerobics - Olean Times Herald

"The Museum Workout" is a lively workout at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, staged amid some of the worlds masterpieces. (Feb. 17)

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.

APs commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. AP is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.

Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content - we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress

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Fine Art Meets Sweaty Aerobics | | salamancapress.com - Salamanca Press

New Wizard Oil Combination, Men's A Cappella Singers will be the next group featured in the Estes Park Music Festival. (Courtesy photo)

New Wizard Oil Combination, Men's A Cappella Singers will be the next group featured in the Estes Park Music Festival. The concert will take place at the Stanley Hotel Concert Hall on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. There is a $10 admission price, but children and students can attend for free.

What's it all about? It's about timeless music sung with soulful voices, and contagious rhythms. The "Wizards" have a unique vocal jazz and rock style that is many things harmonious, powerful, funny and emotional all wrapped up into an entertaining afternoon of music. Their spontaneous nature, entertaining personalities, and evolving musical style makes each performance different, which is why audiences never tire of them.

When the Wizards aren't singing, they are providing a strong presence in their communities as teachers, engineers, businessmen and music directors. Two even sang in the famed Yale University "Whiffenpoofs. This rare and entertaining 15-man a cappella group is well known around the Denver-Boulder area where it has been performing to enthusiastic audiences for over 40 years. If you are looking for a musically diverse, talented and entertaining afternoon, join us at the Stanley on February 26. (text by Morgan Welty).

March 5: The Acclaimed International Piano Trio of Julia Kruger, United States, Victor Bunin, Russia, joined by Natalia Burmeister- Tchaikovsky, Russia, a descendent of Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Music Festival attendees will receive a 20-percent discount for brunch or dinner on the day of the concert, courtesy of the Stanley Hotel Cascade Restaurant. Additional parking is available next to the Concert Hall and behind the Stanley Hotel.

Every concert series needs an excellent venue and the beautiful Stanley Hotel is the perfect mountain setting for an hour of wonderfully relaxing Sunday afternoon entertainment.

For further information, contact the Music Festival business office at 970-586-9519 or visit its website at estesparkmusicfestival.org. To receive weekly updates of our concerts and upcoming events, send an email to estesparkmusicfestival@gmail.com.

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New Wizard Oil Combination play music festival - Estes Park Trail-Gazette

Sound healing is based on the idea that pure, deconstructed sound can rebalance the body's energy.

Music is known to be a universal language, but it does more than communicate across cultural lines. It speaks to our hearts and souls, helping us to feel comforted, relaxed, motivated, and excited. Music can arouse old memories and, when broken down into a simpler form, it can be used to heal.

The concept of sound healing is not well known in our society today, but according to Britains College of Sound Healing, it dates back to ancient civilizations in China, Egypt, Greece, and India. Sound therapists deconstruct music into pure sound, and use these sounds to reattune the energy frequencies within the human body that naturally go out of balance over time.

If youre raising an eyebrow at this point, stay with me for a moment. There is some evidence to suggest sound healing is effective. A thesis published by Shelley Snow of Concordia University explored the vocal sound healing method and found:

Effects such as the release of emotions and trauma, a change from negative to more positive thought patterns, the elimination of physical pain, relaxing, calming effects and receiving deeper perceptions of life situations, are among the experiences described by participants.

The Guardian cites a study conducted by the British Academy of Sound Therapy hardly biased research, of course that measured the effects of sound on the autonomous nervous system:

Each client demonstrated an overall decrease in arousal of the ANS compared to the control group, who were lying down relaxing. This study suggests that sound therapy has a deeply calming effect on stressed-out clients.

Sound therapy is currently used by the National Health Service in Britain to help people with disabilities, dementia, and anxiety.

Alex McGuire -- The sound healing workshop at Lush Summit

Without having any knowledge or prior opinion on the efficacy of sound therapy, I had my first-ever encounter with it last week at the Lush Summit in London. Amid the chaos of thousands of people milling around, I came across a quiet space with yoga mats, pillows, blankets, and an array of shiny bronze Himalayan singing bowls in the center. The organizer, Anetta Panczel, invited me in for a twenty-minute session. Curious, I accepted the invitation.

