Holiday Gift Guide
The first of five gift-giving guides
(Nov. 19, 2009) Look for links to all five online Gift Guides on the Journal’s home page this holiday season.
We have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. Really, it could have been worse.
Remember a year ago? Yes, we had a shiny new president and – well, a sack of hope. But we also had a banking system in collapse and major corporations with their hands out. It didn’t exactly inspire people to go out and shop for their loved ones.
But the Journal survived — and by mid-year, began to grow again — because many (most) of our small independent local businesses survived. Our staff and contributors here at the Journal sincerely thank all these small businesses and, I’m sure, our readers do, too.
It’s the holiday season again. No, I’m not going to tell you to whip out your credit card and shop, shop, shop – especially with all the devious new bank card penalties lurking in the fine print. What I will do is urge you to buy carefully this season — not only within your budget but, by shopping at local independent retailers like these in our holiday Gift Guide that runs every week for the next five weeks.
According to the American Independent Business Alliance, each dollar you spend at one of these indies returns three times more money to our local economy than a dollar spent at a chain store. Here are some other good reasons to shop locally from the AMIBA:
It builds community. The casual encounters you enjoy at neighborhood-scale businesses and the public spaces around them build relationships and community cohesiveness. They are the ultimate social networking sites! (I often get news tips while shopping for lettuce.)
It shapes our character. Why did you choose to live here? What keeps you? Independent businesses help give our communities one-of-a-kind personality (which Humboldt has in abundance).
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Today
Label GMOs Signature Gathering Training
meetings / 4 p.m. Sun Yi's Academy of Tae Kwon Do, 1215 Giuntoli Lane, Arcata. Help gather valid signatures to get the 'California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act' on the 2012 ballot. E-mail northernhumboldtlabelgmos@hotmail.com. 223-0424.
Open Celtic Music Session
music / 3 p.m. Cafe Veritas/Mosgo's, 180 Westwood Center, Arcata. Informal monthly gathering of musicians playing Irish and other Celtic music. Hosted by Seabury Gould. seaburygould.com. 845-8167.
Nonviolence Action Camp
etc. / 10 a.m. Chinmaya Mission near Piercy. Weekend-long direct action orientation features workshops, role playing, seminars, ceremonies and field trips. Bring food, bedding, warm clothes, signs, banners, bikes, drums, acoustic instruments. Pre-register. saverichardsongrove.org. 932-5898.
Audubon Society Field Trip
outdoors / 9 a.m. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 1020 Ranch Road, Loleta. Meet at Refuge Visitor Center off Hookton Road. Leisurely, two- to three-hour trip intended for people wanting to learn birds of Humboldt Bay area. 822-3613.
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