Panczel told me to lie on my back. She covered me with blankets and placed a medium-sized singing bowl on my belly. I closed my eyes and breathed slowly and deeply, as if entering a meditation. After signaling the start with a gong, she and an assistant walked around the circle, tapping the bowls on participants stomachs. It was heavy and I could feel it resonate throughout my body, lasting for nearly the amount of time it took for Panczel to return and do it again. It was a grounding sensation, as if I were being pushed into the earth by this heavy vibrating object.

Next came a variety of other sound-makers. Most relaxing was a large drum that seemed to be filled with dry beans; this she waved over my body for a wonderful, long time. There were rain sticks, tuning forks, and more singing bowls, followed by a period of silence. When Panczel finally removed the bowl from my belly, my entire body felt like it was going to levitate. A floating, tingling sensation overcame me.

Alex McGuire -- Katherine from TreeHugger & Courtney Napper of Lush listen to Panczel's explanation of how the therapy works.

In the question period afterword, she explained that the vibrations would continue to work their way through my body for several days. I dont know if thats true, and because I was traveling and off my usual schedule, it was difficult for me to perceive physical differences; but I do know that I felt gloriously relaxed, yet energized, for the rest of the day.

Like meditation, sound therapy may not have the immediate measurable benefits that weve come to expect in a world obsessed with instant gratification, but that doesnt mean its not valuable. The more time we can take to ourselves, away from noise and busyness, the better off well all be.

TreeHugger was a guest of Lush at the Lush Summit in February 2017. There was no obligation to write about this workshop or any other event at the summit.

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My foray into the mysterious world of sound healing - Treehugger

Organic food lovers, rejoice: it's Biofach week again. Biofach, the world's leading trade fair for organic products, is held annually in Nuremberg, Germany, a town in Franconia that was once the capital of the medieval "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation."

From the time of the empire's founding by Charlemagne in the year 800 until its final dissolution by Napoleon in 1806, and fora century after that, the people of the empire - from prince to pauper - rigorously adhered to a diet composed entirely of organic food, nearly all of it produced at most a few miles from the point of consumption, with a minimal CO2-emissions footprint.

Nowadays, even the most conscientious participant incommunity-supported agriculture or the mostpatchouli-soaked, Birkenstock-wearing neo-hippie would have great difficulty meeting the standard of food localism and environmental correctitude that prevailed during Nuremberg's imperial glory years.

Back to the future?

Today, about 95 percent of the food sold in Germany - as measured by retail sales value - isn't organic. That's despite the fact that total organic food salesin Germany havebeen growing steadily for years. Sales growth has reached an impressive 10percent per annum over the last couple of years.

But most food continues to beproducedwith the help ofa variety of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. The consequences, according to organic farmers and many environmental scientists, include depleted soils, reduced biodiversity, polluted waters, and inhumane treatment of farm animals.

These ducklings will live on a free-range organic farm

Princely prices prevent paupers partaking

Toda,y the princes of Europe often eat organic food, and the paupers generally don't. That's because organic food - called "bio"in Germany - is more expensive than food produced using lower-cost "conventional"farming systems.

"Bio"products typically cost anywhere from 15 to 100 percent more than non-organic, according to Alexander Beck, an organic farmer whoheads upGermany's Association of Organic Food Processors.

Lifestyle, cultural and educational background help determine whether or not people buy organic food; price isn't the only factor. But it isthe dominant factor, and one that is not likely to change, according to some industry insiders at Biofach.

Organic food is unlikely to break out of the5-per-cent niche product category, to achieve a market share of 25 percent or more, unless "bio"becomescheaper than conventional food, according toKatharina Reuter, managing director of UnternehmensGrn e.V., a national association of green businesses in Germany.

"Pesticide bananas have to be more expensive than bio-bananas," she told DW. "That's the long and short of it."

In Reuter's view, conventionalfood has become absurdly cheap -but only because its prices don't take environmental or health costs into account: "If true cost accounting were applied, conventionally produced food would be more expensive than organic food."

Organic farmer Beck saidthat what's needed is changes in prices of farming inputs, in line with "true cost accounting."Among other things, thiswill mean putting a price on pollution and making sure polluters - rather than society - pay that price.

Organic farming is a worldwide trend - Delowar Jahan in Bangladesh encourages fellow farmers to take it up organic

Pricing inputs right

Beck pointed to the water quality issues associated with Germany's vast pork production industry, which he said produce about 30 percent more pork than the country can consume - "and from a health perspective, people eat far too much meat anyway," he added.

Too many pigs concentrated in feedlots generateconcentrated wastewhich pollutes surface waters, with rains washing the pollution into streams and lakes. A price per tonand hectare could create incentives to avoid this.

Similarly, a price per tonof fertiliser could incentivize farmers to avoid over-application of fertiliser, which also pollutes waters as well as harming soil ecosystems.

"However, for some things, like ensuring humane treatment of farm animals, financial incentives aren't really workable, and we need straightforward regulations," Beck said.

The organic framework in Europe takes into account soil health, animal welfare, and safeguarding biodiversity

Reforming subsidy systems

As things currently stand, Beck and Reuter explained, explicit funds through the European budget subsidize conventional agriculture by paying farmers a flat amount per hectare of farmland. The European Union's enormous agricultural subsidy budget should be reallocated to pay farmers for improved farming practices instead, they think.

Another possible source of subsidies for organic farming could be raised by applying a flat surcharge, or "environmental user fee"of a few percent of the retail price on all conventionally produced food, with the proceeds collected into an organic farming fund used to help conventional farmers to shift their operations to organic methods.

Beck and Reuter both said that if the right combination of regulatory reforms and financial incentiveswere put in place, farmers would naturally shift to organic farming, because when costs are no longer externalized,overall itcostsmore to produce food conventionallythan by organic farming methods.

Lobbyists in the meat industry don't want non-meat sausages, like the organic, vegan ones pictured here, to be called "sausage"

Lobby power

But even though organic food and animal welfare lobbyists have tried for years to promotefinancial incentives and regulations for organics, progress has been limited.

That's because the huge majority of farmers remain invested in existing non-organicfarming systems, whose lobbies have effectively opposed most proposed changes, Beck said.

Moreover, conventional farmers are afraid that if Germany toughened regulations, for example to require chicken and pig farmers to create more humane conditions for their animals, they'd be at a competitive disadvantage compared to producers in other countries.

That problem could be solved with import restrictions -but any restrictions would conflict with freetrade agreements. These, in turn, are based on anassumption thatunhampered free trade is an inherently good thing.

Although this idea is shared by most European economists and policy-makers,it'scontroversial in other quarters, especially withregardto food supplies.

A different labeling system could help too, according to Reuter.

"Really, in future we want to see a situation in which organic food is normal and unlabeled, whereas food produced with synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, or with inhumane methods, would be labeled."

"'Conventional' bananas would be labeled 'pesticide bananas,' and organic bananas would just be ... bananas."

Continue reading here:

Growing the organic food market - Deutsche Welle

Dive Brief:

A recent TechSci Research report revealed that the global organic food market is projected to grow at a CAGRof more than 14% from 2016 to 2021. In order for supply to keep up with this demand, however, more farmers will need to get on board the organic train.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture teamed up with the Organic Trade Association to start a program that certifies produce grown on farmland that's in the process of switching to organic, making it easier for farmers to make the switch.

Going organic provides some pretty obvious benefits to manufacturers, too. People interested in these products, as well as those that are non-GMO,are more inclined to pay higher prices for food.

The current challenge for manufacturers is that organic ingredients are more expensive and not as readily available as non-organic produce. This raises prices, which could discourage consumers who are on the fence about buying organic It could also hurt a brand's reputation if it finds itself with too low a supply of a particular organic product.

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Demand for organic non-GMO grains outpaces production | Food Dive - Food Dive